By Lubna Abdel-Aziz "All is well," reads the last word of the last volume of the last decade's sensational epic saga of Harry Potter. All is well indeed! HP has brought fame and fortune to all associated with it. It has also brought joyous rapture to almost one billion readers and viewers worldwide. What a ride it must have been that summer day in July 1990, when a struggling young British writer finally boarded the four-hour late train from Manchester to London. To while away the hours J. K. Rawling gazed out the window marveling at the lush green English countryside. Her imagination raced faster than the speeding wheels as she began to picture a young bespectacled boy attending a school of wizardry. By the time she had reached Clapham Junction, the young wizard boy had a name, Harry Potter, and so did his school, Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A year later the young author achieved instant fame when her first book was published about the adventures of the young wizard boy, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Seven books and eight films later (the seventh book was made in two episodes), JK has become one of the richest women in the world. Her actual worth is fathomless, her financial worth, a mystery. In 2007, Forbes evaluated he fortune at $1.3 billion; it may have doubled by now, and she is worth every penny, every centimes and every farthing. The Potter Film Franchise has surpassed Star Wars and James Bond to become the most lucrative franchise in history. Her books have sold 790 million copies to date and brisk sales continue. The revenues generated by the HP industry have exceeded $20 billion. Without a doubt it is the phenomenon of the century. What kind of magic did that train carry from Manchester to London that has permeated the entire globe? What is it that appeals to readers, young and old, in 63 languages and over 200 countries? What a ride, what an adventure it has been for all of us! Now that the last words have been written in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we are eagerly anticipating the first part of a two-part film version, which will be out November 19th. (Part 2 will be released July 2011). Potter-mania has now reached epic proportions. All the critics are out to review, dissect, explain and analyze the supernatural phenomenon. The most striking feat of the HP adventures is that it lured children, adolescents, and adults from videogames "on-line multiplayer environments," from i-pods to i-pads, from "mobisodes, minisodes, and webisodes," back to the printed word. It is indeed witchcraft. Or perhaps a true modern miracle that gives us hope that all is well, and that children will continue to read books. The HP books are carefully and skillfully written. Every word, every aspect, every incident, has been meticulously studied by the author: "I sometimes felt my brain would explode." That precise planning and plot construction, rich and enthralling, created a timeless classic that children will enjoy for generations to come. But why? Many have tried to explain why both children and adults have found joy and solace in the HP books. Reading about magic, about the supernatural and the superhuman, relieves stress of homework and school bullies, or the strenuous pressure of the rat race at the workplace. We have all grown up with a dose of fantasy and magic inherited from our ancestors. They believed in elves and fairies, trolls and goblins, gins and ifrits. They trusted in charms, spells and rituals. It is obvious that JK was well-rooted in the exotic tales of English lore. Shadows abound of JR Tolkien of Lord of the Rings, TS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz. We can even detect some of George Lucas' Star Wars, and perhaps others like Jules Verne and HG Wells. Some claim that HP includes social and political undertones, revealing Rawling's outspoken progressive views. Others claim children's ideas about wars, leadership, power, heroism, and dissent have been shaped by the books. What it really boils down to, is that HP is a good read. The books that JP spent two decades writing are enchanting, and that is why we turn page after page laughing, loving, hating, and caring for the characters she created. What better way to flee the cares of the everyday world and enter a universe as magical and as real as Hogwart's. Rawling's characters are stubborn and vain, strong and weak, good and bad. They hurt, they fear, they love. They feel the ache of loss, the burden of holding life-long secrets, the struggle of fighting evil, and the eternal quest of finding themselves. Such passions describe us all. And allow us to identify us with Potter and Co., even if they do exist in a fantasy world. That, I believe, is why children as well as adults enter willingly the universe of JK Rawling. Joanne Kathleen Rawling, now 42, had no idea that her books would bring her such unprecedented rock star status. "This has been something of a shock, but at some point its going to go away." Not a chance of any of that happening anytime soon. She has however, managed to keep her private life, private. She believes she is not recognizable, and can still walk down the street in Edinburgh, unmolested. In this age of internet wizardry, JK has the upper hand. She not only makes magic, she makes history. No other fiction novels have been read so extensively. Hers is the work of many lifetimes. With the last episode on film, we shall reluctantly say goodbye to HP and all the witches and wizards of JK Rawling, but hopefully not to her writings. She raised our hopes when she declared that she is working on a couple of new ideas: "The idea of wandering off to a café with a notebook and writing and seeing where that takes me for a while, is just bliss." How delightful! May we add, the bliss is all ours! Of all those arts in which the wise excel, Nature's chief masterpiece is writing well. -- John Sheffield (1648 -- 1721)
