Monday, June 7, 2010

Waiting for Potter

Every summer for several years, my daughter and I had something to look forward to. Another installment in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series. The anticipation of a new book was incredible; I would order weeks in advance. When we finally got the book, my daughter and I would devour it in a day. It was no mean feat for what usually was a 600 to 800 page book. But once we started, we couldn't stop. We had to know what was going to happen with Harry.

I've had friends who scoff at the books. Say that the writing is pedestrian, they couldn't get into the story. That's their right. Not everyone is going to like the same books. But when the series was done, I could only marvel at its brilliance. The story arc was complete, with complicated plot lines cleared up, questions answered, mysteries unveiled. To do what Rowling did in seven books, creating a world and stories that were riveting, is something every writer wants to be able to do. No, maybe she isn't the best writer, per se, but the woman is a storyteller, and sometimes that's even better.

While there are no more books to anticipate, there are still two movies. Filmmakers have split the last book, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, into two movies. My question is, where will they stop the first and begin the next? This seventh book reads at a breakneck pace, with few lulls that could offer a place to break it up.

That said, during the MTV awards the other night, the trailer for the first part, to debut in theaters on Nov. 19, was shown. Here it is:



Are you a Harry Potter fan?

4 comments:

Ellen Clair Lamb said...

I loved the books, but was underwhelmed by the films, and still haven't seen the most recent ones. "Prisoner of Azkaban" worked best, but most of them have just been too literal for me, turning my fondest imaginings into humdrum special effects.

I too am curious about how/where they'll split the final book, though.

JT Ellison said...

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Was that clear enough?

Karen Olson said...

I agree that the films have not lived up to the books, but I have enjoyed them anyway.

JT, that was incredibly clear!

Anonymous said...

Though Harry Potter is not my typical fare, I really enjoyed the books. And the anticipation of waiting for the books. Few storytellers could execute what Rowling did over the course of seven books. While I haven't read the last entry in the TWILIGHT series because I gueesed the ending and could devour about three other books in the time it would take me to finish that one, there was never a doubt that I would skip one of the HP's...

John