Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #92890 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02
• Original language: German
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .0 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

J.K.Rowling did it again!
"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.

A great way to increase German language skills.
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.