"Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie"

Today's the first day I've had the apartment completely to myself. Wendy had a test this afternoon and then had to go babysit the twins overnight, and Tim has been at work (his old job asked him to come back for a couple of days to do some consulting work), and I've spent the day listening to Bob Dylan and Pearl Jam and reading the last third of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

I rather liked the book, though the series just gets darker with each passing novel. I realize this is done on purpose, but it's kinda strange to see little teenage wizard angst nonetheless. I'm curious to see how she'll end the series, though (like many people) I suspect the titular character may not survive the final installment (I'd also like to see a bit of redemption for a certain character. I mean, if Dumbeldore had so much faith in the guy, there had to be a reason. Dumbeldore's no fool, after all).

Of course, in related news, I was rather amused at Terry Pratchett's taking J.K. Rowling to task for not realizing Harry Potter is fantasy. He also has a good point about the fact that fantasy is not just pseudo-medieval knights in shining armor slaying dragons to save princesses, etc., etc. I doubt it's ever really been that, to be honest. And Pratchett's work definitely subverts the genre and has for years--what else can you say about the Vimes novels, which are clearly detective novels set in a fantastical world? Granted, the only real requirement that I think fantasy stories need have is some element of the fantastical (thus, if someone wrote an alternate history of America wherein Bush was competent, that would be fantasy). The Harry Potter books are rife with elements of the fantastical, even if they're there only to make the telling of the story easier. Fantasy writers have used their settings and tropes for years to tell stories that, if we told them in present-day, reality-based settings, probably wouldn't be read because they were too boring. But throw in a bit of magic, and suddenly a story about coming of age and accepting responsibility and learning about one's place in society (which is, ultimately, what the Harry Potter books are about) is much more interesting, and yet the readers can still identify with the characters.

But yeah, I'm curious about how the final book will go, I admit. Even if the angsty emo index has been cranked up a few notches, the novels are still interesting, and most of the characters are compelling enough that you actually care for them. That's a rarity in fiction regardless of the genre.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Bob Dylan, "Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues"