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Good books, old friends

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By Kara G. Kvasnicka

Tuesday, November 29, -0001

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However, I could not resist reading first-time Scottish author J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Scholastic Press, 1998, 309 pages, $16.95), the new children's fantasy novel which has become an international publishing sensation.

I am a strong advocate for children's literature as a source of entertainment for readers of all ages, and Rowling has helped me make my case by earning her children's book a rare spot on the New York Times adult bestseller list.

I am not sure that the world of spells and enchantments Rowling has created in Harry Potter is any more intriguing than those penned by classic children's fantasy authors such as C.S. Lewis. Likewise, the clashes between good and evil she portrays are not always convincing.

But Rowling does have an extraordinary gift for character development, and the cast of eccentrics she has devised for Harry Potter should please even the most jaded imaginations.

The story is set in modern-day England with a population divided between Muggles (ordinary human beings) and wizards. It revolves around the unlikely but lovable protagonist Harry Potter, an orphaned wizard who lives with his nasty Muggle relations, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia Dursley and their spoiled son Dudley.

Harry was only a baby when he lost his parents. They were killed in a confrontation with Voldemort, the vilest sorcerer in England. Harry survived the same encounter unscathed, except for a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead.

He is miserable in the Dursleys' household, where he is forced to sleep in a closet at the foot of the stairs and is incessantly bullied by Dudley and his friends.

"Small and skinny for his age" with "round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him in the nose," Harry's self-esteem and self-confidence are understandably low.

All that changes on his 11th birthday, when he receives an invitation to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At last he will have the chance to make friends and win acceptance in a place where his own kind of people congregate.

He learns from the school's gamekeeper Hagrid, a bumbling giant with more heart than brain who protects Harry from the Dursleys' attempts to thwart his destiny, that his parents were good wizards who loved him very much.

He also discovers, as he meets more of the wizard population, that he is celebrated among them as "the boy who lived" for having miraculously survived Voldemort's attempt on his life.

His confidence bolstered by this new knowledge of his past, Harry soon becomes one of Hogwarts' most distinguished and fearless first-year students.

In a series of exciting adventures — the most important and dangerous being a quest to keep a valuable sorcerer's stone away from Voldemort — we get to witness Harry's heartwarming transformation from poor, pathetic Muggle relation to admired wizard-in-training and school hero.

Rowling's suspenseful accounts of Harry's capers make the novel a quick read. But you will undoubtedly want to linger on her engaging assortment of characters.

Harry's best friends and fellow first-year students at Hogwarts each have personalities as endearing as his. Chief among them is Ron Weasley, a self-effacing but sharp-witted member of an old wizard family who explains many of the Hogwart traditions with which Harry is unfamiliar. Nagging, know-it-all, mothering Hermione Granger also becomes a confidant after Harry realizes how invaluable her intelligence and logic are in a crunch. Along with Ron and Hermione, Harry also makes an effort to protect timid, accident-prone Neville Longbottom from adversity.

Harry's major rivals among the student population are a haughty first-year trio, appropriately named Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle.

Along with Hagrid and the Dursleys, quirky grown-ups who round out Rowling's ensemble include Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts' caring and compassionate headmaster, and Snapes, the potions teacher who bears Harry a mysterious but unmistakable hatred.

Hogwarts, in and of itself, is an ingenious invention. Perceptive readers will quickly note that this academy for wizards is just your average English public school with a few minor differences. Students take classes in the history of magic, herbology and potion-making rather than grammar and mathematics. Likewise they wear robes instead of uniforms, carry wands instead of pencils and play quidditch instead of cricket.

This novel only marks the beginning of Harry's adventures at Hogwarts. Thanks to its success, Rowling has several sequels planned.

The first, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is already a bestseller in England and will be published in this country by Scholastic in the fall.

Even readers who do not like science fiction or fantasy will not want to miss the chance to add Harry Potter to their circle of literary acquaintances. We may not share with him the ability to perform magic or vanquish evil, but we can readily sympathize with his quest for validation, companionship and a home among kindred spirits.

Kvasnicka, a former East Village Magazine news editor, has been the magazine's contributing editor and research consultant since 1989. She has a master's degree in information and library studies from the University of Michigan and works for the Genesee District Library.

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