Keep Your Memories, Kill Your Nostalgia (Gizmodo)
This seems to be the example in our time in terms of distinguishing between the artist and their art. I don’t like JK Rowling’s stance on just about anything. I think her views of the transgender community are abhorrent and reprehensible.
Having said that, I think the Harry Potter story as a whole is still a good one. And still lives on in my memory, and my nostalgia. I remember reading The Order of the Phoenix in a small hotel room above a very loud and raucous bar in Lucerne, Switzerland in 2003. It was the first large book I’d read in (possibly) my life. I was riveted by it. I am glad to read (in the article) that the author feels the same.
”To be entirely fair, I don’t necessarily blame them; the Harry Potter books were deeply important to a huge number of people in my generation. They were transportive and magical. They taught people how to read, they brought adults back to books. Friend groups formed around midnight read-a-thons. Parties and week-long celebrations centered around release dates, first for the books, and then for the films.”
I think the author makes some good points, even if they are sensationalized for eyeballs and reader views. She (Rowling) is not a good person. But don’t confuse her with the characters she created.
