Why read Harry Potter

[Rachel Ellington]

No: HPFGUIDX 142796

RE says:
What a great question!
I can honestly say, I shunned reading HP P/SS when it came out and became a popular book.  In general, I am distrustful of popular books and have never taken a liking to fantasy/sci fi.  I have been an avid reader all of my life.  I've read all manner of books from classical to so called chic "lit" (small wretching noise from me, no offense to anyone who enjoys this genre).  I read to be entertained, enlightened, educated, or engrossed in something other than my own life.  That said, there are times when I want a read that I don't have to sift through and ponder and struggle with (Steppenwolfe comes to mind).  For that reason, I picked up the first Harry Potter right after OOTP came out.  I had never seen the movie, read the book, nothing.  I knew that my now small children would be anxious to read these books one day  and I wanted to see about the hype. I had also heard a religious conservative calling for a ban on the books, saying they were promoting "satan worship". I have always considered these sorts of crusades to be distasteful where books are concerned and I doubted seriously that HP was promoting satan worship.  At the least, if it was, I was interested to see how a children's book got around being published with that sort of agenda. (Snicker, snicker).  It reminded me a bit of high school when I had to get permission to read Catcher in the Rye.  Ban a book and I will read it!  

What a shocking surprise!  I plowed through SS in a few days (no small feat w/ little children underfoot!) and was utterly delighted by the book and how engrossed I was with the book. I was hooked. I decided that JKR was quite a talented writer for holding my imagination and creating an entire world that run alongside and intertwined with ours.

Lucky for me, I did not have to wait for the other books to come out. I bought those, plowed through them, read through OOTP twice, listened to them all on tape/cd (why does Bellatrix have a thick accent?  Isn't she a Black by birth?) and then groaned that I would  have to wait so long for the next one.  I for one, enjoyed OOTP. I was terribly saddened to see Sirius go, but I loved the utter mess some of the characters seem to be.  I thoroughly enjoyed the teenage rants and the adult rants and bad judgements.  Umbridge made me highly uncomfortable, masquerading as someone working for the good of children, but even that is strikingly lifelike.  
But as Lupinlore mentioned about HBP:

Lupinlore said:
It is true that OOTP was, IMO, an utter disaster, and HBP found me 
losing 90% if my respect for JKR's writing skills as she essentially 
dealt with the issues raised by OOTP by firmly turning her back on 
them, closing her eyes, sticking her fingers in her ears, and 
screaming "LA! LA! LA!  I CAN'T HEAR YOU OOTP ISSUES!  YOU NEVER 
HAPPENED!" at the top of her lungs.  

RE says:
What happened?  It seems disconnected from OOTP, with many seemingly frivolous details (Tonks, Fleur), too much kissy face, and far too much Snape for my tastes.  I have had a hard time picking it up to read again while I was anxious to read the others again.  I agree with Lupinlore that OOTP issues are clearly ignored.  

That said, I think JKR is a gifted writer, but I do believe any writer would be stretching to their limits at this point.  I am reminded of Anne Rice, whose first few books I loved as a college student. But to me they got progressively thinner and thinner and each ending to me was poor and just a chance for yet another thin book.  HBP as well seems thin in a way to me because all of a sudden we have  a QUEST for horcruxes..with only one book left and so many questions about Harry's loved ones.  I would have preferred to see an introduction to horcruxes earlier on in the series....Of course, there are parts of the books that make me groan, like SPEW and Grawp.  But all in all, JKR provides a good entertaining story and that is no small feat in today's world.  And it is quite easy to just put a book down if you don't enjoy it, as I have done many times in my life.

Just my two cents and please excuse the long post,
RE





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