Our Harry Potter weekend
Sunday July 22, 2007
Categories: Culture
I'm not a Harry Potter reader, but my wife Julie sure is. On Saturday morning, I went to Borders to buy her copy of "Deathly Hallows." I stood in line reading the last chapter, so I could know how Rowling...
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Rod Dreher is an editorial columnist for the Dallas Morning News, and author of "Crunchy Cons" (Crown Forum), a nonfiction book about conservatives, most of them religious, whose faith and political convictions sometimes put them at odds with mainstream conservatives. The views expressed in this blog are his own.
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It was great! We went to a party at the local B&N sponsored by the library. My 10-year-old son won a contest for best Harry Potter costume, which entitled him to be at the register when the boxes were opened at 12:01. We retired to a coffeehouse, where I read the first two chapters to him. (We read the first book together a couple of years ago, at which point I was comfortable letting him zoom on ahead.) By 11 p.m. Saturday night, he had finished the book.
I made a push to read the rest of the books before 7 came out, but I couldn't find 4.
Among the many things to like about the series, Rowling never lets these teenage wizards and warlocks get any further than snogging. Plus, she may have succeeded in introducing the very useful term "snogging" to the American teen vocabulary.
BTW, Order of the Phoenix is book #5. Chamber of Secrets is book #2.
I was interested to see that your wife is doling out the books with caution. We let our seven year old read books 1-3 this summer (now that he can read and wants them). However, we have told him he may read the next two only when he is ten, and the final two when he is twelve. Our twelve year old was permitted to read the sixth book when it came out (with some trepidation), but not permitted to watch the fourth movie until this summer, when he saw movies four and five. Movies, in our experience, have a more visceral impact.
There is, alas, such a thing as age-appropriateness -- which, of course, varies from child to child and must be gauged by the parents.
Otherwise, we had a fun weekend. We were visiting with vacationing friends, and there were three copies being passed around between six kids and young adults (I'll get my turn today, because the kids are done). The oldest two waited -- one until his sister was done, one until he'd finished re-reading the sixth book. My twelve-year-old relied on the generosity of his sister, when he wasn't picking up whatever book had been put down temporarily. And they interrupted their reading to swim, play Monopoly, go to Mass, and eat.
I got my book on Saturday and have just started it. I don't have too much novel-reading time these days, so it will take me a while to get through it. That's just fine with me -- I'll savor it! :o)
My oldest child is 7 and an excellent reader. (She could easily read the HP series along with other books that are too old for her emotionally or developmentally.) She hears so much about Harry Potter and has been eager to begin the books for over a year now. I've told her "no" so far because of the increasing darkness of the series. I've worried that it may be hard to enforce a slow progression through the books so that she can mature along with the subject matter, as many young readers have done over the last 7 - 10 years. That said, I've started to consider letting her read at least the first one. I told her that if I do, she would have to wait until she was 8 to read the next one. I might dole them out one a year until she's 10 or so.
Are the later books any darker than the NT tale of crucifixion? Or the statues and iconography/art depicting such?
My wife is a teacher (special ed, English), and this is the second midnight mania we've attended at our local B&N.
Our response to the to-do is simple: There is nothing better than spending 2+ hours in a crowded place, surrounded by smiling, excited faces and books. Fame is fleeting, but literature is forever.
Those of you who've only been to malls cannot appreciate what it means to be in a crowded store that is also vertical instead of horizontal. I am very glad this store abandoned gathering type events, like costume contests and such, for the simple reason that no one but the front three rows could possibly get anything out of them. Certainly, people showed up in costume, but it was all part of the general fun instead of being competitive.
I also never really got into Pottermania past the first few books, BUT I saw the book at the store and read the last chapter so I knew what happened! I got a laugh out of your story of others doing the same thing.
I always read the end. David Copperfield, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, They Walk at Midnight, The Odyssey, whatever. So most people don't, eh? Well, you ain't the only one, Rod.
ps -- Thinking back, i'm sure i read the whole of Revelation before i read the rest of the other 65 preceding books. That would count as well, i'd think.
