Total Number of Ratings: 14
Whatever Happened to the Boy Who Lived?
First Published: Monday, June 29, 2009 10:47 PM
Last Saved: Monday, June 29, 2009 11:29 PM
It was the summer of 2001 and I had just fallen in love with reading. My entire family was headed to the Outer Banks for a week and I needed to arm myself with an arsenal of books to hide in if I was going to survive. I was browsing the aisles of Target for random beach supplies when I came across a cardboard display of the Harry Potter books. I rolled my eyes and walked up to the display. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire had come out recently enough that I was still mildly annoyed by all the Potter-mania. But in their infinite marketing wisdom, Target was offering the first three books in paperback for $5 each. With the family vacation looming I grabbed Books 1 and 2, thinking I was only out 10 bucks if they didn't live up to the hype.
What happened next is sort of a Rowling-induced blur.
I fell in love hard and fast. I started gushing about Sorcerer's Stone after about 50 pages. I was talking about it so much that my cousin picked up the book while I was still reading it -- we each had a bookmark to mark our place for the rest of the trip. I dove into Chamber of Sercrets the instant I finished the first book. We ran out to Walmart to pick up Prisoner of Azkaban because we couldn't wait to find out what was next for Harry, Ron and Hermione. As soon as I got back home, I bought Goblet of Fire and finished the 734-page tome in five days (I'm a slow reader, so that was abnormally fast for me).
Then I waited... and waited...
Two long years of re-reading and speculating and anticipating. I spent the whole time on
pins and needles and I loved every minute of it. The first two film adaptations that were released in the meantime only further wet my appetite for more things Potter. So on a dismal evening in June 2003, I waited outside the book store in the rain with a couple friends to pick up my copy of Order of the Phoenix. And the whole cycle started up again for Half-Blood Prince.
I was not at all alone in my ferver. There were thousands and thousands of people all a twitter over the boy wizard. A lot of money stood to be made. The merchandising was beyond massive. Every consumer product had a Harry Potter logo brandished on it. There were toys and games and Lego sets.
Then came the film adaptations. And they had their own line of merchandise and games and toys. And then there were the websites. Oh were there websites. Mugglenet and Leaky Cauldron and the Harry Potter Lexicon. JK Rowling's official website was beautifully designed site full of Easter eggs with Potter hints and teasers.
And we fans absorbed it all like sponges. The media had a field day -- between wacky fan antics, overly concerned parents worried about the books' themes, religious controverseys and record book sales.
I should probably be embarassed by my following actions, but what can I say. I loved Harry Potter.
The film version of Order of the Phoenix came out two days before my wedding. I saw a midnight show, with my cousin, after my rehearsal dinner. Deathly Hallows was released while I was on my honeymoon. My new groom, who was just as obsessed as I was, tracked down a book store in the shadow of the Leaning Tower of Pisa to buy us two copies of the book. And we read and finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows while cruising the Mediterranean.
And then it all stopped. After the press was done spoiling the ending and reporting on the final boost in earnings Bloomsbury and Scholastic would get from new Potter book sales. The over concerned parents moved on to other young adult books to worry about. Even Warner Brothers pushed the initial November 2008 release of Half-Blood Prince back to this July, where it will be buried by all the other summer blockbusters. The last update on Ms. Rowling's site was in October of 2008 announcing the release of "Tales of Beetle the Bard," which was only a small blip. The epic story ended. There's no more media hype. No more fervent speculation. There's nothing left to anticipate.
To be honest, after I read all seven books back to back in the fall of 2007, I haven't really thought about Harry Potter. Which is sad. Ms. Rowling created this rich, vivid world full of wonderful characters that are truly memorable. Book 7 was a beautiful finish to the tale of the Boy Who Lived. And the readers are now left with a truly fantastic story.
A lot of pointless rambling but I like it that way:
I wasn't as much into the merchandise and other crap. Whatever managed to make its way to Israel was playing cards and other boring things that I had no interest in.
There was also much less hype which I'm grateful for. The grownups dressing as wizards and haunting bookstores was something I only saw on TV on the news when book 6 or 7 came out.
After reading the first one (I think) I tried to piece together how I became aware of this book. I doubt the accurateness of this but I think that I saw it on a small pamphlet - the pricey ones with the glossy pages that had several books advertised in them. I went to a far away school at the time - about one hour's drive, and our ride was a small minibus since there were just a few people from my area going to that school. To get back home I needed to take the bus. On one of those "get to know the school" thingies my dad drove me and we searched for the bus station - you had to get out of the school and walk to the right for a bit, and right again to go down. Later because of terrorist attacks on buses the line was moved closer to the school. Anyway I discovered a shortcut to the bus station - I went to the back of the school to the soccer field and went out through a hole in the fence down to a gas station and from there it's a quick minute or less to the bus station.
