Lauren RabainoThere’s just something about Harry Potter. People either love him or hate him and discuss him endlessly as a result. J. K. Rowling’s fantastically popular seven book series is filled with his supporters, like friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, as well as his enemies, like the dark and twisted Death Eaters and their leader, Lord Voldemort.
And if that’s not enough conversation, fans and critics are also talking about Harry.
On July 18, a mere 56 hours before the release of the seventh book of the series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” people couldn’t wait. Although a little more than two days is really not that long to wait for Rowling’s entrancing conclusion, others seemed to feel differently.
I was browsing Google News when I saw that The Baltimore Sun was headlining “An inevitable ending for Harry.” Curious, I decided to check out the article and learned that Sun reporter Mary Carole McCauley had received an advance copy of the book, read it, and decided to exclusively review it a few days early.
Now, I’m aware that I easily could have ignored the article and would have done so had I really wanted my book seven experience to remain unadulterated.
But again, who can resist Harry?
McCauley’s review didn’t give away specific details of “Deathly Hallows,” but she did say enough to sharpen my expectations. In other words, after reading her review, I had a pretty good idea of what ultimately happens to Harry (and now, after reading the book, I see that the expectations her review instilled were accurate).
Michiko Kakutani from The New York Times also reviewed an advance copy of “Deathly Hallows.” Although her review focused more on Rowling’s character development than specific events, the paper received a flood of angry e-mails in response.
Personally, I love the Harry Potter series. I know that there are more impassioned fans than me, but the articles still took away some of the magic from my experience, which is something that Rowling has worked diligently to create and protect.
She responded to the early reviews and supposed spoilers with this message to her readers on her official Web site:
“We are almost there! As launch night looms, let’s all, please, ignore the misinformation popping up on the Web and in the press on the plot of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,'” she said. “I’d like to ask everyone who calls themselves a Potter fan to help preserve the secrecy of the plot for all those who are looking forward to reading the book at the same time on publication day. In a very short time you will know everything!”
Considering the hype that has surrounded this book since its title was released in December 2006, and the fact that the Harry Potter experience has grown to be a special and unique one for fans, I’m disappointed that newspapers took the liberty of reviewing the book early for no other reason than to attract an audience and take in money.