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On J.K. Rowling

I don't think an artist has to be a terrific person to crank out works worth reading. One of my all-time favorite writers, Richard Yates, was, I'm certain, really repugnant on a regular basis.

But something seems to be missing from the current J.K. Rowling discussions. Why aren't people pointing out that her writing is generally pretty bad?

(OK, Laura Lippman pointed this out on Twitter, but that's the one example I can think of. Oh, also, Alison Lurie once said it's a bit strange and not really suspenseful to unmask your villain so quickly. Voldemort isn't exactly Sondheim's Mrs. Lovett, in terms of surprising-us-and-generating-suspense. But Lurie likes other aspects of Rowling's work.)

Among the most painfully-slow novels I've read in recent history was Rowling's "Career of Evil." This is about a group of people who want to be disfigured; the thought of losing a limb is a source of excitement. It's also about a murderer. Fine raw ingredients. But the writer's tone was so self-indulgent, and she seemed to have so little interest in her characters, I was exhausted by page one hundred. (There were maybe five thousand additional pages to work through.)

I also found at least one feature of the book condescending. A main source of tension is meant to be the will-they-or-won't-they Ross/Rachel romance of the two lead investigators. But this is handled in such a clunky, winking way, it feels like a really lazy comic strip. I felt J.K. Rowling was talking down to me. I feel that way in her children's books, too, and this is the opposite of my hero Beverly Cleary, who never seems to patronize or lecture to children. She doesn't talk down--and sometimes even seems to "talk up."

I often feel like an alien on this planet, but maybe the feeling is strongest when I see a reputable critic--Maile Meloy, of all people!--praising the words that spill out of "Jo"'s pen. Which "is what it is." I just feel I can say all of this right now, while Jo's work is (maybe?) about to undergo some kind of reevaluation.

P.S. I know I'm in a minority. Rowling's heavyweight fans include Oswalt, Kakutani, Patchett, and Stephen King. I'm OK with disagreeing. And I would be dishonest if I didn't add that parts of the Wizarding World--especially Snape and Ms. Umbridge--are interesting to me.
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