JKR is my soulmate, or why Jo is so very busted.

[rj_anderson]

I love JKR madly. I really do. Especially for this (which is not a book spoiler, so I feel no guilt about not lj-cutting it):

I have no spare time at all. [Laughter]. When I’m not writing or looking after the children, I read and sleep. To be totally honest with you, at the moment sleeping is probably my very favourite thing in the world to do.

Comments

[neotoma]

I think that JKR frustrates some of her adult readers by not admitting nuance -- that Snape (and other 'bad' characters, like Lucius Malfoy, who somehow seems to be the only parent taking an active interest in his son's education) does have good qualities and that Dumbledore (and Lupin -- excellent at teaching, bad at responsibility) have bad qualities.

When you're talking to kids, though, most of them don't yet have the depth to see through Harry's unreliable viewpoint yet. It is sort of an advanced concept for a youth-orientated book, after all.

The problem I have with JKR's interviews is that when I read them, I have little idea how much awareness as a writer she has of her story's unreliable narrator. I also get the impression that she is upset because some readers have interpreted things different from what she intended. Frankly, that is why I usually avoid author interviews -- the story should stand on its own. If the author has to explain things, you get the Orson Scott Card effect, where the author undermines his or her own stories.

[chresimos]

I think that JKR frustrates some of her adult readers by not admitting nuance -- that Snape does have good qualities and that Dumbledore have bad qualities.

You know, a lot of people say this, but I really don't think that's how she thinks about her characters. Dumbledore was definitely showing cracks in OotP, she's said that Lupin's problem is his lack of courage in standing up to his friends...we are clearly supposed to regard Snape as a good guy, and she has her characters *say* that Hagrid is a bad teacher. Maybe with...Draco, and some other characters, she intended them to be completely flat, but the books should speak for themselves on the subject of character nuance? I can't believe her not 'admitting' it in interviews means all that other stuff was just a blunder.