Imagining A Harry Potter Rewrite

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Imagining A Harry Potter Rewrite

Depending on how perpetually online you are, you may or may not know that JK Rowling, author of the beloved children’s book series, Harry Potter, has become the public voice of people who don’t want to acknowledge that trans-women are women. In doing so, she has also publicly aligned herself with popular voices of alt-right media who are openly anti-feminist, pro-white supremacy, and anti-semitic.

For fans of JKRs work, this has been so discouraging and disheartening. And bewildering too. This is a person who has more money than the British Crown, and could easily have bowed out of public life and remained a beloved author. It leaves people wondering: why would she do so much damage to her own legacy?

Discussions about JKR, and how she’s digging her heels in about her anti-trans rhetoric, have also brought to the surface other criticisms of her Harry Potter books — the way she stereotypically named the Asian characters, the way she describes the Banking Goblins using long-time anti-jewish tropes, the rampant fatphobia, and the negative stereotypes she plays into, like the one Irish character having a fascination with blowing things up. Other people criticize her world-building, pointing out inconsistencies that feel too big to ignore. And how is it that there are zero gay characters in her books? (Not long after the books were published, she mentioned during an interview in NYC that she always imagined Dumbledore as gay — I was there in the audience when she said that and the audience gasped! It was a very different time.)

JKR is not the first author to receive criticisms like this. The other day, news went viral about how publishers are creating new editions of Roald Dahl’s books, with the overtly offensive parts removed. Many people are upset by these edits, while others point out it’s not the first time his books have been changed. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory originally described the Oompa Loompas as African Pygmy people. That was changed in the 70’s movie, then also changed in the book.

As I was reading news about Roald Dahl, I started thinking about JK Rowling. Roald Dahl is dead. He can’t do anything about his reputation and he has no control over what happens to his work from here on out. But JK Rowling is very much alive and still producing work. And she has an opportunity that almost zero authors get to have.

Imagine it’s several years after the last Harry Potter book is published. The series is an outstanding success, the big budget movies based on the books are out, and all is right in JKR’s world. Then she gets a letter from a young fan. It’s a fan who is Jewish, who wonders why the Banking Goblins look so much like the old comics making fun of Jewish people. Imagine JKR talks with her Jewish friends about this and realizes that whether or not she was doing it intentionally, she was perpetuating negative Jewish stereotypes, and she’s feels awful about it. She reads other letters, and she gathers other criticisms; she learns to recognize her own personal prejudices (we all have them), and how they may have come out in her writing.

Instead of new editions of her working being published after she dies, imagine she says: I want to make the edits myself! I want to make new editions right now while the first editions are still selling well! I have learned so much and I am a better person now. And I want to rewrite the Harry Potter series with my new knowledge. I want to make the series more inclusive, and remove negative stereotypes. I want to fix the plot holes, and adjust my world-building. I can’t remove all the original editions that have been printed, but I can offer a new alternative edition that is more welcoming to all. And if the new editions are just as good or better, the old ones will fall out of print and out of favor. The Harry Potter world is my creation and I can change it! I can improve it!

So what would happen if there was a whole new edition of the Harry Potter book series? Well, maybe the series would be amazing, and a huge improvement. Or maybe, with all the edits and plot-hole fixes, the books would somehow lose the indescribable pull they’ve had on so many people. Either way, the new editions would be a huge financial success. Financially, publishing new editions would be risk-free. Every Harry Potter fan — and there are millions — would want to read them. It would also mean new movies. (Or a new TV series. Did you see the HBO series announcement? Do you think JKR will try to deal with some of the criticisms in this new series?)

I don’t know how many authors have experienced the kind of success that JK Rowling has seen, and still had the time and resources to rewrite their work. It’s got to be a pretty rare thing. Personally, I think it would be amazing. And what an example to show the world: Hey. I’m a real person with real faults. I learned things. I changed my mind. I’m a better person now and I want my writings and legacy to reflect that growth.

I think it’s so lovely to imagine.

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Painting My Piano

I’m finally ready to paint my piano, and when I picture what I want it to feel like, this image from The Tolstoy Edit comes to mind

Amsterdam

Our two-week Spring Break starts today! Six of us (including my nephew Colin) are driving to Amsterdam on Sunday. It’s a 3 night trip — so not too long — but it’s supposed to be gorgeous weather and peak tulip season, and I can’t wait! We have tickets to the Van Gogh museum, and a reservation for the Pancake Boat, but other than that our schedule is pretty open and we’ll do lots of exploring. Plus, I have an awesome book event in Amsterdam on April 18th at The American Book Center. I’m so excited! Reserve your spot here.

Have you ever been to Amsterdam? Any favorite spots or shops we should visit? (I should mention: the very popular Vermeer exhibit is sold out and we couldn’t get tickets; Anne Frank House is also sold out.)

We went to Amsterdam twice when we lived in France before, but Oscar, Betty, and Flora June have no memory of it because they were so young. Here’s our blog posts about Amsterdam from 2011 & 2013. Look how little everyone is:

More Book Events!

Speaking of book events, I’ve confirmed a few more dates and locations! So please mark your calendars and I’ll share links as soon as I have them.

May 11th
Salt Lake City
King’s English Bookstore

May 13th
Berkeley
Books, Inc.

May 15th
Atlanta
Eagle Eye Bookshop, Decatur

I’m still working on events in Tulsa (May 6th) and Phoenix (May 8th). And it looks like my Chicago book event will be in October — woo hoo!

Image by Nicole Breanne.

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That’s all for now. I hope you have a beautiful weekend. Feel free to comment on anything I mentioned above, or whatever’s on your mind.

kisses,
Gabrielle