Fri 27 Jul 2007
In my thinking, a very fitting end to a great series.
Should Rowling be the second richest woman in global entertainment? Maybe not, but she’s gotten kids to read, right? Maybe not.
I have never quite understood the Big Fat Hairy Deal that’s been Harry Potter. I mean, I really have liked this stuff, much more than any mass media invention I can think of in a long time. The required comparisons to Tolkien aside (there’s a good “secondary worlds” comparison, but Rowling’s roots aren’t as deep as the Professor’s were), this stuff is just plain fun — good characters, complicated plots, lots of imagination, real evil, sacrifice, and Cool Magical Stuff. But the passion that this series has created in a lot of children I know (and a number of adults) is quite impressive, and somewhat incongrous.
Was it a “literary phenomenon” in its own right? The first book wasn’t that great in comparison to some of the later books. Was it created by savvy marketing and promotion? Or did Rowling tap into something fundamental and real?
This last book is quite satisfying. Lots of questions answered. Some important people die, some of whom we see in a whole new light. Evil is unmasked for what it really is, and ultimately overcome through great cost and personal sacrifice. Harry’s death and resurrection (at King’s Cross, no less) — is the series a Christian allegory?
I guess I’m not sure what the series represents, if anything. But I did stay up late to finish the 800 pages of the last book, and I shed a tear or two at the end.