Yesterday, Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling announced the title and brief synopsis of her first foray into more adult fiction. The Casual Vacancy
will be a darkly comic novel set in the seemingly idyllic British town of Pagford in which everything is not as idyllic as it seems. It opens with the sudden death of a popular man whose unexpected demise shocks the town. The battle for his seat on the local council sets off “the biggest war the town has yet seen,” with rich people fighting poor, parents battling their teenagers, and wives in conflict with their husbands.
Given the juggernaut success that is the Harry Potter brand, I believe the world will be moderately interested to see if magic can strike again with a tale aimed at a more grown-up demographic. We have until September 27 to find out. Since the Potter books were accepted by a large amount of adult readers as well as the target adolescent audience, I think the book will have a moderate amount of success.
Speaking of Mr. Potter, once again Warner Bros. is going for the jugular when it releases the Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection (Blu-ray / DVD Combo + UltraViolet Digital Copy)
If you have the $400.00 to throw around you can perhaps be mesmerized by the 31 disc set full of the obligatory bells and whistles contained in an attractive display box. I suppose that if true collectors are willing to pony up the money, then whoever is behind these merchandising schemes will continue.
$400 for something I wouldn’t have time to watch? No thanks 🙂 I enjoyed the time I spent on the Harry Potter series, but now I’m looking for a new good book to read. I’m not sure if the new Rowling novel is what I will choose – the library wait list for that will be long, I’ll bet 🙂
Who knows… The wait list may have started yesterday 😉
And as much as I like Harry Potter if I had the extra $400 I think there would be other more worthwhile things to do with it 😉
Not even thinking about that monster collection myself, or her new book for that matter. Something related though, HP was the controversial topic in Christian circles during its time, and today I have seen it replaced with the new popular book-to-film “Hunger Games” when one of my 5th graders brought a book from the series with him to church. I wonder if I can spare money to go see it, and/or maybe check out the books so we can talk about them in relation to following Jesus.
Not surprised that the Hunger Games had made the controversy trail… although I haven’t heard about it. It seems to be the most “entice adolescents to read” series since Potter and nowhere near the teenage female friendly Twilight books. It seems to appeal to males as well. Hope the 5th grader wasn’t compelled to take the book out during the service ;). I think a lesson concerning the Christian side of any media phenomenon of this calibre is well worth considering.
Just during free time before and after, though when I asked at the start of small group what book he was reading (he brought it with rather than leaving it as his seat), suddenly half of the kids wanted to talk about it. Guess I shouldn’t have asked… 🙂
I really enjoyed reading the Hunger Games series. But it is what it is – a secular story; no mention of God whatsoever. After reading it, I was glad that Taylor chose not to read it – not so much because of the violence but there is mention of some other adult themes. We let both her and Sammie see the movie though – it wasn’t as violent as the book. I don’t see any need for controversy; if you decide to let your kids read it, then you do – it’s an individual parental decision.