1 post tagged “potter”
There are no spoilers in this post, so relax. It's OK to read even if you haven't read the first book.
I finished the last Harry Potter book at 5 a.m., with a mix of sadness and excitement. J.K. Rowling has done such a remarkable jog of creating a seven-volume epic, and I will miss the thrill of a new book coming out. I will miss pondering the mysteries of how things work out.
Speaking as a writer, I'm amazed by Rowling. The pop-culture sensation created by the HP series has often obscured the fact that she is a great writer. Sure, plenty of writers have done a series with seven or more books, but they're generally distinct stories that are only closely connected. Though I don't want to drag out the comparison, Rowling worked in the spirit of Lord of the Rings, telling one story over seven volumes. Things that happened in the first book, some that seemed inconsequential at the time, became crucial factors in the last book. Also similar to Tolken, she created a world in great detail.
The Harry Potter series also redefined children's books, in that they really aren't children's books. They are great stories that appeal to children and adults — could enough that children will push their reading levels. If there is one reason children gravitated to the books, I'd guess it it's because the kids in the books took on real challenges and rose to the occasion. Rowling never played them down as children. Some of the characters did, but the key ones, including the order, realized and valued their contributions and leadership — something that adults in the real world often fail to do.
Rowling is not a simplistic writer. Her character, despite their abilities to cast a cool patronus, are human. The series is no simple tail of good and evil. All the characters are a mix of both, flawed and human. The possible exception being Voldemort — someone who wasn't born evil but made himself evil. Rowling showed the failings of here wisest characters and glimpses of humanity in her darkest. Growing up, Harry learns what all of us learn: That those he respected the most, his parents, Dumbledore, his godfather, were all human and flawed. They were admirable people who didn't always act admirably.
And Rowling treated her young readers with the same respect she treated her young characters. Conventional wisdom said that you could get children to stick with a story that spanned seven volumes and more than 3,000 pages. A lot of people made a lot of money proving that wrong.
Alas, though, the last books is out, and it has wrapped up in a way that makes a true sequel impossible. I will miss the characters who I've gotten to know, and I will miss the pondering over what will befall them, and I will miss the excitement of the next book coming out. Most of all, though, I will miss giving up precious sleep because I just need to know what happens in the next chapter.
For those of you who haven't touched these books, because they look like just another pop culture fad, they're great novels, great works of literature, that just happened to become a cultural sensation.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione: I'll miss you.
