Why is JK Rowling a bestseller?
As I entered a large supermarket this afternoon, surrounded by dozens of families on their weekly shop, I had to walk around a huge box - about the size of a sandpit - containing hundreds of copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I was impressed with the price: for a 600-page hardback it was under �8! There were no other books in sight.
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2 Responses to “Why is JK Rowling a bestseller?”
Matt
July 24th, 2005
sorry, here’s a better attempt at an answer: http://www.michaelberube.com/index.php/weblog/taking_the_blame/
Large imaginative gestures, somewhat apolitical escape fantasy? She’s no Tolkein, but writing successfully for kids is not easy, or at least a distinct set of skills. The art of flattering without seeming to, which maybe goes for the parents as well, or even moreso. It’s undoubtedly a market phenom to some degree, like Cynthia Voigt or whoever on cultural steroids.
Matt
July 26th, 2005
because it’s literature for literature’s sake?