I listened to the first three episodes yesterday in the car with my 12 year old daughter.
The entire Harry Potter phenomena missed me. In the 1990s I was busy living through the collapse of my entire country (USSR) and at the turn of the century I was busy making it as a fresh graduate immigrant entirely on my own in the USA. And then…
I listened to the first three episodes yesterday in the car with my 12 year old daughter.
The entire Harry Potter phenomena missed me. In the 1990s I was busy living through the collapse of my entire country (USSR) and at the turn of the century I was busy making it as a fresh graduate immigrant entirely on my own in the USA. And then this and then that.. When my own kids came along I still did not think of Harry Potter much because I myself grew up reading giants like Tolstoy. Quite honestly I looked down on Harry Potter as a literature..
But when after the lockdowns my own teen daughter got in a very dark place emotionally and the entire Russian literature could not come to her rescue (bitter self irony) we tried Harry Potter books and... miraculously, they helped! They helped her to start getting out of her severe depression (along with many other things, indeed), but Harry Potter books was the first thing she got really excited about.
Though I did not think much of Harry Potter as a book, the reaction of the mob to Jane Rowling statements made me sick. The historical memory of the 1930s repressions in the USSR and most importantly the cowardice and the mob mentality among the Soviet writers and beurocrats that made those repression possible got imprinted in my mind. It was chilling to see the same thing unfolding again in the so called civilized, democratic society.
I talked to my daughter, who sympathized with trans rights about everything that happened to Jane Rowling and yesterday we listened to the seires together. It brought us closer. And for this I am forever grateful to Jane Rowling. I have to admit, Tolstoy never managed to appeal to a distressed teens' mind the way Ms. Rowling did.
I am sure Tolstoy will still have a chance to play his role, but the very fact that there is such an opportunity in the future is very much thanks to Jane Rowling. It is because she did what she did and is who she is. It was her genius that helped our family out of this terrible situation. I will make a stand in her favor at every opportunity. There won't ever be "mneeeaaaaa" on my side, should anyone ask me: "what about the author, J.K. Rowling?" She is a both, talent and integrity.
Thanks to everyone who made these series possible.
I listened to the first three episodes yesterday in the car with my 12 year old daughter.
The entire Harry Potter phenomena missed me. In the 1990s I was busy living through the collapse of my entire country (USSR) and at the turn of the century I was busy making it as a fresh graduate immigrant entirely on my own in the USA. And then this and then that.. When my own kids came along I still did not think of Harry Potter much because I myself grew up reading giants like Tolstoy. Quite honestly I looked down on Harry Potter as a literature..
But when after the lockdowns my own teen daughter got in a very dark place emotionally and the entire Russian literature could not come to her rescue (bitter self irony) we tried Harry Potter books and... miraculously, they helped! They helped her to start getting out of her severe depression (along with many other things, indeed), but Harry Potter books was the first thing she got really excited about.
Though I did not think much of Harry Potter as a book, the reaction of the mob to Jane Rowling statements made me sick. The historical memory of the 1930s repressions in the USSR and most importantly the cowardice and the mob mentality among the Soviet writers and beurocrats that made those repression possible got imprinted in my mind. It was chilling to see the same thing unfolding again in the so called civilized, democratic society.
I talked to my daughter, who sympathized with trans rights about everything that happened to Jane Rowling and yesterday we listened to the seires together. It brought us closer. And for this I am forever grateful to Jane Rowling. I have to admit, Tolstoy never managed to appeal to a distressed teens' mind the way Ms. Rowling did.
I am sure Tolstoy will still have a chance to play his role, but the very fact that there is such an opportunity in the future is very much thanks to Jane Rowling. It is because she did what she did and is who she is. It was her genius that helped our family out of this terrible situation. I will make a stand in her favor at every opportunity. There won't ever be "mneeeaaaaa" on my side, should anyone ask me: "what about the author, J.K. Rowling?" She is a both, talent and integrity.
Thanks to everyone who made these series possible.