I just finished reading the latest installment in the life and adventures of everyone's favorite nerdy cursed wizard boy, and all I can say is "Woah." I won't spoil anything for anyone, but I have distinct thoughts and feelings about this latest installment, more than I've had about the previous books. Continue reading if you want to know what I think, or visit later after you've finished and we can discuss.
There is a lot in this book that really strikes me about Rowling and her style of writing. I really do think she makes it up as she goes along, that her writing is a product of her times. The first book was published in 1998, obviously before the events of September 11, 2005. Harry's introduction to the world was that there is this boy, he finds out he's a wizard, he survived a horrible attack when he was a baby, and now that he is going to be trained in his craft, the wizard who tried to kill him is working on making a comeback. Rowling's stories were lighthearted, and fun... as fun as a young boy learning to make friends and fly a broom can be. September 11th cast a dark shadow on the world, and in a lot of ways, on Rowling's prose. Each book is somewhat darker and more sinister than the last, as our own climate grows dark along with that in the wizarding world.
This latest book is rife with jabs at homeland security and how they don't work, fail, and the darkness seeps in no matter how hard you don't want it to... just like with the London Bombings of a few weeks ago. I know Rowling didn't KNOW these things were going to happen, I know she didn't plan on the world turning into a dark and scary place for us muggles out here. She's been able to do what every author should do best. She writes what she knows. And she is giving the characters a current events feel, sharing our fears and our trepidation with the students at Hogwarts. And this is giving her series a feel and excitement that I think they would totally lack if it weren't for the events in the world around us.
While the darkness seeps in, and scary shit happens, people fall in love, sporting events still are played, and life goes on. While the rest of us are living, there are those who obsess with the ever present dangers and fret about them, quietly and thoughtfully, preparing for the worst. There are those who work to mechanize the terror and bring it to the doorsteps of the rest of the world, in secret and quiet, where afterwards all the friends and relatives will say "He wouldn't ever do something like that! He had so much to live for!"
To quote Jim Infantino, "And in the middle marching there are me and you."
Each of us reading are the other characters, the witnesses to the happenings in the magic world. We aren't Hermione smart, or Cedric Diggory strong and brave, or Malfoy evil, but we're like the Patil twins, or Lavender Brown, or Luna and Neville. We're on the sidelines watching that which goes on around us... and we know people like Hermione, Harry, Cedric, Ron, Malfoy, Crabbe & Goyle. We have had bosses or teachers like Snape or like Dumbledore. And Rowling is able to write these characters moving through their parallel universe along with our similar joys and fear. We can relate. We know these people, even though they yell Latinesque jinxes and hexes and green goo shoots out the end of their wands.
People have criticized Rowling and said that she brazenly steals from classic literature, specifically Tolkein, that some of the scenes in her books are right out of LOTR. Perhaps. Tolkein denied over and over that his LOTR was in any way an allegorical work about England in the face of Nazi Germany... the Hobbits being the UK and all of the dark forces being the scourge which spread over Europe. Deny as he might, he was writing of his time and his thoughts and feelings. With a dose of good old Christian sacrifice and martyrdom, spiced with the possibility of redemption of one of the most foul creatures in the end, Tolkein borrowed from the Bible, from the Greeks, from Beowulf... all good literature through history gives a nod back to the predecessors. There was even a little Star Wars reference in the reverse going on (if you're reading it right now, I won't say it... I won't tell you who, but you'll see it). And it made me smile and laugh as I was reading.
So Rowling has the world by the tail. And she's got another book to write. Will it be the last in the series? Harry has one more year of school... but will that be all? Will his adventures end upon graduation? Will it take her two more years to crank out the book that she claims she has "in her head" and nowhere else? What happens if JK Rowling is hit by a bus? Or a sheep in Scotland mauls her (an evil sheep). What happens then?
What will become of us? And this story... which could be left untold.
No spoilers intended, I'm pondering what will happen in book seven. I am looking for someone to be redeemed... another steal from Tolkein or from religious literature if you will. I want there to be some sort of amazing redemption, some cleansing, not of the main horrible character -- that will never happen just like Sauron is never "saved" in the LOTR series, but there are two characters who may have a chance to walk away in the light, even though the Dark Mark is burned into their souls. I wonder wholeheartedly if the scar on Harry's forehead will play an unbelievably important role in the next or final chapter.
I would like to say I always loved Dumbledore because I think he "gets" it. His character is aware that there is a distinct lack of love in the world, and those who are capable of love can conquer anything. It is an age old philosophy dating back to Christ and Chaucer, that love conquers all. In the environment where we live, and where I've said it here a million times, there is NOT enough love out there. And Dumbledore would want us all to go out and do loving, kind things. Hold your opinions, keep your belief, but DO kindness. That is why I've always loved his character, his wisdom, his gentle kindness even when kicking Harry's ass as the stubborn teen sat across from him arguing. Thinking of Dumbledore's kindness right now brings a tear to my eye. Hell, it's just a book Christine.
Oh, but it's more.
If you want to know what I think, email me and I'll share, we can dialogue. That'll be nice. In the meantime, if you're unfamiliar with the series, and you like a fast paced read and a good mystery or six, start reading. And JK Rowling -- start writing the next one NOW. I don't want to wait two years to know what happens next. Especially if there are more terror attacks and other dark and evil events which could color your words and work.
No comments:
Post a Comment