I think it's a loving dig, if anything. I would love to see different kinds of "happily ever after" more often in young adult fantasy fiction. Any other epilogue might have been incongruous in Harry Potter, but Grossman's point about most fantasy being a terrible guide for dealing with the harsh realities of adult life hits home. #harrypotter
I just saw it is Harry being a father and an Auror, didn't read any further into it than that and I didn't need to. The ending was okay, not the best but it worked and if JK Rowling wants to kick start a new, darker and more grown up Harry Potter I would read it, just like I would read the books based on the kids if she wrote them. #harrypotter
Having read The Magicians, I am not at all surprised that Grossman feels this way. The entire book is a bit of a dig at the fantasy genre in general, though I enjoyed it. Some parts were very clever.
As for the epilogue of HP, how else would it have happened? HP is all about the importance of love, and family. Harry's lack of both these things is what has haunted him his whole life. Unless Harry had died, did anyone really think Harry wouldn't marry Ginny, have some kids, and try to have a big happy Weasley family of his own? That's all he ever wanted. #harrypotter
I disagree. The ending was destined to be dark. The happy-time fairy tale image was pretty much blown away after the third book. I thought the direction and ending were appropriate. #harrypotter
THAT RAT BASTARD! How dare he defile rowlings work! Ahem...cough. That reaction is a bit extreme i'd say, but still, what a twat. Sounds like this guy is jealous that his work isn't even close to providing the level of enjoyment people get from jk. "Astounding failure of imagination"...really gross man? really!? After 7 fantanstic books, after creating a world from the ground up, you are going to call her an epic failure because of a few paragraphs of epilogue? Thats just low. HP was a fantasy world that didn't involve big boobied elves in minimal armor or bulging heroes screaming death to Nar's Gook! I'm sure he would have ended the series with harry just banging a hard bodied witch as she asks him not to leave while he puts on some shades and says 'not now babe, i got a rogue wizard to kill'. In case he hadn't read the books, harry's whole life was full of turmoil. The ending: finally able to live in peace, was the completion of the story. I thought the ending was fitting, but im not a gross man. I'm sure it would make more sense for harry, who spent his whole life fighting v-mort (not to mention losing friends to him) to wish to continue fighting. Or he could want to settle down and live his life without worrying whether his wife will get whacked while out shopping. Personally, i prefer the ending as is. #harrypotter
I thought, at first glance, that it was a disappointment - that Harry should have ended up replacing Dumbledore or something.
Then I contemplated how people who have been through horrors in their teens can imagine no better future than normalcy; that perhaps for someone who spent their entire teenage life fighting for freedom and justice and saving the world, being able to create a nice, normal home for their kids might be the absolute pinnacle of their hopes.
So then I thought, cool.
And now I think Mr. Grossman has had a failure in perspective. #harrypotter
Well not as much as this guy, who thinks it crapped the bed for the entire series, I just thought it was a bit unnecessary and felt kind of awkwardly tacked on, like, as others have mentioned, a fanfic written by someone else.
My theory was that it was Rowlings way of
1. Sabotaging any future attempts by someone else to resurrect the series or publish unwarranted sequels and add ons
and/or
2. To protect herself from the countless fans who would have inundated her until her death with letters and email and pleas as to know what she thinks happened to Harry Potter afterward.
@omgwtflolbbqbye: If number 2 was her intent, she failed at it, cause she still gets questions about what the characters did after the books. Heck, I think that was all she was asked about for like a month after Hallows came out. #harrypotter
@omgwtflolbbqbye: Heck, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle attempted to stave off any requests for further Sherlock Holmes stories by chucking poor Holmes over the side of a cliff.
Then folks begged and pleaded until Sir ACD cranked out a story with the disclaimer, "This happened before he died; Sherlock's still dead!"
Then folks begged and pleaded until Sir ACD said, "Fine! He faked his death. Here's more of his kooky adventures..." #harrypotter
Guy's missing the whole point of the damn endeavor. A lot of people seem to. Sort of like the folks who watch Highlander and think "But but being immortal was so cool!"
The Prize and Harry's reward are both the same thing: a life where they can love and be loved with their families. It is Life (with the capital L), and it's not flashy or exciting but it is true. #harrypotter
i don't think the issue with the epilogue of harry potter is that one character went on to lead a life of bourgeois suburban mediocrity but that all of them did. borrow a page from lord of the rings and throw a little more variety in. the endings for every character were as varied as the characters themselves but for harry potter they're each more or less identical to one another. #harrypotter
@tetracycloide: Actually, the epilogue that Rowling wrote in DH was of a moment in time. The characters DID go on to a lot of bigger things, which she described in a post-release interview (which I can't point to a reference right now, but it's out there). In fact, I was thinking this morning that in theory, there was plenty of room for post-DH fiction, sort of like Star Wars Expanded Universe material. JK Rowling may not do anything with it, but George Lucas didn't write the Thrawn Trilogy, either. #harrypotter
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As for the epilogue of HP, how else would it have happened? HP is all about the importance of love, and family. Harry's lack of both these things is what has haunted him his whole life. Unless Harry had died, did anyone really think Harry wouldn't marry Ginny, have some kids, and try to have a big happy Weasley family of his own? That's all he ever wanted. #harrypotter
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Then I contemplated how people who have been through horrors in their teens can imagine no better future than normalcy; that perhaps for someone who spent their entire teenage life fighting for freedom and justice and saving the world, being able to create a nice, normal home for their kids might be the absolute pinnacle of their hopes.
So then I thought, cool.
And now I think Mr. Grossman has had a failure in perspective. #harrypotter
01:21 PM
01:19 PM
Well not as much as this guy, who thinks it crapped the bed for the entire series, I just thought it was a bit unnecessary and felt kind of awkwardly tacked on, like, as others have mentioned, a fanfic written by someone else.
My theory was that it was Rowlings way of
1. Sabotaging any future attempts by someone else to resurrect the series or publish unwarranted sequels and add ons
and/or
2. To protect herself from the countless fans who would have inundated her until her death with letters and email and pleas as to know what she thinks happened to Harry Potter afterward.
01:36 PM
01:40 PM
Agreed! #harrypotter
01:52 PM
Then folks begged and pleaded until Sir ACD cranked out a story with the disclaimer, "This happened before he died; Sherlock's still dead!"
Then folks begged and pleaded until Sir ACD said, "Fine! He faked his death. Here's more of his kooky adventures..." #harrypotter
01:59 PM
So I guess we better hope for the series sake that Rowlings doesn't piss away her $1,000,000,000 fortune anytime soon...
EDIT:
Nm, Doyle didn't go broke, he just did it for the fans.
Whatever, it's still better than being an eye doctor.
01:19 PM
And everyone knows the true ending of Harry Potter - [achewood.com] #harrypotter
02:10 PM
:( #harrypotter
01:18 PM
:D "What a disaster", eh Grossman? #harrypotter
01:18 PM
The Prize and Harry's reward are both the same thing: a life where they can love and be loved with their families. It is Life (with the capital L), and it's not flashy or exciting but it is true. #harrypotter
01:03 PM
" I think that's something of the message of [Grossman's new book] The Magicians "
oh... a new catagory... Publicity Troll #harrypotter
01:59 PM
It's been so long... I think I need to sit down. #harrypotter
12:53 PM
No, they don't use knives. They're preparing their wands for battle! #harrypotter
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