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Topic History of: Clive James On JK
Max. showing the last 5 posts - (Last post first)

Author	Message
JK2006	In total agreement PBS - not everyone will, or should, like everything. At University I greatly enjoyed the novels of Thomas Love Peacock. His satire amused me. But very few others. Presently I'm reading the latest GERALD SEYMOUR, one of my favourite writers but not widely known or appreciated. So there's nothing wrong with NOT enjoying Harry Potter. Just don't condemn others for loving the books.
PBS	I did read the first book, and part of the second. They were okay but I've known much better writers and my interest just faded. That's not to say I thought the books were bad. Obviously millions thought they were good. They just didn't do much for me, plus I think the excessive hype put me off a bit. I handed the book to a younger relative who said "Oh cool" and immediately went to the last few pages to see how it all ended. Kids, huh?!?
chrissy	..or perhaps it's all a little bit OTT. Isn't envy a terrible thing?
chrissy	I was somewhat surprised at the correlation he makes between Rowling and Bannister too. If Rowling's achievements can be likened to a great sporting triumph which had the whole nation in hysteria, one would have thought a better example was England's 1966 World Cup victory.
JK2006	Interesting piece by Clive James but he doesn't read the books (not liking elves and magic). The real phenomenon is how superb the books are. They transcend the quality tests of critics (one found 7 cliches on one random page) and bring story telling and character and plot building into the imagination of millions. That is indeed an incredible achievement. And rather than Roger Bannister (just another athlete) it is on a par with The Beatles and Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra and just a handful of global superstars.