There's No Trouble with Harry

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is a classic coming of age tale of a young boy attending an English boarding school for the first time. Oh, all right, fine! And he's a wizard.

So you're a grown-up, you say, and besides you don't like fantasies. Well, I gotta tell you, I've done a vaguely scientific study and I can't find one person who hasn't liked these Harry Potter books, regardless of their age or genre preference. Hence the Harry Potter phenomenon. But screw the phenomenon, let's talk about the book.

J. K. Rowling's writing style is most definitely reminiscent of Roald Dahl - oddities are commonplace and not much remarked upon; the world appears to be our world, only ... more so. The prose is simple. It's not Dick and Jane youthful, only clean and to the point; she's not Dickens. Nor does she write down to any particular age group, so whose to say how old you're supposed to be to read it?

Once we're given a few hints about Harry's origin, we learn about the first 11 years of his life. They sucked. And what orphan who lives with nasty relatives (okay, a little Dickens) doesn't wish his forebears had been extra special? Actually, Harry doesn't bother with this, but I would have. Hell, how many kids secretly hope they're adopted and that their real parents were somehow more fabulous than these fakes? Clearly a universal fantasy. But Harry's parents really were special, and he finds this out on his 11th birthday when he is invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

And really, it's just a well-written, pretty derned gripping tale of a lad shopping for his school things, taking the train all by himself, seeing the school for the first time, making friends, playing sports, being bullied, making mischief. The whole nine yards. The school things just happen to be wands and owls, the sport is played on broomsticks, and the mischief involves three-headed dogs and trolls.

Besides, it's funny. There's nothing like laughing out loud on an airplane when you're reading what appears to be a kid's book. But what else can you do with moments like this: Our Headmaster, the aged Professor Dumbledore, decides to partake of some candies. "'Ah! Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit-flavored one, and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them - but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you? He smiled and popped the golden-brown bean into his mouth. Then he choked and said, 'Alas! Ear wax!'" And this in a poignant moment!

The only fault I can find with the book is the fact that the American publisher chose to de-English it for us dumbass yokels on this side of the pond. So if you can get your hands on a proper English version, please do. But do get your hands on it, you couldn't have a better time.

--Joanna Rubiner