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Originally Posted by dig420
JRR Tolkien and Shakespeare were also considered works of 'low' culture in their time. You don't get umpteen million readers by luck. 50 years from now this series will be considered a great classic, and I don't give a shit how many tough guys think it's uncool to like it.
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Popularity, however, is not a guarantee for art. Consider the old James Bond movies - classics, undoubtedly, and rather entertaining as well, but probably not great art.
Don't get me wrong, I loved the Harry Potter books, and their popularity is well-deserved, but J.K. Rowling is no Shakespeare.
Here's a bit from a blog post I mostly disagree with, but which makes a few decent points nonetheless:
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Here, from page 324 of The Order of the Phoenix, to give you a typical example, are six consecutive descriptions of the way people speak. "...said Snape maliciously," "... said Harry furiously", " ... he said glumly", "... said Hermione severely", "... said Ron indignantly", " ... said Hermione loftily". Do I need to explain why that is such second-rate writing?
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http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/20..._is_the_p.html
Now, I would strongly disagree with the assertment that Rowling's writing is second-rate, but it gives a good example of a significant weakness in the Harry Potter series.