Potternama

With the rage around the world that Harry Potter generated an outcome is that the readers community is split in half with one half having read the series and the other half either put off or just plain lazy. The last of the categorizations fitted me aptly and with every new release of a Harry Potter movie leaving me increasingly clueless , I decided to "slay the beast" once and for all. A newly purchased kindle ensured that I didnt have to lug around tomes and dutifully settled down to the Philosophers Stone

What intrigued me is the space where the character fits in. Having been nurtured on a rich diet of Enid Blyton in my early years and enthralled by the Lord of the Rings (and its associated movies), Harry Potter seemed to be a curious go-between, with Harry soft enough for the mantle of a Blyton boy wonder and Voldermot diabolical enough for the Rings. The beauty of the series is the coming of age, and the pace brilliantly matches the waxing of the powers of good and evil leading to the climax. Every part has Harry gaining a piece of his magical past and Voldermot adding a formidable set of allies.

The story by itself is very well written if taken part by part. Hogwarts would rate as one of the best magical settings ever (the magic faraway tree would edge this out by a whisker) and the characters are a fairly cosmopolitan mix which gives it a contemporary setting (which addresses a global audience) - there is a Chinese and an Indian thrown into the mix (which may be a reflection of English society too in a post-colonial world). Quidditch is a delightful invention as a sport and the descriptions are enthralling.

So reading through the series was a breeze, and in fact I confess to sitting up late to get through this and also regretted when it came to an abrupt close, but somehow when it ended the flaws seemed to surface. A lot of situations were difficult to understand- a rather dispassionate Harry (especially when dealing with the betrayer of his parents secrets), curious additions and drops of power (going back in time to save a Hippogrith) and sometimes dumbfounding additions of red herrings (I strongly believe the Deathly Hallows, had no reason to be in the plot at all, Horcruxes had a marginal bearing too). The ending does set it up beautifully for another seven part series to follow (I wouldn't mind)

In summary I still rate Tolkien and Blyton higher as the commercial instincts were much less pronounced, but Harry has set the worldwide benchmark of adolescent literature and got created a contemporary role model. Nevertheless 7 books down I'm glad that I'm in the right half of the world