Harry Potter
Every person under the age of 20 probably feels a strong link to the
Harry
Potter series in some fashion. The first book
came out in 1997, in America in 1998, and sold like crazy. Over the course of the last 10 years or so, the Harry Potter phenomenon has made J. K.
Rowling a billionaire, unheard of for an author to begin with, but for only seven books; astounding. The books spawned both a whole new reason for kids
to read books as big as War and Peace and a new reason to protest those same books as works of, well, I'm not quite sure. I mean, I don't ever remember
much about the devil and witches being in league with each other in the Bible, though I'm sure someone will point it out to me at some point. But I
remember the controversy from some circles saying the series of books promoted witchcraft; didn't anyone remember Casper the Friendly Ghost's best
friend Wendy the Witch?
This review is more for adults than kids, because the kids got it, in spades. I have met many adults who have said that their kids read this series, but
they didn't. Most thought these were, well, kid tales, and I'll admit that the first couple of books seemed to be just that. I own up to the reality that I
actually started with book three,
The
Prisoner of Askaban, then book four,
The
Goblet of Fire, before deciding to go back to the beginning. Probably, if a few more adults started in the middle of the series rather than at the end,
they'd have realized that, though it was a tale about kids, this easily wasn't a series meant for only kids.
In general, the story of Harry Potter is the ultimate story of good versus evil, with a twist. For once, the hero, Harry Potter, has courage but not much
overt talent. Harry isn't the strongest or the biggest or the smartest. He does turn out to be the bravest, but if you were the only wizard who couldn't be
killed by "he who must not be named", you might feel somewhat brave yourself. Thing is, this powerful wizard was the only one Harry couldn't thwart;
everyone else seemed to have his number, and it seems that his saving grace was that the ultimate villain, known as Lord Voldemort, had decreed that
no one but himself was allowed to kill Harry.
So, what's Harry Potter really about? In a nutshell, it's the story of a baby who survives an attempted mass murder by the most evil wizard in magical
history, and how these two souls both grow, in different ways, until it's time for them to come together in the ultimate battle that will determine the
direction of wizard life forevermore. During the series, Harry ages from 10 to 17, while Lord Voldemort, whose body was obliterated when he tried to
kill Harry, finds a way to put his soul back together, then his body, and finally accrue all the power he had before so that he can attain his version of
omnipotence. Along the way we get to see how this kid, who's actually 10 years behind everyone else because he never knew he was a wizard to begin
with, deals with his fame, then his infamy, along with his adolescence, and all the attempts on his life, and the lives of those around him.
The first two stories,
The
Sorcerer's Stone and The
Chamber of Secrets, really were more kid stories than anything else, and yet each of these stories had intrigue, scary moments (well, for kids anyway),
attempts at murder and mayhem, and of course some of the major introductions of characters and scenarios that, in their own way, would be revisited by
each subsequent story. The early books had to be relatively kid friendly, otherwise the franchise never would have taken off as it did.
Starting with story number three, the stories started getting a little darker and a little bit more adult. Sure, there were still fantasy items in the stories,
but after all, Harry was a wizard, and this was still the land of magic. But the stories started to explore more normal issues of adolescence and pressure to
fit in, without success, and more back themes were starting to become integrated into the series. Looking back, this was probably the pivotal tale in the
series, as Harry was now a teenager, starting to react to things more than embrace them or be awed by them. Books four and five started to set the stage
for things to come, with the themes of good and evil becoming a bit more defined and a bit more intense, and Harry now having to deal with the adult
themes of death, such as watching first his friend, then his godfather, be killed, and in book six, his mentor Dumbledoor.
By book seven,
The
Deathly Hallows, Harry has left school and gone on the run with his best friends, as Lord Voldemort and his minions have basically taken over the
government, killed indiscriminately, and named Harry as enemy number one, with a death notice on the head of his friends, but an ultimatum that Harry
be brought to him alive, so that he could exact his final revenge and, in the end, be known as the most powerful wizard of all time. This is when things
get interesting, because most of the final book goes back into history before Harry is born on some of the main characters, and it's truly more
psychological than most children's books are. And, in my mind, this is one of the most adult books I've ever read because of all the changing emotions
that come out. It's challenging because it's not always action packed, and at over 850 pages, I would be surprised that most kids would have read it and
clamored for it if they hadn't already been excited by its appearance. In my mind, the final books ranks as one of the best stories of all time, probably
because I knew everything else that had gone on already.
I haven't really told much about any of these stories, only giving a very sketchy review of the series, for two reasons. One, to go into any true depth of
these stories would make this review longer than the New York Times. Two, because if I haven't given enough to show that I fully recommend that
everyone, adults and kids, go and read these stories, then there's no sense in wasting my time telling anything more. How caught up did I get? The
final story took me less than a week to get through, even as large as it was, and even then I had to reread the final two chapters a second time, they
were that good.
There have been some critics who didn't like Rowlings style of writing; tough. If she had misspelled "London" every single time I wouldn't have cared,
and neither would any of the kids who read this series. This was a thoroughly engaging series, and knowing that these are probably the final tales has
already left me nostalgic. I will also recommend that you think about buying this series on CD, as the same person narrated the entire series and did
a wonderful job. There will never be another series like this one, and I think that's a shame. Adults might think the first two books in the series are a
little juvenile, but they're as important to the overall history as the other five books. I don't know what Ms. Rowlings is going to do next, but I hope she
finds another train, or that same train where she got this idea, and comes up with another winner.
