The Weird and The Wacky Meet

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Magic for All Ages

Harry Potter and the New Golden Age

                 Children's literature has entered a new golden age, and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books are a big part of it, according to Dina Rabinovitch of the London Guardian. With the sixth installment, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, set to hit book stores on July 16, millions are lining up to pre-order their copy. Even though it is not even available yet, it is number one on the Amazon.com best-selling books list.

                 My own introduction to the Potter books didn't come until well after fifth one had been published. Oblivious to the popularity of the series, I picked up book one, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, while babysitting at a friend's house, only because I had nothing to read, and was instantly hooked.

                 From the start, Rowling shows a gift for understanding what appeals to children of all ages, when her young protagonist’s miserable and mundane life with a foster family that hates and mistreats him is immediately transformed when he learns that he is the orphaned child of two murdered wizards and himself a wizard with great potential. When he is granted the opportunity to attend a school where his magical talents will be nurtured, Harry changes from an unpopular boy with a gloomy future into a celebrity whose future is full of excitement.

                 While few of us slept under the stairway for a decade, it should be clear how any child who’s ever felt overlooked and looked down upon can sympathize with the story of a small, skinny boy who is very much out of place in the ordinary world of Muggles (non-magical people) but finds his true self when he is lifted up to join the exalted and hidden ranks of wizards. This same story also appeals to adults who feel trapped in their own lives and who keenly remember their childhood hopes and sadness: inside each of us is a Muggle who wishes he could have been a wizard.

                 In this way, the series is a Cinderella story of sorts, only with a protagonist himself more magical than any fairy godmother. However, while Harry gets to enjoy jelly beans the flavor of everything, classes on transmutation and a cloak of invisibility, there is no “happily ever after” in this fairy tale. Instead, in his new life at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he finds intrigue and danger along with magic and wonder. The shadow of Voldemort, who killed Harry’s parents and scarred his forehead with the now-trademark lightning bolt, lies over him, and there are more immediate threats to his happiness, as well.

                 It came as a shock to me just how dark the plot was in these books supposedly aimed only at children, but it is this very refusal to talk down to her young readers that makes Rowling’s books fit for adults. Like Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events, she mixes humor and horror in a way that appalls some parents but delights almost everyone else. Rowling simultaneously accepts children as children, offering them a fun and literally magical world to explore, while still treating them with the respect usually reserved for adults by allowing them to play an important role in the grand scheme of things. In her world, bullying and surprise exams loom alongside werewolves and giant snakes as serious threats, and children are neither innocent idiots nor miniature adults.

                 One characteristic of the Potter books that distinguishes them from Snicket’s and many others is that the characters start off young but visibly grow up over time. The books grow with them, with each successive story a little more mature, more serious, and yes, more dark, matching the readers as they age. Not only has this guaranteed an audience that will keep reading as they get older, it provides an interesting look into the whole coming-of-age concept.

                 Ultimately, these characteristics are what make the story so easy to relate to, so hard to avoid getting caught up in. I will freely admit that I am unabashedly in love with the whole Harry Potter series. To me, they’re a guilty pleasure. Like comfort food, I read them because they make me feel better. It’s not just about being able to relate to the characters, but also realizing that there is a writer out there in the world who isn’t afraid to let kids explore big ideas.

                 There really are quite a few big ideas to explore. While some people might assume that the books are just another installment of mindless fantasy, the truth is there are enough deep themes and metaphors running through the story to give any literary critic something to chew on. For example, there is the ongoing issue of some wizards disparaging us Muggles. When Hermione is called a “mudblood” for having parents who lack magic, it’s hard not to relate this to the racism and classism found outside these pages. The plight of the hardworking but unpaid house elves is likewise not without its non-fictional parallels. And when Harry is maligned by a press being egged on by a misinformed government, this raises the issues of witch hunts, censorship and bad government. Reading these books is like looking through a twisted mirror of the real world that uses allegory to show parts that are ugly.

                 As the books have grown, so has Rowling as an author. She exhibits confidence and skill, earning my respect by refusing to placate those parents who have asked her to dumb down and generally sanitize her stories. Her commitment and focus on her readers and her independence in the face of those who would bowdlerize her work give her credibility as more than just someone who cranks out bestsellers.

                 For those of us who have kept up with the series, her latest is entry to it is shaping up to be just as interesting and as dark. Even though, on JKRowling.com, she admonishes us to, “Listen carefully, I shall say this only once: the only sources you should trust concerning information on the Half-Blood Prince are official spokespeople for my publishers and my official website,” other sites have gathered information about book six that they claim is accurate.

                 For example, Mugglenet.com claims that, “The opening chapter of book 6 was originally planned for the early parts of book 1, perhaps we get a more in-depth story of what happened the night Harry's parents died.” We know that the last two installments of the series will be more ominous as the wizarding world goes to war for real.

                 Still, there will be lighter moments. Rowling has stated that, “I am happy to report that [Harry] leaves the Dursley's early for a much pleasanter reason than a court case.” Since the Dursley's are not exactly the best guardians, this can only be a good thing for Harry.

                 Whatever the new book brings, millions are waiting for it. The popularity of this series cannot be easily overstated, with the Scholastic.com listing them as having sold 250 million copies, translated into 61 languages and available in 200 countries. It should come as no shock that the Harry Potter books helped usher in this new golden age of children's literature. These paperback bestsellers of today will be the timeless classics of tomorrow, and you have an opportunity to be part of literary history in the making. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is going to have the largest first run printing of all time, with 10.8 million copies set to be shipped out to retailers worldwide. I’ve already pre-ordered my copy, and I hope that you will too.

Copyright 2005

Brits Get An Adult Version Cover

By Amanda Evans

Date: 05/05/05