NO SPOILERS BELOW
Bill asked:
Question one: did you see the NY Times review that appeared earlier in the week of publication? [snip] I was intrigued by the reviewer’s mention of all Rowling’s literary sources and antecedents, some of which I’d caught and some of which I hadn’t. The reviewer seemed to treat her writing as “literature”. So my real question (query two, et seq.) is, Do you think of Rowling’s Harry Potter cycle as “literature”? What do you like about it? And what (if anything) don’t you like?
Bill, you’re asking the Lit major who wrote her senior thesis on James Hilton’s Lost Horizon. What do you think?
I love the Harry Potter books. I started reading them my senior year in college and I loved them from the first. My favorite book is the third one, Prisoner of Azkabaan. There is a scene near the end of that book which remains one of my favorite moments in all of literature. I think Rowling is a top-notch storyteller, and the world she writes about is richly drawn, endlessly imaginative, and a gorgeous reinterpretation of cultural legends.
It owes to much to an entire tradition of children’s literature that came before it (boarding school stories, Roald Dahl, fairy tales) and spawned an enrmouse explosion of children’s literature. I read the New York Times article today (link — WITH SPOILERS: here) and I found it very interesting. I agree with much of what the reviewer said. I’ve actually been talking about her Dickensian way with names for years. I doubt it will surprise anyone that I think taking something and remixing it and making it new is one of my favorite things about great literature. (Once again, I reference Lost Horizon.)
I’m also in awe of her ability to write sport. I remember skipping over action sequences and “battle scenes” in books when I was a kid because I just never found them very interesting. Not so with Rowling’s Quidditch matches. They were so well-written, so thrilling!
Are there things I don’t like about the books? Certainly. Nothing’s perfect. There were plot developments that weren’t my favorite and there are certain aspects of Rowling’s writing style
that I’m not fond of (she really likes adverbs in her dialogue tags). But I don’t know how much was me thinking about it as a storyteller and going, “Well, I wouldn’t have done that.”
Now, about “literature.” I’m really glad you put that in quotes. I hate that question. How silly is it? What’s literature? Who decides? Haven’t we gotten over the whole “but is it art?” thing in the last century, or do we need new mind game artists to come in and skewer critics on their own biased kabobs? Does it depend on what particular branch of literary theory you’re hanging out on today? A few weeks ago, I hung out with a young woman who was writing her master’s thesis on Harry Potter and reader response theory.
Here’s what I think about “literature”: I think it’s decided by posterity, who is in a much better position to figure this stuff out. I wonder if Harry Potter shall be viewed in the future much like Robinson Crusoe is now, as a seminal turning point in its time for the development of the novel.
What do you all think? (Please refrain from revealing any spoilers in the comments section.)
July 26th, 2007 at 8:30 am
Posting here b/c I can’t post on the HP quiz one for some reason. I did not end up being Hermione Granger. According to the quiz, I am Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy! What the–! Although I do secretly want to be him, how did the quiz know???
July 26th, 2007 at 8:41 am
Well, to be perfectly honest, I haven’t read any of the HP books, which is a bit amusing since fantasy is one of my preferred genres to read. The phenomenon that is Harry has certainly been an entertaining and interesting process to watch however. I think, Diana, that you may have hit something there about HP being a turning point. Look at what Star Wars did to the movie industry. It didn’t break any new ground as far as story went. It was a very basic good versus evil plot which had great characters set in a very imaginative, well rendered world. It had its foibles and shortcomings, but then what doesn’t? It just came along at the right time and hit the right note with the movie-going masses. I think Rowling did the same thing. She struck a chord and those with the ability to do so (the media) took it to a new level. We now have the ‘blockbuster’ novel. I think publishing has probably seen now with stories like Potter and DaVinci Code, how to spin the right idea up into the stratosphere. Now, if only there was a way for us writers to see what that next ‘right’ idea might be.
JDuncan
http://www.jimduncan.com
July 26th, 2007 at 8:47 am
Harry Potter IS Star Wars (the original trilogy). A sprawling, epic coming-of-age saga set in a richly detailed alternative world. Exciting action scenes, archetypal characters, and a complex plot revolving around political intrigue and good old fashioned good vs. evil. Of course, that means we have to spend the rest of JKR’s career in fear of her Jar Jar.
July 26th, 2007 at 9:18 am
I think HP has all the hallmarks of literature, and that JK Rowling is an amazing talent. IMO, the book and the series as a whole are experty crafted, and the result is the closest thing to perfect I’ve ever seen in a book. Reading it as a reader is exhilarating; reading it as a writer is humbling.
As for using adverbs, IMO that’s just another one of those writing “rules” that were made to be broken. If it works, it works, and for JK Rowling, it certainly does. Looking back over all 7 books I have to say — I wouldn’t change a single word.
July 26th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Lol, I just took the quiz, and I’m Harry.
July 26th, 2007 at 9:36 am
Me too, Phyllis!! I get to snog Ginny Weasley!!
*Bill walks on air*
Oh, and thanks for the great post, Diana! Perceptive and pointed, as always.
July 26th, 2007 at 11:25 am
Great post, Diana!
As for if HP is “literature” or not…of course it is! In the 19th century, Dickens was essentially writing his novels chapter-by-chapter through newspaper columns. Today, that would be sneered at, but it was popular; people recognized something in the writing that struck a chord with them…and they still do. JK Rowling will still be read in the 22nd century, so yes, I think she is definitely “literature.”
And - surprise! - I’m Hermione too. I don’t think I’ve ever taken one of these quizzes and not been Hermione!
July 26th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
I’m Harry Potter? Hm. Didn’t think I was the type.
I’m kind of in agreement about the whole “what is literature” question. I do think there is a difference, but I don’t necessarily think it’s the author who gets to make that call. In my English Lit program, we always joked that you aren’t a “classic” til your dead. Harry Potter-wise? I have a sneaking suspicion it will widely read for generations to come - and dare I say that it will continue to draw criticism both good and bad? My younger brother has grown up alongside Harry Potter, and my own son is already hooked at the age of seven. (He’s seen none of the movies because I felt he was too young, but he just picked it up off my bookshelf this summer and started reading!)
July 26th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
I’m Ginny Weasley. Just my luck to be the one always waiting for the guy while he’s off fighting evil. I’d much rather be there fighting with him.
As far as HP being or not being literature? IMHO it is top of the line literature.
In fact there is a Christian college in Cleveland, TN that while doesn’t believe in ‘magic’ still requires the first book to be read. They have went as far as to say they believe the books will go down through history much like Mark Twain.
July 26th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
I’m Sirius Black. Why am I not surprised?
I wanted to be Luna Lovegood, darn it.
July 26th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Actually, Phyllis, I don’t think they work. I find them incredibly distracting and repetitive, especially in the audio books.
July 26th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
I agree, Diana. I listen to the audio books occasionally on my iPod while I’m at work. I have issues keeping attentive while I listen because the adverbs seem to make the sentences drag on.
July 27th, 2007 at 10:49 am
I’m Hermione. No surprise there as I was always the bookish one in my crowd. And I guess I like following the rules, although I hate being told I have restrictions.
HP as literature? You bet. Think Dickens or Twain, popular fiction in its time that went on to become classics.
August 1st, 2007 at 5:53 am
I’m Ginny Weasley too