I was alone in the station and the leaflet was just sitting there - on one of the seats or the floor and I was bored.
That's how I remember it. I don't really remember how I came to buy the other books - I remember the third or second or maybe fourth - I think I was in Hedera with my family staying with either my grandma or uncles, and I saw the book in a bookstore's window, and I chased after my parents and had to convince them to buy it for me and drag them back to the store.
In the seventh or sixth book I was with my dad doing errands and he stopped at a bookstore for me (this time I knew that the book came out) and I asked the clerk how much for the book and he said it wasn't for sale - that those were pre-ordered copies (I was pretty annoyed and hated that sales tactic - it's already selling to the entire universe - who are you trying to get excited by placing few pre-ordered copies in the store in a nice eye-catching rack?).
We drove to another store and the clerk was on the phone, I grabbed a copy and gave him the money and he didn't say a word.
I was enthralled in the series back in the day, and it peaked at book 5 which was the best in my opinion, but 6 and 7 left a bad taste in my mouth. 6 was pointless, 7 was too easy. I have the beetle bard book that I'll read but the charm is gone.
I read them in Hebrew first but when the books got longer and took more time to come out, and added to that the time it took to translate them, I chose to read the books in English - I was good enough in English to understand the bulk of the words, and if I didn't understand the words I understood the meaning.
I read and reread in English and Hebrew waiting for the next books.
I was hoping Rowling won't cater to the fans by bringing back Sirius even though his death was really stupid, and I remember me and my friend commenting on Dumbeldore's stupidity - he promised Harry in one of the books that he'll be more open with him and explain everything to him, but the fucker didn't, and we hated that.
I loved the idea of modern magic living in the corner of our eyes, always kept hidden. I was comparing with friends how much it took us to read the books, realizing that I was the slow reader of the group which seems strange to me. I was all the way in, I was set for the journey, I was waiting for the payoff, but 6 was a crushing blow, and 7 was a whimper. It's destroyed for ever and there's no chance of fixing it. I'm thinking of rereading the books from the library (I sold and donated mine) but the bad aftertaste keeps me from doing so.
I loved the 3rd and 5th book the best, and I loved the Weasley twins the best - Harry was a secondary character somewhat. That's why I loved the 5th book so much I guess - I love the idea of getting out of school early to open a magical candy/jokes store. As for the movies - they were bad around the same time as 6 and 7 came out. 5 was pointless, 4 was meh - long scene of a dragon flying, leaving no room for important stuff. 3 is my favorite, 1 and 2 are a good introductory, even though I and my friends bitched about the first a lot - he barely cooked the food, he had no messy hair etc. (I know I'm weird but the lack of messy untameable hair decreased the character's value in my eyes - it ruined a part of his personality). Also the dickish version of Dumbledore in the fourth film (I think) always bothered me and my friends. It was a move I never understood. Oh well...
Started reading them around the time book 4 came out (which seems like a pivotal point for a lot of people). My favorites are probably books 3 and 5.
And before iFanboy, I was addicted to the Harry Potter podcasts.
I want an owl!
It's funny, I just started re-reading these books to my daughter. We're almost done with Goblet of Fire. (Long story short: I had read a few of the books to her many years ago, but not all the books because my wife and I didn't think she was old enough for the later ones; but now she is old enough, but we're starting from the beginning of the series to refresh our memories...*whew*!)
My daughter was the one who came up with the idea of restarting the series from the beginning. I'll confess I groaned inwardly at this idea, yet went along with it. I read the books for myself the first time, and I had read them a second time when I first read them to her. I thought a third time was going to be too much for me. But I've been very pleasantly surprised how fresh and exciting they are even on the third reading.
Side note: Hagrid and Hermione are turning out to be my favorite characters.
It took until Book 4 for me to fall hard for Harry Potter, but once I did I never looked back. Can't say the movies have been everything I hoped for, but I am still looking forward to the next one.
book 6 was my favorite and i'm looking forward to seeing it on the big screen. i'm just hoping they won't short-change a certain character like they have in all the previous movies. it seems like it would be impossible in this book, but i would have thought that about other books as well. ;)
I am interested to see what she does after this. Granted she doesn't have to, but I'd like to see her do something else.
