The world divides between those who think Harry Potter rubbish, and those who love it. In fact, this could be further split, into those who feel this way about the books, and those who feel this way about the movies, or both. I personally find the books beneath contempt, amazing only in terms of their unprecedented cultural success, which renders them worthy of study if not approval; and the movies a dull second. It is good to see this series come to a close, as lifeless, draggy and ponderous as ever. As one critic put it, it is just one damn thing after another. The struggle between good and evil has never been more long-winded and lacking in dynamism. It is a sign of the weak-minded times that a whole generation grew up on this twaddle, when, for instance, previous generations had Tolkien, Lewis, and Frank Herbert, to enjoy.
A poem for my mother, July 15 When she was dying And I was in a different country I dreamt I was there with her Flying over the ocean very quickly, And arriving in the room like a dream And I was a dream, but the meaning was more Than a dream has – it was a moving over time And land, over water, to get love across Fast enough, to be there, before she died, To lean over the small, huddled figure, In the dark, and without bothering her Even with apologies, and be a kiss in the air, A dream of a kiss, or even less, the thought of one, And when I woke, none of this had happened, She was still far distant, and we had not spoken.
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J.K. Rowling is the first writer in human history to become a dollar billionaire through her literary endeavours so she must have been doing something right. (Think of all the publishers who turned her down!) I never read the books myself but I did buy copies for my nephew and niece.
Best wishes from Simon
thanks for sharing
martine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMjrXRgu8IU
Her handling of plot is far superior to Pullman's; for example, in Pullman's third book, during intense action passages, the narrative has to stop several times for things to be explained. When things are exciting, Rowling never has to explain anything, because she has already explained all the spells necessary in the action scenes earlier in the book. And she does so without anything having the slightest air of being "set up" for use later; the explanations of things are so fully incorporated into the plot that they never seem like foreshadowing. Top-flight handling of plot, that.
With age I come to understand how most of the time mediocrity rises to the top.