Harry Potter - WTF?

[jeriendhal]

I have come to a conclusion. I simply don't "get" the Harry Potter phenomenon.


At the urging of Tracy I read Philosopher's/Sorceror's Stone, and while it seemed an okay book, it didn't particularly overwhelm me. Sure, the book was well written, it's (supposedly) going to end at Book Seven, and the idea of combining magic with the traditional British School story was a stroke of inspiration, but the book did not hit me in the gut like some have (ie: LMB's "Mirror Dance", RAH's "The Rolling Stones") After reading PS, I didn't feel particularly enthused to read the rest of the series, and I only watched the first two movies because Tracy bought them herself.

So forgive me if I simply do not understand why grown adults, much less children, treat each utterance from JKR as a missive from the Pope, and each book is worthy of adulation on the order of Tolkien rising from the grave and doing a fourth book in the Lord of the Rings.

It gets even wierder when you toss fanfic into the blender, with people arguing themselves blue in the face over such and such bit being canon or not, and whether JKR is writing a balanced portrayal of Slytherians or blatantly playing favorites (patently obvious villians in a children's book? Who'da thunk?)

I don't get it. I don't get the phenomenon. I don't get the books. I don't get the fanfics. I just don't get it. It's a series of childrens books on the order of The Hardy Boys or (and I'm being generous) The Wizard of Earthsea, not the freaking Holy Bible. Why are people so wrapped up in this series?

Comments

[jvowles.livejournal.com]

It isn't required that you *get* it.

To me, the books were grand because they recaptured the bits that have *always* won me over in kid-lit: a sympathetic hero, an injustice that he's doomed to correct, a glimpse of a world more magical and interesting than our own.

Furthermore, I appreciate them as an adult becuase:

1. They don't talk down to the reader. In fact, as the books progress, they become more complex, featuring more shades of grey and less obvious motives and plot twists.

2. Despite number one, they offer (mostly) a team to root for and a team to hate. And yet, those teams are not without weak links, failures, and mistakes.

3. If you've only read the first book and failed to be charmed by it, you've missed out on the the actual growth and development that these kids (and even the adults) undergo. While it's always clear that the Durstleys are smallminded and petty, there is something about them that emerges much later that surprised me while making something FINALLY make sense about that whole situation; and while it's clear that the Malfoys are evil-minded scheming bigots and racial purists, that is not necessarily true of Slytherin -- whom, you'll recall, is the OTHER school with a claim on Harry's loyalties, since he can talk to snakes. And yet....Snape, while petty, has reasons for acting the way he does. And Dumbledore's motives and actions become increasingly murky, if subtly so.

4. The books mature with the reader and the main characters -- something almost unknown in literature (with Madeleine L'Engle being a possible example).

5. They managed to catch the attention of the kids, and get them not only enthusiastic about reading, but literally BEGGING for the next one. And that infection has made school teachers, librarians, and parents everywhere intensely grateful.

Are they perfect books? Heavens no. Few books are, not even my beloved Tolkien. But they're vastly entertaining.

I resisted for years, myself, largely out of irritation at the incredible popularity of the books when I wworked for Waldenbooks -- until a blizzard and few options left me trapped with the first book for several hours; within a week, I'd digested the next two. I have since eagerly awaited each new book as they've been released, and especially after the last story, I'm eager to see how Harry, Ron, Hermione, and company end the book cycle, and what sorts of young adults they'll wind up being. Harry in particular begins to show the strain of all the pressure on him and mixed with usual teenage angst and hormonal rage, reveals a darkness that brings depth to this otherwise heroic boy (if you've seen the third movie, it's hinted at). It makes him more interesting.

Get past the hype, if you can, and just read them for what they are. They really do improve dramatically after the first book -- the weakest of the lot, frankly, despite its many charms and worldbuilding brushstrokes.

[cleverthylacine]

Heh. Except for Harry himself and his immediate circle, I don't see any good guys anywhere in that universe. For my opinion of Albus Dumbledore please see icon.