I find both the type of pointless topic this article is about, and the likening of Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings or the Narnia series laughable.
Harry Potter is an averagely well written book which happens to have hit the right market at the right time. It has not the intricacies and spellbinding wordsmithery of Tolkein's work, nor the fantastical world and imagery of Lewis's. I don't even think it's as good as Phillip Pullman's Dark Materials series. It annoys the bejesus out of me when I hear people talk about its literary merits. If Rowling had been writing at the same time as any of the above, she would have been ignored utterly. Not least in my library of misgivings towards her writing is how insipid and needy Harry is becoming, how bloody bland Hermione is and how ginger the Weasley boy is. By 20 I predict Harry will suffer a mental breakdown and begin drinking heavily (or get addicted to giving himself magical orgasms), Hermione will be some Hoxton it-girl vacuuous and disenchanted, whilst the ginger will be killed in some freak boating accident.
All that aside, what really gets my goat is literary journalists or critics who see the need to incessantly over-analyse stories and extrapolate sub-texts into a need for external reference or justification in the general history of writing. Who cares that Cervantes' legacy is dead, who even reads Shakespeare? Milton? Dickens, who the Dickens is he? Lets just harp on about how much money they make and try to make ourselves sound knowledgable by referencing other writers in a pretentious and obtuse way.
Sigh...
Originally posted by StarrmanNSR
I find both the type of pointless topic this article is about, and the likening of Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings or the Narnia series laughable.
Harry Potter is an averagely well written book which happens to have hit the right market at the right time. It has not the intricacies and spellbinding wordsmithery of Tolkein's work, nor the fantastical ound knowledgable by referencing other writers in a pretentious and obtuse way.
Sigh...
One of my NSAs is Daniel Radcliffe's face 😕.
Originally posted by NemesioDoesn't Harry Potter have godparents?
As chess nerds, I have to imagine that many of you are Harry Potter fans.
What do you think of this article?
Thursday, Jul. 12, 2007
Who Dies in Harry Potter? God
By Lev Grossman
Joanne Rowling has three fancy houses and more money than the Queen, but she still doesn't have a middle name: the K. is just an empty invention, added for effect when she ...[text shortened]... Deathly Hallows.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1642885,00.html
Originally posted by Conrau KHe had a Godfather, but it's possible that it wasn't in the religious sort of "baptism sponsor" sense. I had a godson who was never baptised. It was a different sort of thing... hard to explain... But they did celebrate Christmas at Hogwarts...
Doesn't Harry Potter have godparents?
Originally posted by pawnhandlerThey had an equivalent of "godparents" in East Germany (using the same German word, which works better than in English because it doesn't contain anything referring to a god).
He had a Godfather, but it's possible that it wasn't in the religious sort of "baptism sponsor" sense. I had a godson who was never baptised. It was a different sort of thing... hard to explain... But they did celebrate Christmas at Hogwarts...
Christmas is celebrated in Japan, too, even though most Japanese people aren't Christian. I also know many atheists in Germany or Norway who celebrate Christmas. I can't remember anything religious about the Christmas celebration at Hogwarts, I think it was mostly about Christmas decoration, a big dinner and presents.