I remember the first time Harry Potter almost died, in a graveyard surrounded by a ring of Death Eaters. I remember when he almost died again, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, after failing to defend himself against Voldemort’s killing curse. And I remember when Harry Potter truly died—at least figuratively...
Already, Cursed Child is big—Potter big...Yet despite having enjoyed some 15,000 pages of Potter books and 20 hours of Potter movies, I myself have no intention of reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, parts I or II.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m sure the latest addition to the Potter oeuvre is fine; perhaps it’s even great. But there’s something about current cultural trends that suggests an unwillingness—on consumers’ part? On media executives’ part?—to move on.
Listen, I know it can be scary to let go. Admitting that you’ll never read another Harry Potter book is like accepting the end of a relationship.
But for all the great things Rowling did for reading—and I would argue she did a lot—her most important contribution has been to change the stigma around young adult fiction... There are more books, of greater variety...Which means there’s no better time to try something different.
