Thursday, July 19, 2007

Long live Harry Potter

I really enjoyed this article on the CBC's website about what, exactly, it is about Harry Potter that I love. It's like the author looked inside my own head and put it into better words than I could.

A few choice quotes:

"... what turned Harry Potter into a global phenomenon was Rowling’s canny decision to unspool this tale in closely guarded instalments doled out every few years. There’s no real reason why the narrative arc needs to span seven novels, but, oh, what delicious anticipation was created each time a new book was released ... the Harry Potter series helped readers rediscover the pleasure of being part of a collective holding of breath, of an impatient worldwide wait to discover what will come next."

"How old-fashioned to line up at midnight for our copies of the new Harry Potter, the way we all tuned in for Princess Di’s wedding or the final episode of M*A*S*H. It feels hopeful, too: if readers from Harlem to Tokyo can be united in their joy and worry over Harry, maybe there’s more common ground in our post-9/11 world than we suspected."

"Time will decide whether the Harry Potter series is a classic or just a passing fad. Whatever the outcome, this weekend, there will be some real Muggle magic at work. Millions of us will stay up long past our bedtimes, ignore our loved ones and forget to eat. We’re about to find out the fate of a lonely, orphaned boy we’ve watched find true friendship, fight dragons, fall in love, learn to perform a Patronus spell, lose two of his father figures and discover that the future of the world rests on his skinny, adolescent shoulders. The end is nigh. Long live Harry Potter."

Not long now. Long live Harry Potter, indeed.

2 comments:

Serdic said...

It's here!

cupcake said...

The Harry Potter phenomenon sort of passed me by. I thought the first book was okay and couldn't get past chapter three in the second.

But I am curious. Who dies? You can whisper if you like.

I hope you're enjoying your weekend full o' Harry!