Sunday, November 30, 2008

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J.K. Rowling

The only reason why I waited to read the Harry Potter books was to let the movies fade out from the mind. The reason I chose to read them at all was because I was thoroughly disappointed with the last two editions of the Harry Potter movies. The special effects were all great of course, but when those movies ended I had this sensation that a lot of things were left untold. And the books were universally liked. So I had no choice but to start reading the books.

The first book was definitely written exclusively for children. It’s a good versus evil story where good eventually is victorious. It talks about virtues of courage, friendship, etc. etc. which would all be mixed with a story which would be meant for kids. Plus the writing is that easy style which the children will not struggle with. But I must also add that the stories aren’t as kiddish as say Enid Blyton stories and therefore can grip the interest of adults as well. But to expect any poetic imagery or literary pulchritude from Harry Potter books is just naïve. And probably snobbish.

A word about the movie… the first movie was definitely very well made. I had liked it when I had seen it, and now that I have read the book, I can say that the movie follows the book very closely and completely. And it captures the magic of Hogwarts and the Harry Potter world beautifully. You can not read the books now without the faces from the movie creeping into your imagination as you visualize what you are reading. The spells, the creatures, the objects, and Quidditch, my God that was well shown in the movie.

Well… 1 down, 6 books to go. Soon enough I guess

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