I bought the boxed set a few years ago when they first one came out. And because it was a big, clunky boxed set I had no where to put it so under my bed it went, totally forgotten about. Recently, I built some new bookshelves in my apartment and remembered that I had the Harry Potter books, so I put them on there. Now they were out and visible. Then a friend of mine got all mad at me that I hadn't read the books, so after finishing the last book I was reading (CLOCKERS), I started in on HARRY POTTER.
I finished book one last night, I'm ready to start book two tonight.
I liked the series. The 7th book could have used a few more edits; Time passed too quickly, big events happened off screen and the whole thing smacked Lords of the Rings Lite. The Epilogue was an unnecessary addendum. I was 14 when the first book came out. It was a nice counterbalance to Critique of Pure Reason, and an enjoyable romp
I liked the Epilogue a lot. It wasn't necessary but it was nice to see that sweet, little moment in time.
i did not like the last book that much, since all the action i wanted to see was happening "off stage" and it didn't seem like the trio was very proactive. they just wandered around for most of the book and let stuff happen to them.
i seriously disliked the epilogue. it smacked of JK saying to the fan-creators "these are my toys and you cannot make up any future other than the ones i've described, nyah-nyah-nyah-nyaaah-nyah."
I think Rowling has every right to mark her territory with these characters. And I think it was done more to preventive publishers from playing around with her work than fan-creators. True, there are probably a lot of good stories that could have been written. But at least this will block all the terrible ones from getting out :)
i agree she certainly has a right to do whatever she wants, but it just seems sort of petty. she may be fighting publishers, too, or putting her foot down to say "no, the story is over, see?", but she's definitely on the the attack in the fan community.
talk to me when people are telling me how to write my novels, though. i'm sure i'll feel differently than i do now ;)
Personally I liked the epilogue. It really brought a satisfying conclusion to things. Sometimes leaving your audience wanting a little more is a great course of action. It's no fun when you realize a series should have ended one book, or movie, or episode, or issue earlier.
Great article, WonderAli!
I didn't like the epilogue - I wanted the one that was promised. As far as I remember the actual version was a very late decision to do it from scratch.
I agree about the trio not being active which bothered me, and the off screen action was annoying and shortness - I could have used two books instead of 1 for the last volume.
Also the lack of payoff for Harry's training and career choice in the epilogue bothered me - I imagined him as a mad-eye moody, not as an Arthur Weasley fixing enchanted toilets.
I've been debating commenting further, but I'm feeling talkative today so what the heck...
(minor spoilers ahead...)
@Chlop, I respectfully disagree with your comment regarding Harry's adult life. Becoming a Mad Eye Moody doesn't make any sense to me. If you think back to the first book, when Harry looks into The Mirror of Erised which shows your heart's desire, he sees himself with his parents and a large group of relatives (in the movie I believe its just his parents). His greatest desire is having a loving and caring family.
So much of the series is him so wanting a loving family most of all. The first part of his childhood was spent friendless, powerless, a time of hardship, and virtually a slave to the Dursley's (kind of like a house elf). Then the magical world is introduced, at which point Harry is now famous (he's recognized, people are so glad to meet him, and they're thanking him for what happened when he was a baby), he's rich, he has friends; but every year his life is in terrible danger, the safety of the world or others weigh on him, and all the problems of that fame plague him as well. His years in school are more his Mad Eye Moody time.
So by the end of the series he's actually experienced more "life" than most anyone can probably claim. But there is one thing he still has not had: a family. So Arthur Wesley as his role model makes complete sense, who else presents the best role model of a family man in the series.
When I read the Half-Blood Prince and Harry and Ginny get "hooked up", I frankly didn't understand why he would get together with her. It felt like he was robbing the cradle in a way. But after a while it dawned on me that one thing Ginny provides as a character (from a writers perspective) is she has a very loving family who already care deeply for Harry. So by eventually marrying her, he gets the whole clan as well. Also, interestingly enough, having Ron and Hermoine marry means they're all part of the same big happy family now. (I don't think that part was necessarily planned for, just an interesting side-effect.)
Anyway, that's my two cents (actually at this point I think I might be up to a buck fifty).
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I love the Harry Potter series. Rowling has really created a magical universe. It's great to see kids and adults so interested in reading and using their imaginations. Shame it has to end.
When Deathly Hallows was released, my friend and I failed to find it at one store so we raced to the mall and I bought one at Chapters. Then I had the idea to check out Toys 'R' Us and we found it for wayyy cheaper there. Had to go back to the other side of the mall to return the book I already bought and get my money back. Then back to Toys 'R' Us to buy the cheaper copy. Very exhausting.