July 14, 2005

The magic of Harry Potter

By Paul Shlichta
Magic is in the air again.  In two days, a new Harry Potter book; in four months, a new Harry Potter movie. And while the bookstores and theaters are being mobbed, some of us will wonder what the fuss is all about. A few years ago, tired of being the only person in the country who hadn't looked into an HP book, I borrowed and read the first three.  I was delighted.  These are the sort of undemandingly entertaining books that are vulgarly called "a good read".  They are reasonably well written, the characters are well defined and believable, and the plots have sudden wild twists that are truly ingenious. Even so, the HP books are not in a league with juvenile classics like Kim, The Wind in the Willows, or Alice in Wonderland——nor even as good as the classics of my children's childhood, such as The Phantom Tollbooth or The Mouse and His Child.  Why then this incredible storm of popularity, among adults as well as children? After due...(Read Full Article)