More Magic
Sat., June 28, 12:59 PM
It took me a whole week to finish Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Why did it take so long? Not because it has 870 pages. Not because I am supposed to be a grown-up who doesn’t sit and read when there are other things that need to be done. I kept putting it down because it has scary parts.
One of the best things about reading books is that you can control just how much it will scare you. The problem is that, as an adult, I see more frightening stuff in this than any kid will ever see. And I’m not talking about the magic. Several times I found myself thinking, “why don’t they use a copier? Why doesn’t anyone have a telephone?” Oh, yeah, that’s Muggle magic.
Have you ever wondered how come people who let their kids
read fairy tales or watch “Beauty and the Beast” can rail away against “magic.” Mostly, I think, it’s because they haven’t read the books. The Harry Potter books don’t say “you have to believe in magic.” They say, “what if magic existed, what would happen then?”
The most frightening part of this book is people’s thirst for power, whether they be Muggles or Wizards. I recognized what could have been Nazi Germany or Communist Russia or – the U.S. reaction to communism – McCarthyism. The fact is that most of our population and, I’m grateful to know, all of our children have never lived through such times.
Harry Potter is fifteen years old now, very appealing in a different way from the earlier books. I think I was just a more cautious fifteen-year-old than he is. The magic here is how the writing evokes memories: the difficulties of increased homework, the pressure of exams (O levels or their equivalent), the uncertainties of one’s first crush.
I kept saying, “don’t do that, you’ll get in trouble,” and I wasn’t talking only to Harry. Over the last two books, I’ve been sure that Hagrid is going to get himself killed – and I love Hagrid.
In short, I savored the book, adding in my own take, working on the mysteries, following the character development. Some old questions were answered at last, to be replaced by even greater doubts. And now we’re going to have to wait another three years to find out what marks the Triumvirate got on their O.W.L’s?
I may have to go back and reread the first four books – which would be fun, at that.
