[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Urgent email opinions request from journalist in Chile (about Potter adult fans)

[marcelo cordoba]

Many thanks for your help!

--- Sternel <starling823 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > 1. In an article published by The Orlando Sentinel
> about Nimbus
> > 2003, it says that individuals on that event were
> "college 
> professors
> > and college students, advertising copywriters and
> unemployed 
> computer
> > consultants, substitute teachers and wanna-be
> teachers. They've come
> > from California and New York, Australia and
> England. Above all else,
> > they are Harry Potter fans. And they are adults".
> First of all:
> > Could you tell me how did you get fascinated by
> the saga of this 
> small
> > kid? And how could you explain that many adults
> feel fascinated by a
> > book with a kid as a protagonist? From that point
> of view: Do you
> > agree with miss Rowling when she says that "it is
> my sense of humour
> > in the books, not what I think children will find
> funny, and I 
> suppose
> > that would explain some of the appeal to adults"?
> 
> I first read Harry Potter after a boyfriend
> recommended them to me, 
> and I fell in love with them instantly. I really
> can't explain why 
> they enraptured me so much.  I think despite the
> protagonist being a 
> child, all the characters are well-depicted --
> adults as well as 
> children, all seen through Harry's eyes. I think
> what we are reacting 
> to is this story of someone trying to make sense of
> the world around 
> him; that's something we all have experienced, and
> we all understand.
>  I agree with Rowling's statement; there is a
> definate sense of humor 
> running throughout these books that make reading
> them enjoyable.  If 
> not for that tongue-in-cheek quality, people
> wouldn't want to return 
> to them.  
> 
> 
> > 
> > 2. From that point of view: Which are the elements
> of the books that
> > you feel as most appealing to you? Stories,
> characters? Do you think
> > that this is a good read for any adult? You think
> no one should feel
> > ashamed of reading these "child" books?
> 
> The characters are what keeps me reading; they are
> multilayered and 
> rich, and we discover new things about them in every
> book.  JKR's 
> characterizations are one of the strongest aspects
> of Harry Potter.  
> I don't think one should be ashamed of reading a
> 'child's' book as an 
> adult -- if it's good enough for you as a child,
> what should that 
> change as an adult?  A good story is a good story,
> and if it's 
> written on a level children can understand but with
> depth that adults 
> can appreciate, it allows a wider audience to
> appreciate it, both 
> seperately and together. 
> 
> 
> > 3. Bloomsbury spokeswoman Lucy Chapman said in an
> article from BBC
> > that she "thinks that adults can find another
> level in the Potter
> > books". She said that people can read "into the
> mythology that runs
> > through the novels, they pick up on more, such as
> the Latin school
> > mottos." Do you think that is a key for success
> between adults? From
> > that same point of view: It is possible to think,
> like mister Joel
> > Rickett - news editor of the Bookseller website-
> says, that 
> the "Harry
> > Potter phenomenon also coincided with a time when
> it became
> > fashionable for adults to indulge in children's
> activities, such as
> > computer games"?.
> 
> The word games and puns, the references to history,
> the mythological 
> background are all terrific aspects and has actually
> increased my 
> education -- my Latin has gotten more use since I
> stopped studying it 
> in school, I have begun to pursue mythology outside
> of the Greco 
> Roman myths I learned as a child, and have learned a
> great deal of 
> comparative religion as I read about the responses
> of various 
> organized religions to the series.  
> 
> > 
> > 4. Mister Rickett also says that the aura
> surrounding the author as
> > a factor in Harry Potter's appeal to an adult
> audience. "The books 
> are
> > the product of one person which gives them an air
> of authenticity.
> > The romantic image of a single mother writing
> stories in a caf is
> > appealing.", he says. What do you think about
> that?
> 
> I knew nothing about Rowling when I first read the
> books.  I did not 
> learn of her background until after I had sought out
> the first three 
> volumes, so that statement isn't valid at all in my
> case.
> 
> > 
> > 5. "Families were going into bookshops and buying
> up multiple copies
> > on the first day of sale. Adults could not wait
> for the paperback
> > grown-up version to come out," said a Bloomsbury
> spokesperson. Have
> > you gone to midnight sales and waited for the
> books like hundreds of
> > kids? Do you remember any story or anecdote about
> those events or
> > about being an adult fan of Potter? Have you gone
> with your family
> > to buy the books?
> 
> I waited with friends on line at the Toys'R'Us in
> Times Square for 
> the release of Order of the Phoenix.  We were able
> to hear Jim Dale, 
> the narrator of the audiobooks, do a reading and had
> our books by 
> 12:30 am.  We went in costumes, and had a great time
> -- it made that 
> last bit of waiting enjoyable rather than a chore. 
> I hope we're able 
> to repeat the experience for the next book.
> 
> > 
> > 6. In the Order of Phoenix Harry is much more
> mature than in the
> > first one. How do you react on this progressive
> growing process? You
> > think this could make him loose some appeal?
> 
> I'm very glad JKR is writing him this way.  Part of
> what I love about 
> her characterization of Harry is the realistic
> nature of it.  If she 
> hadn't matured Harry that realism would be lost and
> the story would 
> ring false to me.  
> 
> Sternel (Abigail) age 23
> Long Island, New York.
> 
> 
> 
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