The Age: Why We Adore Harry

The Age takes a look at the popularity of the Harry Potter books. Saying author J.K. Rowling ” is as swish and savvy as Le Carre or Christie “, the article continues:
Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Peter Pan, Little Women, The Wind in the Willows, Alice in Wonderland, Tom Sawyer, The Sword in the Stone, The Little Prince. These are the children’s classics that define the parameters of what we know about childhood feeling. Occasionally, as with Kim, they are dazzling intimations of wisdom as well as excitement. And sometimes, as with Huckleberry Finn , they are great works of art. The Harry Potter books are not quite like that. They are more like the process by which Sherlock Homes and Dr Watson embedded themselves in the collective consciousness of the world…. Harry Potter steals the soul of most people who pick up one of the books. Rowling’s novels are terrific page-turners and, like the Sherlock Holmes stories, they proved themselves to be an extraordinary captivation long before the first one was made into a film.