From: Andrew Ogus <andbooks>
Date: Wed, 26 May 1999 18:31:30 -0700

I am pleased to have started such a fast moving hare with my remarks re DWJ and Rowling. Since it's almost the end of the week, I'm going to write another comment now.

Obviously this is only my opinion, and my definition of mediocrity may be another person's excellence. Prize winning and vast recognition are not a a guarantee of quality per se. They may mean the winner has somehow matched the immediate ambience of the culture - even the culture of children's books. (Many Carnegie and Newbury winners seem inexplicable today.)

I couldn't help wondering how familiar some of the reviewers I read were with children's books, and fantasy in particular I was surprised that none of the reviews I saw of HP mentioned its similarity to Dahl, nor mentioned Jones; I got the impression that the "novelty" of HP was part of its success.

As an ex bookstore worker, I have to appreciate sheer volume of sales as a measure of success (it's undrealistic not to). But there's a difference between a fad and a classic.

On the other hand, if HP gets more kids to enjoy reading, more power to it. ANY book that does that is a success, in my opinion. I'd recommend these readers to pursue the DWJ books if they have a taste for fantasy and action.

And in response the question of development of characters from book to book, Christopher Chant, hero of several of DWJ's books, appears as a child and then an adult, and even a father from book to book, as a well developed and interesting character. The seeds of his adult nature are apparent and well developed.
Received on Wed 26 May 1999 08:31:30 PM CDT