Harry Potter

It might be after Half blood prince release or sometime before it, I started to read Harry potter. It all started on a casual chat. One of my friend is a fan of HP series an we were kidding him because he was not appreciating some of Tamil novels which we liked. His reason was their style was archaic and so we are laughing at the usage "You-Know-Who". Then I thought why should not I give a try?. I finished Philosophers' stone and my opinion was its a good book to read , but one doesn't miss much if he doesn't read it. I am still wondering what made me to read the second part and third .... (may be divine intervention, if I am not speaking about JKR works, who explained all those lucky breaks not with God but with Love). I loved the conversation between Harry and Dumbledore or the speech that Dumbledore makes towards the end of each part, but for that not much to say....

Then I landed up on the third part. First it was the concept behind dementors Vs Patronus charm. The organism which lives by sucking out of all happiness and drive people to insanity by keeping them in depression. How can you win them? Patronus charm, an embodiment of one's innermost positive feelings, the desire to survive. There are books in which the reader has to use all his hope to turn every page. Those are the books whose last chapter was read by none other than the proof reader of that book. Then are those in which the reader breathes only when he finishes the last page where protagonist invariably runs for life not knowing from whom he is running. These are really interesting books to read as they engulf the reader so much. Till that moment HP was that kind of book to me. But there is one more type, which won't make you to turn the page quickly but make you to halt at a line or at a page. It make you to think about something happened . They will be shouting inside the readers brain for long time to come. I think this is the instant where HP moved to this bracket for me.

The goblet of fire ends with a death which makes the starting point for the future deaths. I personally feels this is the point where the story really started to move towards what it was all about (which becomes more clear in the last part). The impact of death and what death actually means that's what the novel is more about . The last 4 volumes speaks on this, sometimes subtly, sometimes loudly.

Another thing that made me to hook with the book is the chemistry between Hermione, Ron and Harry. Every character that comes in the book was etched so nicely. This is the main reason which made people to hook with the book. The success of a writer lies in the empathy the reader feels with the characters, or they way reader identifies himself with a character in a novel. The plot, story are secondary. That's why I could remember more dialogues than the spells. To put in other way the thing which glued me to the book is the greatest magic which Voldemort had no idea about .


Before reading deathly hallows, the part that I liked most was order of phoenix, because it was more about emotion than about magic, the Sirius death is the peak. Some may say I love tragedy, but to be honest Half blood prince is more tragic than its predecessor. In that Dumbledore & co lose more than they gain. They end up in a fake horcrux and lost their captain, whereas Voldemort becomes more powerful. So its not because of tragedy or a losers soul which find solace in someones failure but because of empathy one feel on seeing how difficult it is to stand for something which most do not believe, the importance of friends who can understand and stand by you in the darkest hours of the night . The order of phoenix is not much about good Vs evil but much about doing easy thing Vs Right thing.

Half blood prince is more about past and horcrux. The idea of horcrux is nothing newer than the "அரக்கன்" who keeps his life in an parrot guarded in someplace behind seven hills. But what it means, what makes a person to protect his soul , becomes clear in last part. Horcrux or hallows, no matter what you chose, you may survive but can't LIVE.

In deathly hallows for the people who follow HP there are no surprises, except that of Dumbledore's past, which too looks like what we see in most Hollywood style movies and novels, a protagonist with disturbed past, with the urge to overcome the survivors guilt. But we are once again completely taken over by JKR power of imagination and the interconnections across different parts. Who might have thought "Young Sirius Black lent it to me" has any significance other than to catch a child's fantasy by writing about a flying motorbike. JKR's writings may be of literary quality or not, but everyone will accept the fact that she is a master in toying with reader emotions. That's why we are getting a sense of relief and not a kind of banality when harry repeatedly escapes by sheer luck and Voldemort always reaches the place after harry left . I really enjoyed the moment when harry calls Voldemort by the name Tom Riddle. Dumbledore calls like that in one of the earlier encounters.

But what makes one to think about this book again and again is the way it speaks about life and death. I could not help but to think about Ayn Rand after reading harry potter. I still wonder what makes these two authors' work, as most close to my heart, though they represent the two different ends of a line. If History is different and JKR was before Ayn, Ayn Rand, might surely scoffed at a book which spends reams and reams of paper just to show that the only possible way to survive is not invincible skill or the skill to bring back lost or creating more of us but the skill to remain hidden. This is a story which speaks about the victory of selflessness , complete surrender , 'too weak to dare' over an ' self -made ' chauvinist. A man loses the duel not because of less skill but because , "he does not value, he takes no trouble to comprehend, Of house-elves and children’s tales- of love, loyalty, and innocence" . What makes " the boy who survived" to survive is not his possession of the "invincible wand " or the power to bring back dead, but his decision to embrace death and the cloak which makes him invisible. He gets the more powerful tools only when he knew "enough to not to use them".

But the fact is I liked both books. I felt something close to my heart which I am unable to put in words. May be both these writers are so good (interestingly both are female writers) in fiddling with emotions and both speak about same thing, living for what one believe , against powerful opponents with the help of small crowd which believe in him. Well there may be thousands of story on this premise, but what makes these special is the way these characters are shown. The Personification.