HP religion debates (mostly OT)

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 8588


Caius Marcus wrote:

>As for Pullman, I've been put off on reading him not due to his religious 
>stance, but because of the critics  every reviewer
I>'ve
>seen feels compelled to throw in some snide anti-HP remark, implying that 
>HP is mere cheez-whiz on white bread compared to the intoxicating medley of 
>Amber Spyglass flavors.

The same thing has irritated me no end (but, me being hooked on Pullman 
already, it hasn't been enough to put me off).  I'd urge you not to let the 
smug critics (shall we call them Percys?) sway you one way or the other.  I 
am not sure why Pullman reviewers feel the need to mention HP at all.  It 
makes no more sense than reviewing Hamlet and throwing in a gratuitous 
comment about Pullman's failure to match Shakespeare's subtlety and skill, 
or reviewing The Cat in the Hat and comparing it unfavorably to Harry Potter 
because it is intended for a younger audience, therefore necessarily less 
complex.  In short--and I sincerely hope I am not offending anyone 
here--some  books ARE more complex, multilayerd, allusive, philosophical, 
etc. than others.  JKR's books ARE less complex (etc.) than Pullman's 
trilogy, in my view.  So what?  Does that mean I can't read both for the 
joys they have to offer?  I read The Cat in the Hat, too.  It isn't likely 
to change my life profoundly, but it is a fine work of fiction for children 
and thoroughly enjoyable for adults.

In other words, I think there are books out there more complex and 
(therefore) ultimately rewarding than HP, but I see no reason to stop 
reading HP, much less trash it, because of that (to me) self-evident fact.  
We each and all read for many, many reasons.

Okay, now I have my whole speech ready for the day my classically-educated 
dad asks me why I'm "wasting time" reading HP.

Amy

P.S. Thanks, CM, for the "anti-Deist reading list"!  As a spiritual 
descendent of the Deists, I'm intrigued.  Add 'em to the growing list of 
must-reads. . .

P.P.S.  And also thanks for reminding us, as Ebony also did very eloquently 
by example a while back, that not all evangelicals think alike (they're not 
all fundamentalists either).
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