7月31日，在羅琳和哈利的生日，哈迷們心心念念的哈利·波特系列第八本，《哈利·波特與被詛咒的孩子》（Harry Potter and the Cursed Child）英文版終于上市，作者是杰克·索恩。《哈利·波特與被詛咒的孩子》其實不是一本小說，而是一個劇本，其同名舞臺劇已于7月30日在倫敦西區上演。雖然距第七本已時隔九年，離最后一部電影也有五年，這次舞臺劇的回歸還是不減當年的人氣。現在來看看外媒對這本新書的報道：

By now you should know the "Harry Potter" drill.
現在你應該了解《哈利波特》正確的打開方式了。

Purchase the book, stay up all night reading, feel all of your feelings and tweet about it.
先買書，熬夜狂看，然后將所思所感全部發文到推特上。

"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" came out to much fanfare over the weekend, and the world is now divided into two groups: those who have finished reading it and those who have not.
《哈利波特與被詛咒的孩子》的高調問世已沸騰了整個周末，現在人們分為兩大陣營：看完了書的和沒看完的。

But there was no shortage of emotion from both sides.
但是哈利波特系列從來不缺人們的關注和情感。

The book comes from the script for a West End play based on an original story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany and written by Thorne.
這本新書是《哈利波特與被詛咒的孩子》舞臺劇的劇本，該舞臺劇由J.K.羅琳、劇作家杰克·索恩和導演約翰·蒂芙尼共同打磨，并由索恩執筆，在倫敦西區劇院上演。

But anything Harry Potter is magical -- especially for fans who got their last literary fix with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" in July 2007.
但是一切有關哈利波特的事情都充滿魔力——尤其對于苦苦等待多時的哈迷來說，上一部《哈利波特與死亡圣器》出版還是2007年7月的事了。

"LOOK HOW HAPPY I AM," tweeted one person along with photos of herself clutching a copy of the book.
一位哈迷在推特上曬了張自己與新書的合照，發文說：“看我都要樂瘋了。”

As with any cultural phenomena in the social media age, there has been plenty of frowning, dissing and irritation about spoilers.
在這個社交媒體時代，這本新作遭遇了普遍的文化現象——劇透。人們紛紛對劇透者表示厭惡、輕蔑和惱火。

I'm not afraid to commit homicide over Harry Potter spoilers so everyone stay on their best behavior until I've read it please
— Quinn Breen (@QBreen) July 31, 2016
我才不怕干掉劇透《哈利波特》的人，這樣大家才會乖乖地等我看完再說。
——奎恩·布林（@ QBreen）2016.7.31

Read the last scenes of Harry Potter and the cursed child just to piss off my cousin with spoilers
— Some Guy Named Wolf (@WolfOfBealeSt) August 1, 2016
看完《哈利波特與被詛咒的孩子》的最后章節就是為了給我表弟劇透，氣氣他。
——用戶名沃爾夫（@WolfOfBealeS） 2016.8.1

Critics weren't as swept away by the latest project.
但是評論家們對這本新書卻沒那么買賬。

"The big problem is 'The Cursed Child' is less an original story than a remix of the existing Potter mythology," Andy Lewis wrote in The Hollywood Reporter.
“《哈利波特與被詛咒的孩子》有一個很大的問題——它不像是一個原創故事，反而像是之前所有哈利波特系列的混合集錦。”安迪·路易絲在《好萊塢記者報》上這樣評論道。

Jessica Contera of The Washington Post noted that while the play may work, the publication "as a mere script, where everything besides dialogue is written as bland stage commands ("Albus is sleeping in a pew. Ginny is watching him carefully. Harry is looking out the opposite window"), it feels nothing like the detailed-filled paragraphs of the Rowling we love.
《華盛頓郵報》的杰西卡·坎特拉指出，雖然舞臺劇可以吸人眼球，但是出版的新書“僅僅只是舞臺劇的臺本而已，除了人物對話之外，其他的文字都是直白的舞臺動作要求，比如說“阿不思睡在長椅上。金妮仔細地打量著他。哈利向對面的窗戶外看去。”這根本不是我們喜愛的羅琳筆下充滿細節畫面感的文字。

"It's more like sneaking a peek at her unfinished notes or finding a fetching piece of fan fiction," she said. "The magic is stunted."
她表示，這更像是在偷窺羅琳未寫完的筆記，或者說是一段饒有興趣的粉絲自創小說。哈利波特的“魔法”中斷了。

One of the biggest complaints from fans appears to be not what is in the book but rather what isn't.
而讓哈迷們抱怨最多的不是書里的內容，而是書中沒有出現應有的人物。

Teddy Lupin, Potter's godson and the son of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, does not make an appearance.
萊姆斯·盧平和尼法朵拉·唐克斯的兒子泰迪·盧平，同時也是哈利波特的教子，沒有在書中露面。

Teddy was part of the "Nineteen Years Later" epilogue in the final chapter of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," which also serves as the kickoff for the new book. There has been some chatter about his disappearing act in "Cursed Child."
泰迪出現在《哈利波特與死亡圣器》最后一章《十九年后》的結尾部分，應該作為展開新劇情的關鍵人物。但是他在這本書里卻沒有出現，讀者們對此頗有微詞。

One reader simply tweeted, "where's teddy tho #CursedChild."
一位讀者在推特上發問：“泰迪去哪兒了？”

where's teddy tho #CursedChild
— Amelia Thomas (@mameliat_) August 1, 2016
“泰迪去哪兒了？”
——阿米莉亞·托馬斯(@mameliat_) 2016.8.1

There's no Teddy in HP & The Cursed Child so tell me what's the point
— Ah-nel (@AnnelCabreja) August 1, 2016
《哈利波特與被詛咒的孩子》里沒了泰迪還有什么看頭？
——Ah-nel(@AnnelCabreja) 2016.8.1

新書故事梗概簡介：

哈利·波特37歲了，如今他是個超負荷工作的魔法部雇員，一個已婚男人、三個學齡孩子的爸爸，日子也并不輕松。哈利在和他那陰魂不散的過去搏斗，而他的小兒子阿不思則必須不斷抗爭，擺脫自己不想要的家族傳承。隨著過去和現在不祥的互相融合，父子倆得知了那個令人不安的真相：有時候，黑暗來自意想不到的地方。

Vocabulary

dissing: 蔑視
homicide: 殺人

英文來源：CNN
翻譯：馮露（中國日報網愛新聞iNews譯者）
審校&編輯：丹妮