The Right Thing To Do

Начало книги

Harry Potter was intended to grow up with its readers. The first two books are very childish and have the aura of a safe and harmless fantasy, rather than one that has a very real impact on the characters. The characters are largely played for laughs and no one looks too closely into the unfortunate implications of the stories. As the stories grow older, this balancing act becomes harder to sustain and reading the earlier books can leave the adult reader wondering what is wrong with the Wizarding World? When you read the books as a child, watching Hagrid give Dudley a pig’s tale is hilarious; when you read them as an adult, you see Hagrid as (at best) a child abuser, convincing his parents that their fear and hatred of the wizards who have forced themselves into their lives is amply justified. There’s also the ‘minor’ joke about the Dursleys taking Dudley to have the tail removed, which would have revealed the existence of the entire Wizarding World!

Читать дальше →