Nothing's worth the worriment

Sunday, July 31, 2005

Curtain raiser
One would imagine that considering the sheer scale of creation of the Potter books, (I mean, this is a world that does not borrow from real life, therefore every credit for it must ultimately lie with the author) by the time one came to the sixth, Rowling would be gasping for novelty, but she confounds us yet again by turning out a thriller that is darker and even more complicated than the others.
If you think the sixth book is going to be your average Potter novel, two things are possible. You could be right... And you could be wrong. You could be right because the mainframes are the same. Potter still has his best friends to rally around him, although he is a godfather short. The Weasley twins are still the funniest blokes in non-muggle land and the Dursleys are still the relatives from hell.
What has changed is that Voldemort is now a much more tangible enemy. Also Potter is finally going to get the juice on the slit-eyed villain— Where he comes from and what makes him tick.
In a sense Rowling has written this one with her gloves off. There is no easing into the plot. This is not ‘fairy’ magic but stark and dangerous stuff. People will get killed and nasty things are going to happen.
For instance, if you think werewolfs are furry animals with a ‘condition’, wait till you hear about the monster that bit Lupin. If you think Voldemort is a just a brilliant wizard gone wrong, wait till you see what a calculated, despotic fiend he really is.
Harry’s world is no longer safe. It never was, but these are desperate times. Death eaters are at large and all the hands on Mrs Weasley’s clock are pointing at ‘mortal peril’.
But Potter is Potter and no matter how low-down and dirty the plot gets, we will still follow him every step of the way.
So why do these stories turn our world upside down? I suspect it’s something to do with the ‘realness’ of the books. Potter’s world is not some made-up fantasy, grasping at the edges of reason. To millions of ecstatic children, his world is exquisitely detailed, eminently believable and definitely more fun than their own.
If we have graduated to mental maths in school, Harry now has to contend with non-verbal spells in his. If we are grappling with the finer nuances of newton’s third law, Harry is busy learning how to evaporate into thin air in apparition class. If we have to bungle our way through public transport everyday, Harry just catches the floo network and travels where ever he pleases in a twinkling. And not to forget the crowning glory of ‘wizard world’— Quiddich!
Kicking a football around on a muddy field with friends on a Saturday has its own charm, but one must own that this is nothing ( and i mean NOTHING) compared to flying about on a broomstick (with the fear of being maimed by a bludger, not to mention being knocked off your broomstick by a hex or an opposing team player) to the accompaniment of roaring crowds and winged snitches.
The Potter books are growing. In depth, in width and in menace. Potter is not the vulnerable 11-year-old who lived on charity and got bullied by objectionable relatives. He is a young man now, acquainted with death and toughened like none other in his school. He has the character to stand up to the new minister of magic and does not flinch at speaking his mind. He trusts his instincts and by this time, we do too.
From being a doormat living on leftovers at his aunt’s house, he has grown into an intelligent and innovative teenager, capable of giving as good as he gets. In many ways he lives a parallel life to the success of the books. Potter has achieved cult status in the sixth book, not just with us muggles, but in his own world of wizardry. So while the girls are swooning over him in the corridors, everyone from the Daily Prophet to the minister of magic is calling him “the chosen one.”
And what does the chosen one have to face in the sixth book? Mayhem perhaps... death maybe, danger— definitely. But for the sake of the few people who are yet to read the book (if such creatures exist) the twists in the tale must be kept under the (sorting) hat. Let it suffice to say that although the story winds a bit and we have the usual stray ends that tease mercilessly, the plot comes to an exciting, if somewhat abrupt end.
Tragedy strikes Harry again and the stage is set for him to meet his deadliest foe in the final book. Rowling seems to be intent on the gradual but decisive weaning away of our hero from all forms of fatherly protection. He must stand alone; but does he win? only the final chapter of the seventh book— which incidentally Rowling has already written— will tell.
Deccan Herald(Open Sesame, 29th July, 2005)

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