Explain Harry Potter to me

[Rykion]

Harry Potter is an imaginative young adults' book series. I think that part of the success in the US is because the "boarding school" book genre doesn't really exist in the US like it does in the UK. That makes the books seem more original to an American audience. It isn't everyone's cup of tea though.

Harry is a bit of a reluctant hero. Hermione is the book smart one that figures things out and is more advanced at most magic, but Harry is the cause of most of the adventures to begin with. He is a natural flyer, and by the third book he is the most powerful in his class at fighting the dark arts. By the fifth book, he is teaching older students to defend against the dark arts. Truthfully, Harry, Hermione, and Ron are all heroes in the books, but Voldemort and his servants are the antagonists, making Harry the one in most peril.

 

[Rackhir]

I've not read the books and the movies also left me rather unmoved, but I have had several people tell me that the writing and descriptions in the books are excellent. So they may well make a better read than the movies are a watch.

 

[mojo1701]

They're fun to read.

 

[iwatt]

Why don't you read the books first before making your mind up on them.

He did mention that buying books is an expensive proposition in South America .

I haven't read them myself, but it's got to do more with stubborness than anything else. Everyone in my family has already read them, and they keep asking me too read them. Since I'm pretty stubborn, I haven't touched them.

 

[barsoomcore]

The movies have pretty much sucked so far. The books are very entertaining. Shallow and fluffy, but fun reads (expect for the latest one which wasn't so hot).

I wouldn't recommend making a huge effort to get them, but if you run across them, you should give them a shot. Quick reads and fun.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Of course, there are people like me who really, really tried to like the books. I just couldn't get into them, though. Not all that sure why, but I forced myself to keep reading them since everyone said "they get better"...but or me, they didn't. I'm not exactly sure why, just maybe her style of writing bugs me.

Even though I didn't like the books, though, the movies were definitely worse.

But I tried, and it just wasn't my thing. At least it has gotten some more kids reading, even if all they read is Harry Potter over and over.

 

[F5]

The thing that helped me "get" the Harry Potter books more than anything else is the fact that they are written for kids. The first book, especially, had a very Roald Dahl kind of feel to it (Wille Wonka, James and the Giant Peach, etc). It's a little dark, a little absurd, and the kids seem to have it more together than the adults.

An interesting aspect to the books is the implications they make about the wider "Wizarding World"...a parallel, secret British Government, an implied Caste system, stuff that is not necessary to think about to get the plot, but makes them a little more interesting to an older reader. You never really see the grown-up wizards' world beyond just glimpses (you see more of it as the series goes on), which is a lot like a kid sees the real world...you know that your parents go off to work, and pay taxes and vote in elections and whatnot, but don't really experience it directly until you;re out of school. There are different levels to the books, that you might not get as much from the movies.

But first and foremost, rememeber that they're kids' books. You'll have to get past slapstick action scenes and booger jokes to get to the meat of the books.

 

[Ranger REG]

They aren't brilliant.

By adult standard, probably not. You can argue for almost all of the novels published by TSR and WotC.

Do I care? No. If it's an entertaining read, that's good enough for me. I'm not an English nor a Literature student. Just because I'm a Trek fan doesn't mean I should not be watching something as base as Star Wars.

It's not like the DOE or any teachers' union banning them books.

As for the first few book's stories, all he had going was the reputation but he wasn't as learned as Hermione nor was groomed at an earlier age as Ron (Harry only knew of his magical heritage at 10 years old prior to being enrolled into Hogswarts). He does have some kind of prophecy to fulfill and it should show in due time.

 

[damiynn]

Why Harry is a good read

There is a reason why JK rowlings is a multi #1 best seller ist cause her books are good and that they are not just for children. She takes an orphan and makes him barely succed and surrounds him by a ton of characters who are all almost better than he is and still makes him the success in the stories.. If you cant get into the books themselves try the audiobooks , they are fantastic and an excellent way to get introduced to harry and company

 

[Crothian]

By adult standard, probably not. You can argue for almost all of the novels published by TSR and WotC.

I don't think they are brilliant by kids standards either. They are better the the TSR/WotC books though.

But I agree that I don't care, I don't need these books to be brilliant. They are entertaining. I said they aren't brilliant becasue the first post asked why they are brilliant. So, brilliant no. Entertaining yes.