Re: Harry Potter

NO-SPOILER WARNING: This post contains no spoilers

That having been established, let me begin by saying that Dumbledore is not dead and turns out to be a parrot trained by Voldemort, Harry is a figment of a House-elf's imagination, Hermine is a brussel sprout, and Ron is really a pimple on a fourteen year old boy. Shocking revelations, all.

I do not wish to post about the actual story - no, that is silly. If you care about the story go buys yous the books and read them. I wish to comment on the phenomena that is Harry Potter.

You see, I do not regard these books as books. Not even as stories. A story, traditionally, is something one reads at one's leisure. It is something one visits occasionally, like a distant relative calling for Christmas. It is NOT something one painfully slaves over, both seeking and dreading the ending, as is the case with Harry Potter. Instead of remaining content with visits like most stories, an unfinished Harry Potter book practically demands you move in, next to the cat and please won't you remove you shoes. An unfinished Harry Potter book takes on a life of it's own - it activates it's own gravitational field and, until summarily defeated, cackles maniacally as your ordinary activities circle around it's slightest whim.

It is almost a spiritual experience. Ancient tribes use to beat their drums for hours on end while inhaling hallucinogens, the Orient meditated while on Opium, and now America adds it's own chapter to the epic-ways-humans-have-tried-to-transcend life by READING. Oh America, you always DID have the dorkiest hobbies.

Record times are put up. People who read nothing besides the occasional issue of People finish a book in two days. I personally finished the most recent and final book in something like 10 hours, pausing only to use the bathroom and sacrifice to the gods of fictional writing (sometimes doing both at once to speed things up.)

I don't really want to identify WHAT causes this madness. Was Europe really that relieved when people found out it was rats that carried the Bubonic plague? Actually yes, yes they were. Bad analogy. But the point is that the phenomena defies identification. On the simplest level, they are just really, really good books. Yet, human history is fraught with really, really good books, and next to none have transcended cultural, generational, and personal taste-tional boundaries like Harry Potter has.

Sad thought: It is the Iliad of our day, and J.K. Rowling our homer.

Well, one thing is clear: J.K. Rowling has one hell of a task ahead of her in trying to create any other fictional work. It's like if Prometheaus, not content with gifting humans with fire and the ability to heal, decided to try his hand at inventing the plow. Gee thanks Big P, but I think you peaked a little too early.