Allowable reader response was Re: Disappointed in Potter?

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 127745


 
>> Sherry now
> 
> Ok, i'm the one who said that if it ended up being a dream, i'd 
never wanted to read another book of JKR's.  that isn't saying that 
I dislike the books or feel i've wasted money or even time and 
emotional commitment to them.  In fact, it's a ridiculously silly 
reason, but here goes.  As a very little girl, i was traumatized by 
the ending of the movie the Wizard of Oz.  Ok, maybe traumatized is 
too strong a word, but even now, many years later, I can remember my 
terrible disappointment at the ending.  Oz didn't exist, not even 
for Dorothy.  it was all a concussion based dream.  wow!  Talk about 
feeling devastated.  I know that's crazy, but that's how it affected 
me.  So, i would feel terribly disappointed if the same thing 
happened with Harry Potter, unless he woke up into a far better 
world than the one of his dreams.  And even if he did, ... well, i 
don't think I'd be very happy about it.  I probably would not feel 
like I wanted to read future books by JKR, because I would think 
that she would not be likely to take future stories in directions 
that would leave me feeling satisfied after the read.  that still 
isn't meant to be critical of her, just to say i would not want to 
follow her down that road. She must write to please herself, even if 
it doesn't please me in the end.  But I would still love all that 
led up to it.  And I'd probably still read Harry Potter over and 
over again, up to the point of him waking from the dream!  


Alla:

Sherry, in my opinion you do NOT have to justify your unwillingness 
to reread the books if the ending turned out to be the dream one. In 
fact, in my opinion you do not have to justify ANY opinion about the 
books - positive or negative.

I love the books dearly and I have MUCH more positive to say about 
them then negative ( in fact, my opinions of first four books 
consist primarily of my love for them), but I absolutely refuse to 
stop expressing my negative opinions, because someone does not like 
them.

Yes, I probably will not feel comfortable if I were to read the 
total trashing the books, but frankly to me the right to express the 
opinion is much more important than  the fact that I may not like 
what I read . As long as of course I am not reading personal attacks 
towards other posters.


Yes, if Harry dies at the end, I most likely will not read the books 
again. Does it make me less of the fan? I think not. I will still 
cherish the books and introduce them to my kids, but because of the 
fact that I identify with Harry's character quite strongly, it will 
be simply quite depressing for me to reread all Harry's trials and 
tribulations knowing that no happy ending will follow.
 Suppose though that someone decides to take stronger position and 
say that because of that particular plot twist books are bad works 
of literature. Does it mean that such person should not be allowed 
to say it? I don't think so.

 
Sherry:
> And besides all that, I have confidence that JKR is going to make 
the next two books so wonderful and satisfying, that whatever she 
does with them, most of us will be completely with her and reveling 
in it all.  After all, she's done a great job of it so far.  


Alla:

I completely agree with you.

JMO,

Alla