From: ALevine at Scholastic.com <ALevine>
Date: Mon, 24 May 1999 19:30:58 -0400

I'm very glad to hear the appreciations of Diana Wynne Jones, whom I agree is a very good writer. But I have to object to the fact of those appreciations coming at the expense of J.K. Rowling.
   I certainly disagree with Kathy's labeling of Harry Potter's family life as a "cliche" which I think does a grave disservice to the originality and humor with which his life on Privet Drive is rendered. Roald Dahl didn't invent the setting of an orphan struggling through difficult circumstances
-- and he certainly doesn't deserve to have the last word about it.
   And I have to say that many writers besides J.K. Rowling have received greater acclaim, attention and sales than Diana Wynne Jones over the past few years. I don't, however, think it would be doing DWJ a favor by comparing her to a list of more successful writers. She has her own strengths and talents and deserves to be lauded for them outright -- and not in the shadow of dubious comparisons.
Received on Mon 24 May 1999 06:30:58 PM CDT