Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

I finished this book a few days ago, and I enjoyed it about as much as the first in the series.  I think this is the third time I've read it; maybe it's the second.  I can't remember, and you probably don't care.

Chamber of Secrets isn't quite as tight as Philosopher's Stone.  It almost manages the same trick of tying a whole bunch of disparate elements together for the finale, but doesn't quite pull it off as well.  Gilderoy Lockhart, despite being entertaining to read, is a major part of the book that ends up being largely unimportant to the resolution.  There are other smaller things that don't get tied in, like the whomping willow, and the quidditch matches aren't as well-integrated either. 

I also didn't really buy the reveal of Ginny Weasley as the one who was opening the Chamber of Secrets.  All the foreshadowing was there, but perhaps Ginny was too minor a character for it to work for me.  I also wonder how a first-year with no invisibility cloak can go around killing chickens and painting on walls with no-one to see her.  It doesn't seem quite plausible.

The conclusion, with Harry drawing the sword of Gryffindor from the sorting hat, was another thing I had problems with.  It's a cool moment, but it really does seem to come out of nowhere.  Nothing in the narrative sets it up.  Perhaps there's something to be said for the meta-narrative trick of "pulling something out of your hat", both in-story and out, but I feel like this could have been set up better.

So if I'm doing so much complaining, why did I enjoy it so much?  I think a big part of that was the focus on Voldemort's past.  I'm a sucker for the books that reveal bits of back-story, and I'm an even bigger sucker when said reveal leaves more questions than answers, as long as there's the sense that those questions will get answered eventually.  Rowling walks that tightrope very well.

On top of that, it's just a fun book whose charm vastly outweighs any minor niggles I might have.  Imagination, wit and charm can carry a story a long way, and will probably stay in the reader's memory long after a solid plot structure and good foreshadowing.