In series books, the most imaginative energy is typically evident in the first volume. This is where the new universe comes to life (or fails to do so, as the case may be). If everything clicks in book one, half of the work for the sequels is already finished. This is true for Rowling as it was for Frank Herbert or C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien. Once she had created Hogwarts and its denizens, the magical universe that surrounds it, and above all the charismatic Mr. Harry Potter & Company, J.K. Rowling could have given us countless stories with these same chess pieces. For this reason, I give special marks to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (or Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in its original British title), the work that set this whole enterprise in motion.
Rowling has blessed us with seven Harry Potter novels (although her fans have added, as noted above, several hundred thousand other related tales), and there is no better place to start in exploring her richly inspired alternative world than this opening volume in the series. If Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is not a classic, than the term hardly has a legitimate meaning. This is one of those books that is meant to be enjoyed and shared. I read this book aloud to my son when he was five years old, and I daresay that I was as enchanted as he was by Rowling’s story. We went on to read the rest of the series together. I suspect he will have the same joy sharing these books with his own children. In the often isolating and esoteric world of the modern novel, this sense of sharing and community is in itself remarkable. But no less remarkable — and canonical — than what J.K. Rowling has conjured out of her head.
Article comments
1 - Robert M. Barga
Her books are obvious and cliche, but that doesn't mean that they are not good.
Look at her stories as character studies, and then you notice they are a redemption story for Snake and Malfoy, not a story about Potter
That is when you see the true intellegence behind the books
2 - Katiedid
Movie critics hardly like the ones we appreciate, and book critics are so busy being "smart" that they fail to realize that there is more than one way to do something.
To read a Harry Potter novel is nothing but pure entertainment, pleasure, and escapism. Those are definitely my definitions of a classic novel. One I am unable to put down, and wish to re-read to make sure I did not miss a single word.
3 - C.M. Warren
I am a huge harry potter fan myself, simply because the story she wove was so complex, and yet so simple. When you distill the themes and plots of the series, it is remarkable how what drives the stories is in the end something simple, and human.
What made me fall in love though was the richness of her world, in both scale, and intimacy. It feels large because it really is, but because she takes so much time introducing us literally to hundreds of characters, and situations that are both simple and complex at the same time, you can wrap yourself in her storytelling, and just let the words take you too a vivid world.
She may not be the worlds greatest writer, and she did do things that annoyed me at times, but she also is one of the worlds most proficent story tellers. I will never regret slipping into harry's world many times, and just exploring the sheer humanity of a world that should feel so foriegn.
4 - jamminsue
Thanks for this article; JK Rowling certainly did a great job. I have had great fun with the Harry Potter series. I am a college student, acquiring a Classical education, and finding reference to a number of beasts and people in Harry's world that existed in other planes is neat. Not only did she refer to the ancient Greek/Roman worlds (three-headed dog) and the terrible period that followed, (Nicolas Flamel) but even to such arcane worlds as the Celts. The wood chosen for Harry's wand is the wood of July in Celtic lore.
I believe the third book, Prisoner of Azkaban is the best of the seven.
I agree with the redemption of Snape idea, as one of many levels of allegory that are weaved in this book.
Also - I was given a copy of Beetle Bard and found the collection of short stories to be wonderful.