Kudos to J. K. Rowland
Read more articles on Fiction and Let Me Share With You.September 30, 2007
Posted by Karen Amato Schwartz
September 30, 2007
Posted by Karen Amato Schwartz
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Well, I have finally finished the last Harry Potter book. I must say that I’d love to meet J. K. to thank her not only for providing me with months of reading pleasure, but for doing a great service to her story’s main characters. I think she is phenomenal.
I have procrastinated reading this last foray into the world she has created because I wanted to hold off facing the end for as long as possible. The thought of it being over distressed me. I had read the first 4 books 3 times each, and had seen all but the last movie several times. (Books 5 and 6 had only been read twice each, but nevertheless, I’m a pretty die-hard Potter fan.)
Anyway, I kept gasping in amazement as I read book 7 and found how so much from the first 6 books tied in to the rationale behind the way she wrote the finale. Perhaps I had forgotten a few details, or perhaps because so much time had lapsed, but I found myself going “Aha!” as I realized the whole picture. Now, so much made sense! Areas that seemed incongruent now had a purpose, and characters’ motives could be put to rest.
It makes me wonder if J. K. knew the ending before she began this 12 or 15 years ago. If so, how could she have had the patience to wait until now to enlighten us readers? Was she sure that all 7 would be published? No, I think that she is just a superbly creative story teller and built on her nuances and suggestions from the past to weave a laudable and thrilling ending.
Now, there were a few parts that I questioned, but that’s OK; writers don’t necessarily need to spell everything out for us. After all, it is their story. Just as in life, we don’t really have much say except to accept things and move on. Another aspect that I find admirable is that Ms. Rowland writes in a manner that isn’t too simplified for adults, but not too obscure for kids. That in itself is a priceless skill. I like, too, the way she handled the main trio’s adventure; they could never have been put in the setting even a few years earlier, as they would have been too young, emotionally, and their powers not developed enough for what they had to face. One thing I did notice: the kids, in this book, swore more than they did previously, did you notice? And they used the term “snog” for kissing, which, as I’m told by a British friend, is not a very nice term. So, we sense the kids’ coming of age in a manner that is not inappropriate at all.
All in all, I loved it. The only way I found even a bit unsettling was the very end…As wonderful as it was, I think I’d like to remember Harry, Ron and Hermione as perpetual teenagers, but again, the blending of realism into a book about magic is what makes this such a powerful series. I don’t think too many writers are worth millions, but, in this case, I think the Harry Potter series is one in a million and its creator deserves her paycheck.
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