I think Draco was essentially an emotionally abused and yet also incredibly spoiled child. I cut him some slack simply because we see his parents in action, and he's so young when the books begin.

I never disliked Snape as much as Consuela does, but I'm realizing how hard it is (for me) to separate the books' characterization from Rickman's portrayal, and the fact that I would watch Rickman stand around doing nothing, most of the time.

I never liked how hard it was to keep track of whether he was good or bad, though, and it would take a lot to convince me Rowling had his characterization all mapped out neatly.

and it would take a lot to convince me Rowling had his characterization all mapped out neatly.

But she did! From the beginning. She had the entire arc of the seven books laid out before she wrote the first one.

I like Snape, because I think he's probably the most interesting character in the books. He is flawed, but is also, in a twisted way, a parental figure for Harry and a representative of Lily's love for Harry. (I love the symmetry between him and Sirius). And in the later books, a lot of his anger towards Harry actually concerns what he feels to be Harry's mental laziness - which sort of stems from him being afraid Harry won't be able to defend himself.

I also find him sad because he lets his own bullshit stop himself from being happy. He never moves on from hating James Potter and then stupidly transfers that hate to Harry.

That's what she says. I'd be surprised if it was completely true.

And if she did, she didn't write Snape as well as she could have.

remember too - we are seeing Snape from a kid's view. As an adult - it is very easy to be sen as harsh. As a kid - lots of adults yelled a lot .

And if she did, she didn't write Snape as well as she could have.

I think this is more the reality. She did learn to be a novelist on the job, as it were.

She did learn to be a novelist on the job, as it were.

On this reread, I'm more impressed than I was the first time through with Rowling's ability. She may have had the whole arc planned in essence, but she did a masterful job seeding the early novels with the stuff she picked up later and developed further. Not everyone is able to do that (although it's easier with books than television).

One of the other things I like is the way the world slowly opens from one year to the next; things get elaborated and complicated as Harry learns more and more about the wizarding universe. Not just the characters themselves, like Snape and James Potter, but the world: book 2 sends Hagrid to Azkaban, but it's not until book 3 that you learn how horrible Azkaban is and how dangerous the Dementors are who guard it.

There's a pretty high administrative for Rowling in keeping track of everything, and she really pulls it off impressively. (She abuses adverbs, though.)

She did learn to be a novelist on the job, as it were.

Well, everyone does, more or less. No one goes for an MFA and comes out guaranteed a publishing career, or even a good novel.

I love Rowling, and I think she's underrated as a writer. But she's not perfect at everything -- no one is. Plot sometimes suffers for great character development, or vice versa.

In any case, those novels are a pretty astounding achievement, especially since, as Consuela said, the world she created is enormous and complex, and she held it all together pretty damn well.

I think Draco was essentially an emotionally abused and yet also incredibly spoiled child. I cut him some slack simply because we see his parents in action, and he's so young when the books begin.

This--sure, he's a jerk, and never perfect, but he's still a kid. I mean, lord knows how much I changed from 17 to even just 21, and I didn't have parents that warped me as much as his. I never had as much sympathy for Snape as I did Draco, because there was a certain amount of "You're a freakin adult, get over it, or at least mope on your own time and don't take it out on the kids!"

Well, everyone does, more or less.

That's true, but she was subject to a lot more scrutiny than most very early in her career. Knut had at least two completed novels before he published his first one.

the world she created is enormous and complex, and she held it all together pretty damn well.

I concur. It's amazing when you go back and reread the first book and see that Grindelwald is right there in Harry's first scene with Ron.