Comments on: PotterCast #206!

By: Sasha

Sasha — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:19:06 +0000

Wow, love this segment. It’s great to get some really in-depth discussion on the books, from some highly intelligent people. I’ll probably buy your books! Keep it up

By: Travis Prinzi

Travis Prinzi — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:52:15 +0000

Thanks, all, for your comments!

Nan, great thoughts. I spoke in NYC last night about Gothic fear in HP, and I spent a lot of time on the ending of book 4, for the very same reasons you mentioned. “Kill the spare” have always been chilling words to me, and that Voldemort re-birth ritual is definitely one of the Gothic heights of the series.

By: Nan

Nan — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:20:41 +0000

Brilliant. I could listen all day! I was originally turned on to the books by my middle school students and read the first three strictly for entertainment. After all, with all their terror elements and mystery, there was always a happy ending, so my perception of these books as having layers of meaning and genuine fear wasn’t until book four when Harry and Cedric take the portkey to the graveyard. Voldemort’s first words are “Kill the spare,” and it is done without question, provocation or remorse. Suddenly Harry cannot fix or save every situation in which he finds himself confronted. In seven novels, Rowling’s shortest chapter is Voldemort’s “resurrection” and it is truly horrifying (in the powerless Gothic sense of the word). I realized then that I wasn’t reading kids’ literature. I was reading great literature.

Thanks for your scholarship and passion.

By: Susan

Susan — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:40:56 +0000

Great addition to the podcast. This is exactly the content that I’ve been searching. Love the books and am enjoying rereading all with this additional context.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:50:13 +0000

Great episode this week! Looking forward to the second half next week. Professor Sturgis was a wonderful guest. Keep up the good work!

By: Erin

Erin — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:05:57 +0000

Really enjoying your additions to the PotterCasts. It is so fun to get more in depth with the literature and to understand WHY I love the story so much. Thanks!

By: Kim

Kim — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:22:33 +0000

As a fan of the books but not so much the films or the theme park idea, I very much enjoy this new segment on the podcast. Thank you for doing this! It’s great to look at the books yet more deeply.

By: Christian

Christian — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:03:49 +0000

Such interesting stuff. You guys do a really great job, i’m really looking foward for the next episode(ssss). That’s the kind of thing i was looking for from a long time ago. I mean chapter by chapter is fun… but more in deep conversation about a book is always more instructive (and still a lot of fun!).

I’m gonna buy these booksss for sure