Let me start by saying that if you've been living under a rock and are wary of Harry Potter spoilers, you might want to read on with caution. Let me also say that this is going to be an ongoing discussion due to my current "Harry Potter Marathon."
Disclosure disclosed? Awesome.
While I am sure that there are better fantasy series than Harry Potter (I'm not well read enough in that arena to have a properly formed opinion), I have a hard time believing that Harry doesn't at least rank in the top 10. Also, though I read Twilight and was enamored of it for a bit (before I really, really thought about what I had read), and I cannot argue its place in pop culture, I want to be very clear that there is no competition between Harry and Twilight. None. Not in quality of writing, not in quality of ideas, not in staying power over time. Saying that Twilight is in the same league as Harry Potter is like saying the Backstreet Boys belong in a conversation about the Beatles. It's just not going to happen.
Now that that's out of the way (you really don't want to get me started on a Twilight rant), I can say that over the weekend and to the consternation of Boy Scout, I finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Firstly, I was struck by the fact that, at the time I first read it (I was... 15? Maybe?), I thought Sorcerer's Stone was AMAZING. And it is. But it's almost laughable to read it now, knowing all of the amazingness that is to come. It's a light, almost breezy read filled with clues (Sirius Black leant Hagrid his motorcycle! Harry doesn't like hanging out with his scary cat lady neighbor! AHHHHHH), and it is most definitely "the introductory book." (Note to Stephenie Meyer: the books are supposed to get better as you go along. Not worse. See?)
It also struck me while reading The Sorcerer's Stone, and not for the first time, that the books mature with Harry. Now I'm not saying that J.K Rowling in any way dumbs down her language or her imagery or her writing for younger readers. What I'm saying is that the things that happen to 12-year-old Harry are scary and dangerous, but not too scary and dangerous for a 12-year-old. Rowling did an excellent job of growing the conflicts along with Harry. There are some emotional and traumatic events that occur in the first three books, but it's not until (SPOILER ALERT?) the death of Cedric Diggory that Rowling makes it known that all bets are off. Yes, these are ostensibly children's books. And no, thank you. There will be no punches pulled.
Part of the beautiful world that J.K. Rowling created in Potterverse is the fact there are consequences (I'm looking at you again, Ms. Meyer!). However, Rowling is kind enough not to force adult situations on a child who is just learning about who he is. Literally.
I would also like to say a word about Snape in this book (SPOILER ALERT for Boy Scout, apparently. However, I shall try to speak obliquely). His role is actually very minimal in this book, when you look at it. From the beginning he is trying to save Harry's life (remember Quirrel and the Quidditch match?) and from the very beginning, there is not a single person who thinks Snape is a danger to Harry. Of course it can't be said that he doesn't hold malice toward the boy, but it's sort of heart-breaking to know how the Snape felt about Lily Potter, and to see him do everything in his power to keep her son safe... whether he wants to or not. And it's Dumbledore himself who confirms for the first time that Snape was in school with James Potter (he makes no mention of Lily) and that "they hated each other." To me this deepens Snape's heroism-- nothing he did was for James or for Harry themselves. It was all for Lily.
So maybe that wasn't so oblique after all. Sorry, Scout.
Going back to a previous point, this speaks further to Rowling's abilities as a writer. She knew, even in the first book, that there was more to the greasey potions master than met the eye. But she knew that neither Harry nor his contemporary readers wanted or needed to see the man behind the curtain. That was for later, when everyone was ready.
(This is where I could talk about how knowing the end of your story at the beginning and planting seeds of growth along the way is a sign of a superior story-teller, but I won't go there. No. I won't. I won't say that adding details in the last 50 pages to lend relevence to your ending is lame. Nope. Won't do it... Shit.)
I guess I'm done for now. Be sure and come back next time for "In Which Harry Stabs a Big-Ass Basilisk with an Awesome Sword." No innuendo intended.
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