I don’t know if you know this but I have a whole other blog dedicated to Harry Potter. It’s called Potterflaws so feel free to check that out. Anyway to the point once more.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is the only Harry Potter book to make it on to a top 1000 books list so vague it contains entries like, ‘the Discworld series’. I feel this is kind of odd and poorly thought through. I mean, it isn’t even the best book (The Prisoner of Azkaban is probably the best, followed by Order of the Pheonix). It feels like they went ‘Well it’s a cultural phenomenon so here we’ll put it on the list. But we’re just going to pick the first book without thinking about it because whatevs it’s not real literature’.
On the Philosopher’s Stone. It is definitely a kids book in a way some of the later books aren’t. The books grow up with the characters (and readers) which is one of the things that makes them great and childhood defining. It’s probably the most poorly plotted of the books for details see my extensive work on the subject :p. But it is a great introduction to the magical world. In fact it’s probably the most magical of the books. Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, moving portraits, they all have a unique charm. Ordinary things are touched with a golden wand. Like train travel. I happen to love train travel but in a steam train, on a hidden platform, with an other worldly sweet trolley. That is perfect. In short I get why children instantly took to Harry Potter, why they bathed in it’s world. It’s awesome. And if the writing isn’t first rate? If it isn’t totally original? Will kids notice?
No. Only joyless adults care about that stuff. But still the Prisoner of Azkaban is better because Lupin. I’d also like to give it an award for making time-travel a plot point without ruining the book. Even if that does open you up to a lot of why not go back and kill Voldemort questions (answer: you can’t go back more than three hours without wrecking history but she should have said that in the book not after.)
Anyway I think it deserves to be on the list even if it ended up on the list for the wrong reasons. Small caveat if you’re an adult who somehow hasn’t read it yet you really ought to find a child to read it to or with. Not by kidnapping one or sidling up to one in a public library. Like a relation or friends kid or something.
1000 Little Pieces 