|
But what could have been an unreadable story becomes something else in Rowling's hands, thanks to her gift of being able to make her characters complex and really, just human. Readers know these people. They're familiar, with their moments of lashing out in anger or hoping against hope that this time things will be different. They're people the reader feels something for, even it's just pity, because they're struggling, because life can be hard and sometimes there just aren't any breaks, because even people who look like nothing but trouble can do something good. A number of her characters are teenagers, trying to figure out their places in the world, with all the emotional peaks and valleys that can bring. That ability to bring her characters to their emotional life was a hallmark of the Harry Potter series
-- it didn't become a global phenomenon just because it was an exciting adventure, but because there was a real heart to it, characters who had both strengths and weaknesses, who struggled with their choices. That's what makes this book worth it, despite a slow start and sometimes too much of the descriptions and adjectives that added life to Harry Potter but at times tend to bog Rowling down here. That's what makes the book's ending scenes so heartbreaking
-- turning the page seems unbearable, but not as much as putting down the book would be.
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries
Community |
Perspectives
|
Law & Courts |
Leisure Time
|
Spiritual Life |
Health & Fitness |
Teen Scene
Calendar
|
Letters to the Editor