Tuesday, July 24, 2007

The End of a Great Era...........

OK one fact before i begin anything.................
IM THE GREATEST FAN OF HARRY POTTER ..............................(means i'm probably one of the millions who think the same :P..LOLLLZZZ......)

I live HP,I talk HP, in short HP is in my blood(sort of like the Quidditch in harry's i guess...)

Anyway,
Rather than talk about the 7th book, since a few of my friends are still in progress, I have some thoughts about the series in general.

The thing that has most impressed me about the series has been the complexity. Characters aren't completely good or evil.(Move over फास्तर फेने ) Harry gets whiny and angsty, Ron is a bit of a jerk throughout the series. Fred and George can be disturbingly cold and calculating, Wormtail is more pathetic than bad, Draco is pitiable with hints of a truly ominous home life, etc. Too many books and movies, for kids and adults, shy away from complexity, as if we wouldn't get it if they didn't attached big "GOOD GUY" and "BAD GUY" signs to everything. The success of this series proves to me that people, especially kids, don't need things dumbed down like that.

I also really like the realism of it. Yes, the magic is outlandish, and yes, Hermione explaining the background of everything via "Hogwarts: A History" is frequently contrived, but for the most part the characters and their interactions with each other are very real.(Yeah this is the first time in my life that im criticising something remotely related to Hermione...never again though surely.......Its an unbreakable vow then.. ;P) I'm sure that everyone read some portion of Harry being locked in the cellar or his room by his family, or being ostracized and feared by his classmates, and didn't relate to his isolation on some level. Everyone, particularly at this age, feels alone, and Harry's story captured that feeling very well, even if in more extreme circumstances (hopefully!) than most of us have been though ourselves.

I'm incredibly impressed with J.K. R's attention to detail and patience. Hints are dropped and important points set up books in advance, and while I know there are some consistency errors here and there (with that many pages total in all the books, there would have to be!) she did a fantastic job of making all seven books a consistent whole. I mean i still remember the evening before the big day confidently agreeing with Praju that "all the questions from the first book are now definitely answered !!" Shit..... can anyone BE more mistaken(as Chandler would say ..... :P)


You know i don't even mind mocked for being so much into children's books ,the truth is HP series is not childrens' and it takes an adult to realise that(:P).........

3 comments:

Ameya said...

The Magician Behind Harry Potter


Joanna Kathleen Rowling or J.K.Rowling is truly the magician behind the world famous book series Harry Potter. The writer, who is richer than the Queen of England today, has literally cast a spell on children all over the world.
The stories are of an ordinary boy who finds on his eleventh birthday that he is a wizard. He finds out that his parents were killed by the
Most feared dark wizard Lord Voldemort (or You-Know-Who as he is called). The seven book series is a journey of the boy who finds about his past in every year in school.
The most obvious reason why children AND grown-ups love a Potter book is that it is a great read. J.K.Rowling is a wonderful storyteller and the books are simply unputdownable. The idea of readers watching Harry grow before their eyes with each book is itself original. Fantasy and magic always fascinate and these books are about them.. Readers are also taken by her imagination. There are Dementors who suck the happiness in the air. The there is Pensieve, a shallow stone basin whose contents are “like light made liquid or like the wind made solid”,the Horcruxes and finally in last book,another of her creation….The Deathly Hallows.
Like any other person, Harry Potter suffers, and though he knows magic, he is vulnerable and makes mistakes like any other schoolboy does. That is one more reason why Potter books appeal to all of us who blunder through life, managing somehow. A lot of people feel that Potter books are “one more children book series” (without having slightest idea about the storyline, one might add.) but since there is a child in every one of us, it is more than worth a read.

Praj ~ said...

Hey Salil, Very very nicely penned...
great post...
What I like the most abt JKR is the overall linking of events...
awesome...
I when you realize the linkage then that feeling is AWESOME while reading...

May be thats y i'm right now preferring HIMYM over FRIENDS...

n btw Ameya... You are supposed to write comment here... not Post... hehe :P

Anonymous said...

hey!
Great Writing!!!
Dada naa (Aho) aani baba na nakki vaachaayalaa de he...
As for me, you have really made this series come alive with minute personality intricacies of different characters.
I just want to say that as you have devoured these books, go ahead and start exploring other books on different topics. I am sure you would enjoy that :)