Pottermania

It is easy do dismiss Harry Potter as a childrens story, and not without good reason. It starts off as a story of a 11-year old boy who discovers that he has magical powers, and his first year at Hogwarts School. Soon we are to learn that he is "the boy who lived", not only being the only person to survive a powerful killing curse, that too as an infant, but also having thus caused the downfall of the all powerfull Lord Voldemort, so feared that he is only referred to as "he-who-must-not-be-named". As the series progresses, the series has gotten darker and we are left at a very crucial stage after the release of the penultimate book in this 7-part series.

As an avid reader, I too was astounded at the hype surrounding some of the initial books, and brushed it off as a mere craze that would go away. But someone convinced me to give it a shot, and I ended up buying the first book of the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (PS), called Sorcerer's Stone, in some parts of the globe. Interesting, no doubt, but it was, I felt, a bit too much of an easy read, which left me wondering if all the publicity surrounding the series was justified. PS deals with the realization that Harry is a wizard, and his first year at school; how he meets his best friends Ron and Hermione, introduction to Quiddich and his first brush with some of his enemies, who want to see him dead, so that You-know-who can come back to power. It was a light read, though at a mere two-hundred-odd pages, it wasnt as imposing and just about managed to convince me to pick up book two.

Chamber of Secrets(CS) deals with 12-year old Harry's second year at Hogwarts, and though I found it dissappointing, I had at least decided to try and finish the books available (at that time till book 4) at the earliest. Looking back, it might have been one of the most crucial books in the series, and there is some speculation that the end of the series will depend on something hidden from this book. Third year is described in Prizoner of Azkaban(PA), which too date had been Rowling at her finest. I dare say that I have read a better book, and even Rowling herself will admit that it is improbable that she will ever write one as good. Harry Potter, as a child wizard, ably supported by his friends, are able to thwart the evil designs of the bad guys and he gains a new friend in the process. It is this book that gets you well and truly hooked onto the series, and from there it just takes off.

What makes the books special, is not the magic. The spells and potions just happen to be incidential to the plot. Just as Titanic wouldn't have been a box office success if it was about a ship, rather than a love story, the series concentrates on the personal aspect of Harry's life. We are shown some of the growing up pains that we would have all experienced in our lives - pressure of keeping upto work, making and losing new friends, the first crush and the subsequent brushes with the opposite sex and some of the emotional bonds that tie us to out parents, and other loved ones. Basically, everyone can see a bit of ourselves in Harry, and can learn how he summons up the courage to face his battles. In Goblet of Fire(GF), we are introduced to his first crush, which doesnt work out. Book 5, the Order of the Phoenix(OP), deals with the death of an important character in the series, and Harry has to face the death of a loved one. The penultimate episode, Half-Blood Prince(HBP), he is confronted with a task that he must finish off under all circumstances, as that will lead to a greater good. Loyalties of important characters are put into question and the future of the whole school is put into doubt. Rowling, has, no doubt, kept all the readers in suspense as to the end of the final book, one that can be seen in the numerous speculations on various boards and forums.

It is not fair to compare this series with some other masterpieces of fantasy fiction, such as the Lord of the Rings, which was truly an epic. Neither can this compare to some of Asimov's science fiction books, because they are of different genres. However, it may suffice to say that, if those were the Mona Lisas of yesteryear, then this could also be a Picasso masterpiece of modern times. Rowlings writing style is simple to understand for all ages, her ability to create a scene phenominal, and she is able to weave a good story around it. Many of the initial books have been of smaller length, but in the latter ones, she has written 700-plus pages a novel, making them, in style and content, comparable to a modern thriller, rather than a light read. Some of the things she describes in the book, though make-believe, sound plausible, so important while dealing with a story on magic, and she has a knack of introducing a small detail somewhere in the middle of the book, which later on assumes huge significance to the end, always a halmark of a great thriller. It is no surprise that the books have turned out to be as gripping and well-paced as they are, but by ensuring that she has the plot outline of the whole series, two years before she even wrote the first book, she has introduced a consistence that wouldnt have been seen if the storyline grew incrementally.

Where they books are a success, can Hollywood be far behind. We have already had four of the books made into movies and already the fifth is under production. Due to the large fan base, and a lot of pre-release hype the movies have already become a success, but most of it is well deserved because they have tried their best to stay as true to the books as possible and supplemented them with the mind-blowing special effects. As the movies keep on getting made, it will become increasingly difficult to fit everything from the books into the movies, and for those who have lost touch with the written word, they will miss out on a great work of art. The ones who have enjoyed the movie most are those who have read the book, and use the visuals to supplement their imagination of this beautiful world that is Harry Potter. It will be truly tragic if lethargy to pick up a book deprives anyone of the oppurtunity to truly appreciate a great story.