Wednesday, September 15, 2010

I solemnly swear that i am up to no good ;)

 Ever heard of the phrase " your reputation precedes you" , that's exactly what comes in my mind when i think of the what people in the big wizard world of J K Rowling think about Mr Harry Potter. I know its kind of late to write a review on the "harry potter" series because by now there's not much that can be said about the Harry Potter phenomenon  that hasn't been said already. Worshipped by kids, enjoyed by adults, this modern myth has become an accepted classic worldwide. Pull any copy of the series off a shelf anywhere in the world and you're holding magic.
   And there are probably numerous reasons for it. For every individual with a good imagination these books provide an excellent experience of a whole new world where the major cause of existence is 'magic', which is beautiful because sometimes you don't really want to read about the same old things that happen around you in the real world. The wizard world definitely offers you a great escape from the misery of the real world. But that's not the prime reason - Besides this out and out imagination it still keeps you rooted to the basic amenities of life like friendship, love and courage (as in the words of Dumbledore himself "love leaves its own mark").
        The character harry potter how initially starts off sympathetically as a male counter-part of Cinderella, living off on his cousin's old rags, with his little room below the stairs somehow ends up in a world where he is so mysteriously famous for something that happened to him when he was a year old and this continuously keeps up the mystery from the start. Drawing the readers more and more close to him is also the fact that how natural he is and how he manages to do great things at the end of every book, though like he always says modestly "with help from others" of course.
              The magic potion Rowling herself concocts starts solidly with Harry, a remarkably unassuming kid who's got "hero of mythical proportions" written all over him. He's courageous, clever and resourceful. He's got a special talent in the form of magical powers, and a noble and mysterious birth. He's wounded - a big one in myths - not just physically as evidenced by the scar on his forehead, but emotionally as well due to the death of his parents, not to mention a tortured upbringing by uncaring relations. But most of all, as was hinted right from the start, he's got one heck of a destiny.  All this comes together to introduce a character the reader immediately bonds with. You *really* want to be this kid's friend and hang out with him to see what happens.

        Another major essential element in this magical potion of J.K Rowling is the friendship portrayed between the characters and the fact which keep it so real is that no character is perfect, every one in the story makes mistakes even the famous Harry Potter. Every character becomes so real around you that it keeps you all the way in the story like Hagrid for example - despite his love exotic and deadly creatures, you can't help it but feel good about him. Even the character "Malfoy" that was truly depicted as a minor villain in the start makes you feel pity for him when he fails to obey "he who must not be named" (Voldemort) 's orders to kill Dumbledore.   
And to sum everything up its through out the simple yet extra ordinary writing style of  J.K Rowling that draws the readers in the first place. From the mystery of 'he who must not be named' to the subtle humor at times ,to every classic explanations of Dumbledore, the writer keeps us thinking of all the logical explanations for the deeds these characters do until explained later in the book itself. 
       Its definitely addictive and even though imaginary fiction yet bizarrely as close to reality as possible. And the books are definitely much much better than the movies. All that the movies do is confirm the look of the characters which  the author herself has done a fantastic job in describing. Though the movie even disappoint at that sometimes. (for example the Sirius Black the author describes is much more handsome than the one in the movie.)


"I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future - there will be books written about Harry - every child in our world will know his name."
Professor MCGonagall, first chapter titled "The Boy Who Lived"