From: Kathleen Odean <KOdean>
Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1999 11:33:55 -0400

Harry Potter is a beautifully designed book. I see that the same designer did the book I'm reading now, At Her Majesty's Request by Walter Dean Myer, which is also unusually elegant and suits its subject well.

I was interested in Melody's remarks about symbols which resonate, which I have been thinking about in reference to the book's British and American titles. "Philosopher's stone" is a phrase which I already knew, that comes from alchemy, to describe a stone that changes base metal into gold, as indeed "sorcerer's stone" is used in the book. The OED says that Chaucer used the phrase "Philosophres stoon" in 1385. It is also a symbol for transformation of the human spirit, which is what a lot of fantasy novels are also about. (Does anyone else remember the story in one of the Gone-Away Lake books about a fake philosopher's stone?)

If you already know the term, it is disconcerting to find that it has simply been changed to "sorcerer's stone," which has no history, but is presumably more appealing to American audiences. I have done some informal surveying of children and adults here in Rhode Island, and none of them knew the phrase, so there's no loss of resonance for them. Does this mean that British audiences are more familiar with alchemy?

Just to set the record straight, I like Harry Potter and gave it a good review in Book Magazine (a new glossy publication for people who enjoy books). I just enjoy more complex fantasy novels more.

Kathy Odean kodean at compuserve.com
Received on Fri 04 Jun 1999 10:33:55 AM CDT