I finally managed to see “Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone”. The movie was not as bad as I had thought. Potter is essentially a potpourri of Tom Brown’s school days, Oliver Twist, Lord of the Rings and the Grimm’s fairy tales. The worst thing about this Potter book is its predictability. However, that would torment you only if are an adult, accustomed to the twist in the tale. Children should enjoy this book immensely. It adds an exciting flavour to their dull school lives (when you are a child, you are sure that school life is dull). As an adult, I prefer to watch the movie version and be through with it in two hours.
Judging on creativity, I would rank Tolkein much higher than Rowling. For most people, even the comparison is sacrilege. Tolkein’s ability to create hundreds of characters and fit them together tightly, like in a jigsaw puzzle, is unsurpassed. Coming back to the comparison, Dumbledore seems to be heavily inspired from the all powerful, yet selfless, Gandalf. Voldemort, the Dark Lord, is something akin to Sauron, desperately attempting to regain his lost power. And Malfoy, like Saruman in LOTR, is helping Voldemort in his ulterior motive. Then, Harry Potter also features an elf who has a vocabulary similar to Gollum. So, Tolkein the king reigns supreme at the top.
Overall, my assessment of Potter is - not as bad as I thought.
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