I have to
respect any artist who undertakes a massive change in direction: Radiohead with
Kid A, Martin Scorsese every decade
or so, Steven Soderbergh with literally every movie he makes, etc. With a few
exceptions, these moves are almost intrinsically courageous. It’s difficult to
move out of your comfort zone, especially when you’ve carved out such a niche
there (though, now that I think of it, I’m starting to wonder if Soderbergh
even has a comfort zone). J.K.
Rowling recently made such a move with the publication of her eighth novel, The Casual Vacancy, which is her first
non-Harry Potter related work to
date.
In April I mentioned
how I finally read the Potter novels in full last summer, in the process seeing
how much Rowling developed as a writer. Between The Philosopher’s Stone and The
Deathly Hallows, she gradually worked in a greater sense of maturity with
each passing book, making the series one you would have to grow up with—or at
least be fully grown—to truly appreciate. So by the time I finished the
epilogue of Hallows I was more than
ready to see where Rowling went next and whether she maintained the maturity
she spent a decade building toward. I was not let down.