I had trouble getting into HP and started the first book four times before I got past chapter 4 (about a year go). However, once I got to Hogwarts, I was hooked. After that, I zoomed through (at that time) all six books. Maybe you should try getting to Hogwarts before giving up. :^)
My 11yo is reading Hallows, then the 18yo, then me. In the meantime, I'm re-reading Order of the Phoenix, which I consider the best of the first six books.
i LOVE...LOVE...LOVE HP...I read the last book in two days, i was entralled...i'm so happy by what she did...i can't wait until this going on film...i HOPE and PRAY that they do it justice...it is action packed and FULL of suprises...that all i have to say
I read #7 all the way through on Saturday. I almost always end up reading the ending before I should. I got halfway through this one and couldn't stand it any longer, so I jumped to the end and satisfied my curiosity, then finished the whole thing. The burning question for me was whether Snape was on the good side or the bad side. I was desperately hoping for good!
I've loved the Harry Potter series. And I'm a 53 year old. And by the way, #2 is "Chamber of Secrets" not "Order of the Phoenix".
Mary
My 11yo is reading Hallows, then the 18yo, then me. In the meantime, I'm re-reading Order of the Phoenix, which I consider the best of the first six books.
Interesting that you consider *Order of the Phoenix* the best. Most reviewers I've read consider it the weakest. But it certainly is the darkest, in many ways, and it's where things really get serious. (*Goblet of Fire* is more serious and dark than the first three, but it's still largely set at Hogwarts, where things never get *too* serious.)
I had a wonderful Harry Potter weekend. We (my husband and I) had a "required engagement" out of town and we had carpooled with my somewhat elderly parents (dad's not up to long drives) so I got to borrow my dad's car at midnight and head for the local bookstore to pick up my reserved copy - felt like I was a teen again :). Got back to the hotel room and read until I fell asleep (about pg 273), woke up 32 hours later and finished - took about 8 hours total. Then went back and started again. In between readings, went to a wonderful party for my godfather and talked to the rest of the HP fanatics there about what happened, what it meant and how much we had already guessed. I have loved Harry's journey and Rowlings does a wonderful job of explaining everything - you get all the great details and answers to almost all the questions.
As for the age-appropriateness, I think that any child who is old enough to read these books should be allowed to - as long as there is also an adult near by to answer questions and help out if things start to get too frightening. Adults don't seem to "get it" - life for a child is already frightening and a book where the kid conquers his fear and goes on to do what is needed isn't a bad thing. Kids relate to Harry on a much more personal level than adults do - the adults see "themes" and commentary - kids just see a great story and an example of how to keep going, even when the world is scary and you don't know what the goal is. If my sister-in-law wasn't one of those people who comdemn books they haven't read (because their pastor tells them to), I would be giving my 9 year old nephew the entire set for his birthday.
And, SHAME ON YOU, 7/23 9:19am -- Ron specifically asked for no spoilers. You obviously know that you are wrong - otherwise, why not sign your name.
Hear, Hear (or should I say "'Ear 'Ear!), Katie Angel.
That post needs to be wiped (and probably will when Rod gets wind of it).
Re: Age appropriateness.
I fear that we in the modern age have done little good to prepare children for the reality of bad things. We seek to shield children from the reality of death and the existence of evil, but in the process, we have relegated good to the back benches. What good is "good" without evil to stand it next to? How brave is it to cautiously walk the tightrope of life knowing there's not only a safety net and harness, but also that the rope is a foot off the padded floor? Call it the "Disnification of Childhood," if you will.
Children used to hear stories about wolves eating grandmothers - about a young woman being taken into the forest to have her hearts cut out and returned to her stepmother who feared she was too pretty to be left alive. What good is heroism if there's nothing to be heroic about?
I finished Harry Potter last night around 11:30 PM (PST). I bought it on Saturday around 11:00 AM (PST). I had some major interruptions--harry potty breaks, meals, divine liturgy, sleep. I also managed not to alienate my wife in the process. Didn't play any tennis, though I wanted to.
