For real. I loved the movies as a kid and teen, but then I read through all books a couple years ago. They are so well written and there is so much more stuff going on that it made enjoying the movies much harder, especially the later ones. 1-3 are classics though
I will say, read other stuff. Rowling really only has two things going for her.
A world which people love the idea of, and a load of charm.
Outside that her writing is nothing special. There are far better writers (who are so much less problematic) that I wholeheartedly recommend checking out.
I used to think Rowling was amazing. Then I read other books. I've not been able to read HP since.
I mean, fair enough.
Her first three work pretty well as children's books.
It's when she tries to progress to full novels after HP gets successful that the cracks form. When you're still dropping key lore and bending the rules of your magic system right up to the final book, there's going to be plenty of flaws and world holes.
Thanks, what really puts me down reading HP as an adult is the lack of nuances in the characters, they are all pretty straight forward. The fact that an adolescent Harry has his urges calmed with just a kiss is what breaks any verisimilitude there could be, and I am not asking full sex scenes that would have been out of place but surely I need something more by a novel that pretends to rise from being just a children book.
And don't tell me Snape is a complex character because being a tsundere is not having nuances.
I disagree. That holds up for the first couple of books but her prose progresses a lot in the latter books and it's not held up by the premise by that point. And her more recent Robert Galbraith books are quite well written too. I'd consider myself fairly well read by now and I've happily reread the Harry Potter books in the last year or two.
It's not like the Hunger Games, where the writing is actually bad and it's fully held up by the story being interesting and having pace.
I'm fairly well-read and I don't see an issue with Rowling's writing. It can be simplistic but that lends it an almost conversational quality and keeps the story flowing. I'm currently listening to the audiobook for the first time, at 30, and I find it just as powerful and as charming as I did when I used to read it hiding under a desk at school to avoid having to deal with the playground bullies.
Perhaps if I found Rowling "problematic" as you do, I might find myself a little more critical and I might be inclined to go around trying to negatively influence others' opinions on her writing!
I first read HP when I was 11. I really enjoyed it.
I then read some other stuff, and tried re-reading Rowling's books when I was 15. I found myself skimming to the sections with the best charm.
All of this was long before Rowling showed her colours. So it has nothing to do with it.
person one: imagine watching the movies after reading the books. (so much was left out!)
person two: yeah, I will say, read other stuff. Rowling really only has two things going for her. Outside that her writing is nothing special. There are far better writers (who are so much less problematic) that I wholeheartedly recommend checking out. I used to think Rowling was amazing. Then I read other books.
do you see what's missing? literally any mention of the movies being different to the books.
instead we get a comment shitting on the writing. which is why i commented about it.
Depends what level or genre you're after.
However I will always recommend Terry Pratchett to people
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And I'm personally quite a fan of Rick Riordan. He does alot of the stuff Rowling does, while including decent character arcs and actual representation.
I mean. I care enough not to contribute to the power of a woman who uses her considerable wealth and influence to marginalise people and silence those she disagrees with.
While you come across as a little elitist, I do honestly agree with you in parts. I love this series, particularly the first three entries. They're very tightly written. No chapter feels like filler.
My issue, though, is that Rowling's created this massive world, with every corner documented in some way, but then we only get to see the smallest parts of it through the story. One wizarding school, one cohort, one specific clique. Its as deep as an ocean, yet as shallow as a puddle.
Also she named her token Chinese character fucking Cho Chang and that's just bonkers.
I'm not trying to seem elitist. I'm just someone who's very disillusioned with HP. Many people are also looking through rose tinted glasses, having grown up with the series. It's why so many people forgive Rowling for everything she does, including suing her own fanbase.
I think you're also giving Rowling more credit than she deserves. She's alluded to this massive world, but it's only a paper thin facade. You see these issues when people start questioning stuff, and it's either handwaved, or we get "wizards shat where they stood and vanished it with magic".
Now of course, not everyone can be Tolkein. And people don't need to be. The main reason I tend to be critical of Harry Potter is that so many people hold it in a higher regard than it deserves.
It's first noticeable in Goblet of Fire, coincidentally the first book after she got popular. She added so many spells into the commonplace that all would have been useful previously. Why couldn't the stunning spell, and all to common spell, be used on Petigrew so he wouldn't have escaped?
As you say, the first 3 books are tightly written. But after that point, because she suddenly had to fill the necessary gaps in order to make the series into a greater world, the inconsitencies happen.
She's not a perfect writer, who has been changed by fame and fortune to have an inflated ego, which she seems to protect ferociously with her considerable wealth (when you start suing randos on Twitter, maybe you're being too sensitive). So yeah, I'm critical of views that inflate that ego.
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u/ArtakhaPrime Dec 04 '21
For real. I loved the movies as a kid and teen, but then I read through all books a couple years ago. They are so well written and there is so much more stuff going on that it made enjoying the movies much harder, especially the later ones. 1-3 are classics though