Customer Reviews

Harry Potter Und Die Kammer Des Schreckens (Harry Potter (German)) (German Edition)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Harry Potter und die Kammer des Schreckens" is the German translation of the second Harry-Potter-book. I think I don't have to tell you anything about the story - see the reviews of the English version for details (besides: who wants to read more about the content of such a book than the back page offers - it would spoil some of the fun since the Potter books are in part a crime story!).

The translation is - judging from my reading experience - well done and worth reading. The language is not too complicated so the book qualifies as reading stuff for a foreigner wishing to practice his German reading skills. I didn't find any translation mistakes - the language sounded genuine German and was vivid and fun to read. The names (always a problem when translating) are not altered, so some of the flair that comes with the nicely selected names of the original is lost to the non-English reader. But this second book shows that this is the right way to go: there is a name-letter-puzzle which plays a key role in this book and translating that one would have been a very hard task indeed.

So the translation receives 5 stars, all well earned for the content as for the translation.

My final note goes to the discussion if this book is for adults as well as teenagers or not: anyone waiting for deep insights into the society, mankind and the world we live in will be disappointed when reading this book. But it is by far the best youth book I ever read, 350 fast pacing pages and I never regretted that I bought it. Nobody whants to read Joyce all the time. And when I turn too light reading stuff, I expect quality as well. Here is where this book has its place in the adult market.

I needed a book in German that would motivate me to keep at it, so that I could increase my understanding and use of German. This book was perfect. The story was so good, I relied on context more and more, rather than compulsively looking up each new word in a dictionary. This is how I learned as a child, and it's still a good way to learn.

Of course, you can't argue with the original British English version, but I absolutely love picking my way through this book (along with the other six, which I incidentally bought for much, much cheaper in Germany). Apart from being a great story (as I think everyone knows) it's also perfect for German language learners. It's not too much of a mouthful, I've found that I can read it with about 80-90% fluency now, looking up an occasional word. I definitely recommend it!

lost package, slow delivery, unhelpful customer service, i received the book over a month after they said they shipped it. i live in chicago an hour drive from where they shipped it in indiana. what i imagine happens, based on the extravagantly long period they give themselves to ship it, is they claim to have items in stock when they don't, use your money to order them and send them along when they get in. if i had known it would take this long, i would have paid more for a different seller. book was fine.