HP and TP

Yes That's Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone and for my Terry pratchett out of many I'll pick Wee free men

They are both growing-up books about young children discovering they have a talent for magic, but the focus is very very different.

in HP Harry's all wow what fun can I have, the world's much better than I thought and even though I've lost my parents they are still around somewhere to help. If you go out of your way you can find some extra challenges to heorically overcome, meanwhile there is hot cocca always ready for cold nights.

in WF Tiffany realises the world is not better, a lot of what you told needs to be thought about, death is final, and those who see a problem have to have the responsability to solve it. there isn't always someone else to turn to, even when the night is cold.

Wee Free men also makes you laugh more.

Not the most scholarly of analysis but I find them a very interestingly different take on the same ideas.

Interesting takes, indeed, and I'll take the second one any day. Especially since I have already heard so much good about Terry Pratchett.

I enjoy the Harry Potter books, and I think that Rowling has done a great job with showing us the optimistic side of the terrible events that have befallen her protagonist. I'm very interested in reading Wee Free men now and seeing how Pratchett's view differs.

BIG OOPS and apology.
In meaning to click 'back to top' I accidentally clicked 'flag abuse.' I have done my best to undo that click and hope that I have; but if it went through then I am extremely sorry and it was all a big mistake.
If all is clear, then this message can be ignored or even removed.
Very worry.

I think we're okay, Karlus. Nothing looks like it's been flagged.

What an interesting post, reading_fox. I really like your insight about the mirror-image aspect of these two books. Maybe they ought to be read together, for a more balanced view of the world!

I'm also glad someone posted a short, quick comparison. I love the long, rich reviews we've been getting, but I was starting to worry that newcomers to the group would feel inhibited if they didn't have time to compose a long review. Quick but deep insights like yours are always welcome!

I appear to be one of the few people left on the planet who haven't read any of the Harry Potter books yet. I'm curious whether the later books in the series continue in the vein you pointed out for Philosopher's Stone, reading_fox. I keep hearing that the later ones are very "dark," but it is unusual for an author's basic orientation to change much from one novel to another. If it has changed, it would be interesting to compare one of the early books with one of the later ones.

The HP books definitely "grow" in outlook as Harry and his friends grow. I nearly gave the rest of the series a miss after reading the first one. But several friends (one of whom was reading them to her daughter, and another of whom is a PhD candidate in creative writing) encouraged me to go on, pointing out how they change with time. They do get "darker", in that death visits periodically, and is QUITE final, some of the helpful people disappear (and some die), and Harry's life is most definitely not all about what fun he can have with his magic.

I'll have to move the Harry Potter books higher on my to-be-read list. People tell me the books are much better than the movies, and I've enjoyed the movies.