September 12, 2007
In Your Face J.K. Rowling!
To all you Potterites out there, read this. I have no problem with the books, per se, but I abhor the hype surrounding these middling to good books. They are not the be all and end all of children's literature, nor are they a solution to the reading problem of the English -speaking youth. Nor are they the savior of a the much maligned fantasy genre. Harry Potter is simply fun fiction. I don't think they will endure as long as Lewis or Dahl. Harry Potter still needs to pass the generational test. Is it enjoyable from generation to generation? It's a tough test, I'm not sure Potter can take it.
OK, now feel free to hate on me in the comments below.
Posted by John on September 12, 2007 03:39 PM | Posted to Fantasy | Literature and LanguageShare:
Interesting, Otter. I am a Potter fan (yep, I wrote my SIP about Harry!) and loved, loved, loved the last book. AND I never really liked Dahl. He's too...anti-parent, anti-adult. He casts all parents as terrible dropouts or terrible tormentors of the virtuous, unsullied child. At least Rowling has some variety in her adult characters.
AND call me heretical, but I don't like Tolkien either. Or Austen. (Now I may be banned from your blog forever! Yikes.)
Posted by: Krista on September 12, 2007 03:56 PMI just might have to, you know. :-) I'm not real a Dahl fan either, but it was interesting to see that for all the hype and publishing bonanza of Rowling, she hasn't beat out those guys Dahl and Lewis. A Couple of guys who only did moderately well when their books first came out, unlike Rowling.
I really just wonder what her staying power is, since she hasn't had the chance to stand the test of time as a writer. If my kids like her when they are old enough to read Potter, then I'll be mopre ready to concede her authority.
Of course, I think the books are pretty fun, but haven't really enjoyed them all that much myself. It's all about personal taste, I guess.
Posted by: John on September 12, 2007 04:01 PMI think the jury will still be out and we just won't know until time has past. I do think that the key will be, will the children that have read Rowling today, be encouraging their children to read it tomorrow.
Posted by: bill on September 12, 2007 04:19 PMBill - very true.
Posted by: John on September 12, 2007 04:28 PMI'm interested to see if the Potter books have staying power. For what its worth, I'm in the process of re-reading the whole series, and I don't often take the time to do that. I was quite impressed with the last book in particular.
Posted by: Erik on September 13, 2007 12:38 AMI really do need to read all the Potter books. My wife doesn't approve of them so I generally avoid bringing them into her house.
(Although if she knew some of the other stuff I read, Potter wouldn't look so bad.)
It's the magic thing, by the way. The fact that "real" spells are used in the book. We are still discussing that fact. I'll probably get to reading 'em when my kids are old enough to read.
Posted by: John on September 13, 2007 08:24 AMActually, I found it odd that many slanted this article as a kind of swipe against Rowling. In light of how few living (or at least not close to departing) age made the list, and of those how recently her books have been published and circulated, the list shows how big an impression she has made, not how little.
*shrugs*
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