Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton
Memoir. 288 Pages. 4 Stars
Synopsis:
They called for a break, and Gambon magicked up a cigarette from out of his beard. He and I were often to be found outside the stage door, having ‘a breath of fresh air’, as we referred to it. There would be painters and plasterers and chippies and sparks, and among them all would be me and Dumbledore having a crafty cigarette.
From Borrower to wizard, Tom Felton’s adolescence was anything but ordinary. His early rise to fame saw him catapulted into the limelight aged just twelve when he landed the iconic role of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films.
Speaking with candour and his own trademark humour, Tom shares his experience of growing up on screen and as part of the wizarding world for the very first time. He tells all about his big break, what filming was really like and the lasting friendships he made during ten years as part of the franchise, as well as the highs and lows of fame and the reality of navigating adult life after filming finished.
Prepare to meet a real-life wizard.
My Review:
To preface, I’m not a huge Harry Potter fan. I didn’t read them growing up, so I don’t have the nostalgia associated with them that so many others do. But having finally read them in the last year or two, I am slowly growing to appreciate different facets of the story that has touched so many lives.
My best friend, on the other hand, is a major Potterhead. In fact, many of my friends are. So three of us did a buddy read (or listen, if you will) of Felton’s memoir. The other two girls had read it already and very highly recommended it.
Draco was one of my favorite Harry Potter characters (Snape is probably my favorite, but they’re all so dynamically distinct that I enjoyed many of them!) and Tom Felton has a very unique charisma about him. I was told I must listen to the audiobook, and I can see why! I have to say it was an absolute delight.
Felton is a storyteller, through and through. He has a gift for conveying the nuance of emotion and depth and humor–a skill developed over the course of his life, clearly. He’s spent time honing the art of captivating audiences, and this audiobook absolutely showcases that. It really brought a whole new level to his memoir that creates an experience all it’s own for readers. He’s so expressive and the whole thing felt like a chat with your mate–a feeling even the faintest of Harry Potter fans will find compelling and inviting.
Felton was absolutely the perfect person to narrate the book. He’s an artist and both his physically and written voice conveyed the emotion, humor, confusion, and regret of the stories. His personality shines through and he brings such a mixture of pieces to the memoir: weight, levity, ordinary and extraordinary experiences, etc.
One of my two favorite parts of the book was how seamlessly Felton seamlessly blended so many juxtapositions and dichotomies. The whole book tonally, stylistically, even the content, all of it just felt like such a smooth experience. Felton shows us reality, relatability, and a down to earthness that makes you feel like you could bump into him anywhere and strike up a lasting friendship. The whole thing has this fireside chat tone laced with humor and depth. He doesn’t shy away from the hard things, the difficult bits, or the weighty experiences. But he doesn’t bog the reader down either.
I admired his transparency. It wasn’t all easy. He struggled and faced difficulties–just like we do. Even if some of the circumstances and events were different, many of the emotions and lessons aren’t as different as you’d imagine. (And, honestly, many of the memories are the same anyone would have: fishing with family, being bullied, picking up new hobbies, etc.) He wasn’t perfect. He made mistakes. And he grew. Things were hard and confusing when people conflicted reality with fiction, confusing the actor for the character he portrayed, confusing his work with his life, and treating him like a real life villain. I can’t imagine what that experience must have been like for Felton, and I wish I could just shake his hand and thank him for the work he has done.
He contrasts his work life with his personal life, providing us with context for the moments the public is privy to and peeling back the curtain to show us the magic behind it all. He connects the dots of the on screen and the media frenzy to background of his personal life and the deeply human normality so few see.
He gives the audience a taste of the world everyone is so curious about and obsessed with: a sneak peak into the making of the Harry Potter films as well as the coveted personal bits that show us Felton not Draco. It was a treat to see moments from the acting giants he grew up around. People such as Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Warwick Davis, Gary Oldham, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Jason Isaacs, and so many more. But even more than that, the real treat was seeing how these people impacted Felton and what he learned from them, both professionally and personally.
Felton explains the profound effect and influence these people had on him as a boy and how they impacted who he is today. This is the other part of the book that was my favorite: how Felton focused on the invaluable relationships in his life, reflected on these pivotal memories, and grew. That’s what really stood out to me: the lessons he’s taken away from his experiences. The people around us, the experiences we live all shape us and form us into who we are. Felton obviously had some amazing people and experiences (including the more “mundane” ones that make him so relatable. His family felt like real life Weasleys, which was so cool!).
I enjoyed watching the paradigm shift of “are you rich” unfold and how he found his way back to himself and home (not just physically, but this sense and feeling of belonging and rightness), how he rediscovered his value system and shifted back to who he was when he started. He learned and grew and valued people rather than getting lost in the materialism of the world around him. Seeing what he learned from all his experiences, his reflections, and how he grew and changed–that was what made the book special.
Structurally, the memoir is a collection of moments, stories. I’d be curious to see why Felton chose to organize the book the way he did (why he started with the memory he did and ordered everything else the way he did). It felt like we skipped around (chronologically) a tad bit and though there was an obvious climax, it kind of just ended. We meandered from memory to memory and then there was the last one and we were done. So the pacing felt a little off there at the end for me, like we didn’t quite get a resolution or main point. That said, the whole collection of memories was fascinating and expertly told. I guess I just missed seeing if there was a cohesive point or thread that wove everything together, other than that they’re all Felton’s experiences. But perhaps the point was just that he’s a normal guy and that people and life has shaped him, that he’s grown just like the rest of us.
In terms of content: There are several uses of the f-word (He’s English XD) And he did touch on some heavier topics like mental health and addiction. But as I mentioned, he balanced the heavy topics with humor and this crazy weird childhood experience with such relatable, normal experiences that we all have. He covered depth as well as the beauty of simple living and appreciating what is good and right in the world, sharing the weight of what he’s experienced and the truth of what he’s learned. There’s no explicit romance or graphic violence. I’d feel comfortable giving the book to a 17ish year old (depending on how you feel about the language).