VIPs: more disruptive to work than a rocket attack

[soleta_nf]

From cleolinda: Funny, touching email from a Marine serving in Iraq. Excerpts:

Coolest Insurgent Act - Stealing almost $7 million from the main bank in Ramadi in broad daylight, then, upon exiting, waving to the Marines in the combat outpost right next to the bank, who had no clue of what was going on. The Marines waved back. Too cool

Comments

[soleta_nf]

Hmmm. They are definitely put in that category by a lot of their fans, and a lot of adults will say they like children's lit and combine all those books together. And I agree it's on that level - PhD theses could be written about the books and they'd only tap the surface of what's there.

But in another way, they're completely different from those other books - they're not lengthy fantasy that intricately describes another world and history. They're fascinating more on the level of language and satire. A little kid could easily read through them on surface level and enjoy them well enough, unlike say LOTR which would take a lot more work. Maybe kind of like HP in that you can read the surface story, but if you dig deeper, there's so much there. My favourites are the plays on the English language and the critique of culture achieved through satire. I don't love them as much as HP, but they're definitely in that league and worth checking out. They ARE very expensive (but preeeety!) so until you decide you want to collect them, I'd beg borrow and steal to read them instead of paying $17 a pop for all 13. Local library, perhaps?

Oh, and the movie. I saw that before I read the books, and it made me want to read the books. It evoked a kind of otherworldly atmosphere I found intriguing. The movie gives you an idea of style, but the books are definitely better, and certainly aren't merely kid fluff.