Disapparation of James … or… Hello Harry Potter
December 4th 2007 20:38
Well, I can avoid it no longer. I will have to join the throngs (something I really hate doing) and read Harry Potter. Yes, that’s right, I am one of the few who have yet to succumb to this pint sized, bespectacled (dare I say it) pain in the butt! Probably for no reason other than I've been told by every other person that I simple MUST read Harry Potter.
This literature surrender has come about, not from peer pressure, but from the reading of another book, The Disapparation of James by Anne Ursu. You see, I’m a bit of a word-a-holic, and although I was enjoying this book, it was driving me crazy … this word 'disapparation'. I was sure I had never seen it before, could not find it in any of my dictionaries (I have a few – one is 14 cm thick!) and although I was relatively certain of its meaning, I was still in a small fury that I could not find it listed anywhere!
So obviously the next step is the internet … and of course, what should I find? Disapparation is a creation of J.K. Rowling. Yes, apparently ‘disapparation’ is something wizards are quite prone to do on occasion … which is simply to disappear into thin air.
And this is exactly what happens to James, a small five year old boy who is helping a circus clown perform one of his ring-side tricks. Poof … he’s gone. Of course mother and father are beside themselves. Their son has simply disappeared. James’ seven year old sister Greta misses her brother, but is certain he will reappear from whatever magical world he has been transported to. In the mean time the authorities scratch their heads, arrest the clown and watch the family for signs of dangerous dysfunctions.
James is a compelling little page turner that had me second guessing (when I wasn’t worried about title definitions) as to the true course of James. Where had he gone? Was he really gone? Had he really been there to begin with? I love books like this, as there is always more than one explanation or theory to explore. We learn that James was a worry to his parents and they were to visit with a child psychiatrist soon to unravel the complexity of their son’s nature. Did they worry James out of existence? And how true is our reality … can it disappear in a puff of smoke? Is there something to the philosophy of Nondualism, that says the entire world is an illusion? Makes for pretty good discussion material, don’t you think?
And as for Harry Potter, one cannot ignore the fact that the world of literature is now using the language of Rowling’s make believe world, can one? So, I will capitulate on this one with the intention that my knowledge will never be held hostage to a regime of bewitched school children again. And of course, I will let you know what I think of the inescapable Harry Potter!
So obviously the next step is the internet … and of course, what should I find? Disapparation is a creation of J.K. Rowling. Yes, apparently ‘disapparation’ is something wizards are quite prone to do on occasion … which is simply to disappear into thin air.
And this is exactly what happens to James, a small five year old boy who is helping a circus clown perform one of his ring-side tricks. Poof … he’s gone. Of course mother and father are beside themselves. Their son has simply disappeared. James’ seven year old sister Greta misses her brother, but is certain he will reappear from whatever magical world he has been transported to. In the mean time the authorities scratch their heads, arrest the clown and watch the family for signs of dangerous dysfunctions.
James is a compelling little page turner that had me second guessing (when I wasn’t worried about title definitions) as to the true course of James. Where had he gone? Was he really gone? Had he really been there to begin with? I love books like this, as there is always more than one explanation or theory to explore. We learn that James was a worry to his parents and they were to visit with a child psychiatrist soon to unravel the complexity of their son’s nature. Did they worry James out of existence? And how true is our reality … can it disappear in a puff of smoke? Is there something to the philosophy of Nondualism, that says the entire world is an illusion? Makes for pretty good discussion material, don’t you think?
And as for Harry Potter, one cannot ignore the fact that the world of literature is now using the language of Rowling’s make believe world, can one? So, I will capitulate on this one with the intention that my knowledge will never be held hostage to a regime of bewitched school children again. And of course, I will let you know what I think of the inescapable Harry Potter!
| 54 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
