Shame the adults from buying HP?
July 12, 2003 at 1:50 PM ET
eudaemonia
iharrypotter.net (via Cleveland PD/Guam Pacific Daily News)
Byatt may have more than just literary works on her mind when her criticism isn't solely aimed at Rowling, but to her grown-up fans as well. A report from the Cleveland Plain Dealer
revisits the prize-winning author's criticism perceiving Byatt's attack extends more towards Rowling's grown-up readers (thanks to iharrypotter for link).
Hype generates backlash. The surprise with Harry Potter is that the back lash has been tame and con tained. Youthful fans have been left blessedly alone to love the books. But make no mistake: If you are a grown-up reader of J.K. Rowling's wizard series, you are an object of disdain.
The neighbor who only reads biographies thinks you're daft. The teenager who just discovered Jack Kerouac thinks you're hopeless. And now the acclaimed British novelist A.S. Byatt has pulled an arrow from her quiver and painted a bull's-eye on your back.
No doubt the attack is likely because, as recently reported, adult fans make up the bulk of book sales.
The popular children's series is not just for kids anymore. A British survey found that in 1999, 71 percent of Harry Potter books were bought for 8- to 14-year-olds. By 2001, that share had diminished to 36 percent, according to an Associated Press report.