Jonathan Auxier, the author of THE NIGHT GARDENER, knows a thing or two about what makes a good book: "dazzling humor, inventive wordplay, airtight plotting, wonderful characters" --- but he also knows there's something even more important: giving voice to universally held feelings. Read below to see what universal feeling he thinks Harry Potter captures --- and why it makes the series a true classic.
Alexander Pope once observed that the goal of writing is to capture What oft was thought but ne’er so well expressed. In plainer terms: stories give a specific voice to universally held feelings. The more books I read, the more I believe that this quality is what separates the Great from the merely good. Books that survive from generation to generation are those that manage to capture a truly universal idea. Phrases like “down the rabbit-hole” and “no place like home” are more than just memorable quotes --- they are shared mythology.
That Harry Potter is one such mythology is without question: already a new generation of readers is flocking to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But there is a question of why these books have made such an impact. The series has many qualities --- dazzling humor, inventive wordplay, airtight plotting, wonderful characters --- but I’m not sure any of those things are enough to do the trick. Instead, I would look back to Alexander Pope: what universal experience does Rowling capture?
It tells readers what they have secretly longed to hear their whole lives: to be different is to be magical.
For me, the things that Rowling captures can be found in the very earliest chapters when Harry is living with the Dursleys. We get a striking portrait of a miserable boy --- abused and marginalized by his own family. Harry doesn’t feel particularly special; he only feels different. But then he is told something new. To quote Hagrid:
And just like that, Harry's entire understanding of himself changes. This moment speaks directly to every child who feels misunderstood, who feels pressure to conform, who can’t fit in no matter how they try. It tells readers what they have secretly longed to hear their whole lives: to be different is to be magical.
In doing so, Rowling has armed millions of children with the confidence to look at the Dursleys of the world and see them for the muggles they truly are. I can’t think of a greater gift.
Jonathan Auxier was raised in Canada and obtained his MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University. He lives outside Los Angeles with his wife, a lecturer in Victorian children’s literature. He has written PETER NIMBLE AND HIS FANTASTIC EYES and THE NIGHT GARDENER.