I won't give away the ending. But I admit I was shocked to see Rowling quote the New Testament twice in the book: "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." "The last enemy to be destroyed is death."
RE: the bizarre practice of reading the last chapter of a book first, Harry in "When Harry Met Sally" claims: "When I buy a new book, I read the last page first. That way, in case I die before I finish, I know how it ends."
Look, I get the idea of letting kids in on the real world, including bad stuff. I don't skip Bible stories (as some of my friends did), I explain them. BUT when my seven-year-old can't stand to have me read about Toad of Toad Hall going to jail, because he identifies with Toad (to the point of tears), AND when I remember the year it took for each of his siblings to outgrow nightmares from one or another (PG) movie, THEN I become cautious. There are some kinds of fiction that get the adrenaline going in destructive ways for certain kids at certain ages. I don't know why the Bible stories don't have that effect, but they don't. It's a year-by-year, kid-by-kid thing. I am reading him the Narnia stories out loud, as I have read them to each of my second-graders. It's a question of the right level of exposure at a given age, not of hiding forever.
Uhm... Book #2 is Chamber of Secrets, not Order of the Phoenix.
Hey everyone...Found some funny footage of Harry Potter fans lining up to buy the book, or as I call say:
HARRY FANS WAITING TO SCORE THEIR POTTER
http://www.maximonline.com/video/index.aspx?filekey=3054&src=tst25
she wasn't comfortable letting a six year old go there
Wow, he must be tougher than our six-year-old; she enjoyed the first book (and movie), but the second one freaked her out a few months ago.
Okay, reading this post put a huge smile on face--I am a HUGE Potter fan & my husband is not--I wont even discuss the books with him, because really he has not point of reference :-) Although he did read the 1st one & like you--it did not catch on (really feel sorry for you both :-) Have finished the final book & the jury is still out as to whether I like it or not--will have to reread. Anyhow, he pretty much always reads the last chapter of the books he gets & it bugs me to death--where is the surprise I ask?--he says he likes to know where it is going & how it ends--sigh! It is pretty much a lost cause to convince him not to do that.
The seventh book ROCKED! However much money Rowling makes, it's not nearly enough.
I read the book within about 28 hours during which I didn't read email, watch TV, listen to radio, read the internet, etc. to avoid spoiling the ending. Those "spoiler people" have got something really wrong with them; they're like people who enjoy torturing animals.
FYI, in case any of Rod's Orthodox Christian readers are interested, the Orthodox Christian publisher Conciliar Press has received a large number of very strongly worded criticisms of our publication of an interview with John Granger, author of Looking for God in Harry Potter, in favor of the books. Talk of boycotts, of getting bishops involved, and so on. We've posted a clarification of our editorial position on the books on the same page as the article.
http://conciliarpress.pinnaclecart.com/index.php?p=page&page_id=again_granger_interview
Christ Bless,
Doug
Pauli,
they're like people who enjoy torturing animals
Oh, come *on*...
I'll never understand people who don't like the Harry Potter books. I mean, I do understand people who haven't read them yet, or people who think they "just wouldn't get into them" or even those who think they have something to do with the occult. It's the people who have read them who think they are bad that I don't get.
IMO, JK Rowling's writing is often clumsy, and redundant, and dramatically speaking, a mess. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," to name a "for instance" had something like five climaxes at the end (the Triwizard Tournament finale in the maze, the confrontation with Voldemort, the escape from Voldemart, the attempted murder by "Barty Crouch" disguised as Mad Eye Moody, and the confrontation with Cornelius Fudge. I have to admit, I often find her action sequences dull.
Yet, I think she is absolutely brilliant at the same time. I believe in the world she has invented, and am in awe of her creativity. I have finished the last book (which I'm not going to spoil) and it made me cry -- a lot. I'll never regret venturing into the world that she has created. She had the courage to trust her imagination, which overcame any potential flaws in her writing style.
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