DH one year on (was Re: What did you like about Harry Potter?)

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 183801

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "hickengruendler" <hickengruendler at ...> 
wrote:

Hickengruendler
> I'm currently doing my exams at the university, and for my exam work at 
> home I chose the topic about the most popular children's books and why 
> grown ups like to read them as well.
> 
> So as a starting point, I would like to hear your reasons. What did you 
> like about Harry Potter and (as long as it doesn't become off-topic) 
> other children literature? What does particularly interest you in the 
> series?
> 
> It would be a great help, if you could answer the questions.
> 
> Thanks in advance,

Geoff:
It's interesting that you should ask this question because I had intended 
to start a thread with the above title on Monday, which was of course the 
anniversary of the publication of DH.

Unfortunately, as one or two people on the other groups know, fate and 
my appendix diverted me into hospital until Wednesday. While I was out 
of action in my ward, I decided to start reading the series again so am 
now sailing steadily through "Philosopher's Stone" and renewing my 
acquaintance with it, so I can belatedly marshal my thoughts.

Let me start by being general. I am a sucker for books which I can /enjoy/. 
Now this will cover children's books and also what I suppose you could label 
escapist or fantastic fiction. I would far sooner escape into a half-decent 
book of this type that a lot of the tripe which goes for adult fiction today. I 
still get a great deal of enjoyment from reading Winnie-the-Pooh because of 
the way it operates on two levels – one for the children and a much subtler 
one which sometimes only an adult can appreciate. 

But again, LOTR – which is not a children's book although its original 
genesis was intended to be that – and science fiction will meet my needs. I 
was away on holiday last week and read what I still personally consider is 
one of the best SF books I have ever encountered: John Wyndham's "The 
Kraken Wakes".

Obviously, children's books come within my remit. I have mentioned more 
than once Alan Garner's books "The Weirdstone of Brisingamen" and "The 
Moon of Gomrath" which draw on similar material to Tolkien and Lewis and 
more recently, of course, Harry.

So, I want to enjoy. I am perhaps naïve and like a fairly straightforward 
story line; I don't like situations where you are left wondering whether a 
character is a goodie or a baddie which is why I dislike Daphne du Maurier's 
"My Cousin Rachel" for example.

But, let's get down to the nitty-gritty. Harry. I came to Harry through the 
"Chamber of Secrets" film which I saw by chance just after release  and which 
led me to the first film and the four books which were then available. Right 
from the start, I was gradually introduced to the Wizarding World, which 
basically came into my ken fully-fledged with a life of its own and a 
fascinatingly simple yet enchanting life of its own – obviously as seen 
through the eyes of a deprived eleven year old boy for whom everything 
had been painted in sombre, restrictive colours.

The though only occurred to me today for the first time that there is a 
similarity between this and he opening chapters of "The Fellowship of the 
Ring". I should point out that I never read "The Hobbit" until many years 
after I first discovered JRRT about 1955 and so the opening of the latter 
book has that same feel to it.

But then, you begin to realise that the world has flaws. The reason for Harry's 
life with the Dursleys is revealed and the vague, dark shadow of Voldemort 
lurks in the wings. We find that the Shire is guarded and that the vague, 
dark shadow of Mordor lurks in the wings. But the books still retain a clarity, 
a crispness, a naïvité as time goes on. Although both Harry and Frodo go 
through hard places there are still those moments such as Sam pointing 
out the star glimmering above the cloud-wrack of Mordor to remind 
them of higher things.

This is not perhaps so well-defined in HP all the time, but if you ask me 
why I like the books, it is because I reach the end feeling that I have gone 
through a huge experience - a huge pilgrimage - with Harry and his 
companions and have emerged the better for it. Considering the books as 
a whole, I must be truthful and say that there are sections which I do not 
like. But this is true of Tolkien and also of Lewis. No book can be written 
to satisfy every reader. This had to be said a year ago when a very vociferous 
group of readers failed to see any virtue in DH and allowed that to 
retrospectively colour their ongoing view of the series.

The fact remains that, for me, the ongoing march of DH's story line from 
"The Forest Again" to the magical sunrise over the window-sill onto the 
final face off between Harry and Voldemort rounds off for me what 
proudly stands alongside LOTR and Narnia on the bookshelf on /my/ 
window-sill as some of the best reading material I have come across.