‘I don’t read fantasy books…’, ‘I prefer more serious stuff, I can’t stand swords and sorcerers’ and so on…
We hear these phrases so often. People, who don’t read fantasy regard the genre as something not ‘worth reading’ and often look at the cover of a fantasy book with a raised eyebrow.
Through this column, that will published on the online magazine ‘Book-Tour’, we will explore the world of fantasy free of limits and rules. We will travel in space, in time, get acquainted to various authors through an other perspective, approach fairy tales, myths, movies, songs, books, comics, try to associate them and, above all, bring children and grown-ups closer not only to a specific genre but also to the lives of the writers, who transformed their reality in order to bring their experiences and thoughts in public. We believe that imagination is not just dreams, nor just an attempt to impress the reader, but also our lives in another sense. Who knows, maybe your life or its fragments may eventually become part of a story, without realizing it…
Our path will have no limits. I will refer to the world of fantasy, as it affected me as a reader from an early age and continued to accompany me to date.
Let’s begin with J. K. Rowling, a writer particularly known to all of us thanks to her great success with the book series of ‘Harry Potter’. It’s an opportunity to get a glimpse of some events throughout her life that have influenced her work.
So, what is the name of the author of Harry Potter? ‘J.K. Rowling!’ you will answer spontaneously. However her name (before her second marriage), was ‘Joanne Rowling’. Rowling’s publishers for fear that little boys would not buy a book written by a woman, decided to put these initials, so that the sex of the author would not be evident. The author didn’t have a second name, so she went by the name of ‘Kathleen’, her grandmother’s name, from which derived the name of ‘J.K. Rowling’. Let’s go a little deeper. Pretty much everyone knows that her career was not a piece of cake. Those who deal with writing, already know that publishing a book isn’t easy. Usually, it takes years of writing, effort, frustration and luck.
J.K. Rowling was born in 1965 in England and wrote short fiction stories from an early age. Her aunt gave her a book by Jessica Mittford (writer, journalist, political activist), who became her favorite author and influenced her more than any other. Indeed, she admired her so much that she named her daughter Jessica. However, her life was anything but easy. Her mother suffered from a disease, while the relationship with her father was difficult. Later, she studied at the University of Exeter, where she earned a degree in French literature and Classics.
After graduating, she worked as a secretary in Amnesty International, a turning point in her life, something that is reflected in the speech she gave before the Harvard University graduates, which is worth watching. There, she describes how frustrated she felt because of her being unemployed, while having to raise her child by herself after her divorce. The ‘failure’ (I put it in quotes because I don’t consider that a person in such a condition is a failure) gave her the incentive to move on in her life and persist in writing her books. As she says, her experience through the Amnesty International and the ability to imagine, to empathize, to put herself in someone else’s shoes and understand their pain, gave her strength to move ahead.
All these thoughts and emotions have permeated her books. Apart from the action, the imagination and the wonderful magic world that she created, there are more deeper values that made them stand out. Friendship, love, courage, hope, jealousy, rivalry, confrontation within a friendship, insecurity, as well as the sense of failure and loneliness are described naturally and appropriately. It is as if the author knows the child’s soul and proceeds with precision in the intellectual and emotional development throughout adolescence. Even the appalling Dementors symbolize the period, when Rowling was diagnosed with depression. The whole description of the monstrous beings that suck any sense of happiness and the Patronus (a tender and loving thought) that can banish anything bad is distinctive. Perhaps, the most significant element in her books is how we can find a ray of light in the darkness. Apart from that, she manages to get through to her readers with mastery, without becoming didactic (really what an achievement), through numerous wonderful characters (some are based on people she met in her life). Most of the characters in the series have depth and their own history and scope of emotions, which accompany Harry through the good and the bad.
Critical juncture in her books is the plot twist with Severus Snape and Dumbledore’s role that challenged the reader. Besides all this, the writing, that might not be acceptable to everyone, is certainly clear and quite dense. The truth is that one can read 300 pages of her books and think that they have read 600 pages. Additional elements are humor, magic characters and all these details about food, drinks and filters. Ghosts who reside in paintings, a hat that says lyrics, trolls, Giants, Centaurs, dragons, magic wands, gnomes and many other add special color in a special world, without being a cliche.
You probably think that with so many positive elements inside, the book should have been in demand by publishers. Nevertheless… although J.K.Rowling found an agent easily, twelve publishers had rejected her work. Eventually, she was accepted by Bloomsbury, a small publishing house in London. In fact, all happened due to the8-year-old daughter of the President, who after reading the first chapter demanded the next one. The funny thing is that the editor at Bloomsbury advised Rowling to find another job, because she could hardly earn any money from books.
Beyond that, everything is pretty much known. Her career took off, she received awards, followed by the famous films. Personally, I loved the books much more than the movies, simply because I felt that I became friend with the characters and that I walked into a magical world, even for a while. When I read reviews of readers, I see constantly these phrases: ‘These books changed my life!’, ‘I started to read books because of Harry Potter’, ‘I wish it had come out when I were younger!’ I find these comments short and sweet.
J. K. Rowling has also written another books. Some are related to the world of Harry Potter, such as ‘The tales of Beedle the Bard’, a series of tales written for the world of magicians with delightful commentary by Albus Dumbledore, ‘The Quidditch Through the Ages’, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’, as well as books for adults that aren’t about fantasy.
A play about the 8th story about Harry Potter will be presented on stage.
So those who love Harry Potter, or simply want to enjoy a wonderful and f a n t a s t I c site, just click on this link: https://www.pottermore.com/
Next time that your train is delayed, keep in mind that during a delay arose the idea of Harry Potter…
See you around!
Konstantina Koraki
(Thank you F.)
Fragments of Fantasy της Κωνσταντίνας Κοράκη 