Harry and the Sea of Stories
Back to the Harry Potter news. I like Snape. I do not like him because Alan Rickman played him, so get that silly little idea out of your brain right now. I just like 'im. He's an interesting character. And you know who else finds him interesting? Salman Rushdie. According to Brooklyn Arden, your always informative source of all things editorial, Mr. Rushdie was at the Harry, Carrie & Garp reading last night and asked whether or not Snape is good or evil. Said Ms. Klein, "kind of a dumb question for a Booker Prize winner to ask, frankly, because obviously she couldn't tell". Ah well. Don't get your hopes up thinking that Mr. Rushdie has read all the books himself, however. As the always attentive Pooja Makhijani points out in this post's comment section, he was just doing it on behalf of his own son.
posted by fusenumber8 @ 12:06 PM
6 Comments
6 Comments:
I said this on Cheryl's blog, and I'll say it here again--Mr. Rushdie was asking the question on behalf of his son. The question was exceptional well-worded--I expect no less from one of the most brilliant writers of our time--but was essentially a question from a shy young fan who has a very chatty author for a father.
(I pulled Haroun and the Sea of Stories off my bookshelf this morning and am already half way through.)
Many thanks for the clarification. I've adjusted the posting accordingly. Too bad. I had visions of Mr. Rushdie reading oodles of Harry Potter books in his spare time.
JKR did tell Salman Rushdie & Son that their "opinion is correct" possibly referring to their statement that Snape was putting himself in a position so that neither the Order nor the Deatheaters know where his loyalties lie, however this was all very unclear.
Anyways, I still am with Snape. I think he's neither wholly "good" nor wholly "evil," but like most of us, somewhere along the spectrum, though leaning towards "good."
I am very firm in my HP beliefs: Dumbledore is Dead and Snape is Good (well, Good-ish). Also, Fred and George are Hot.
I think we need to stop talking about Snape in terms of whether he's "good" or "evil," and phrase it that he's either working for the Order of the Phoenix or working for Lord Voldemort, because he's simply too rich and interesting a character to fall simply into those Manichean categories. Several people on our podcast tour suggested that he's not working for either side, just working for *himself* -- but I find this confusing/impossible, because why kill the leader of the good side if you're not hoping to benefit the bad side? Better to stay out of it altogether. Fascinating guy.
I agree with Leila about Dumbledore and Snape.
Also, Rowling's answer to Rushdie was a great moment, when she told the audience (SPOILER!) that D is definitely dead, and that we all needed to move through the 5 stages of grieving, starting with overcoming our denial.
The whole night was great. I posted about it if anyone wants to see more quotes.
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