Posted by Jock on September 14, 2008 at 16:51:13 user Jock.
In Reply to: Re: Magic that books give us posted by Owen Roberts on September 14, 2008 at 02:47:36:
My start on the journey in the world of real books was quite similar to Owen's. The first step was Olivia
Fitzroy's The Island of Birds which remarkably covers some of the same ground as GN. AR's SA and SD
were next, a change of school gave me access to WH, WD and SW. ML I had to buy, and not having
read PD, it was a book I worried over. The Norfolk books I loved. PD and GN were 'saved up' for later.
For light reading I choose books like Eric Tonk's, The Ironstone Railways and Tramways of the Midlands
and Charles Hadfield's series of books on the history of Britain's canals.
As an adult reader I looked for books that offered the realism of the SA series, the 'break the rules if they
don't make sense' approach of Nancy Blackett, and the 'out of box' viewpoint on conflicts and problems
such as the Mastadon's dilemma. I found them in the world of Smiley and Carla and the magnificent
writing of David Cornwall aka John le Carré.
I read all of Rowling's books because my children were devouring them. Her writing lacks the polish
that is such a feature of AR's later work. However on an ethical plane her books take over where AR
left off, exploring issues such as politics and spin, racial prejudice, friendship, loyalty and betrayal,
and the damage that can be caused by poor communication and the lack of understanding that follows.
Her writing may on occasion be shaky, but her characters are solid enough, even the 'baddies' are not
mere cardboard stereotypes.