8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Patchy, but still interesting., 13 Jan 2005
This book essentially consists of two parts. The first part is a 40 page inteview with J.K.Rowling. The questions are really all about J.K.Rowling rather than her books, so if you're looking for hints about future plot twists then you should consider looking elsewhere. However, if you are interested in the life of Mrs Rowling then you will probably find this part of the book very interesting. The second part of the book is an overview of the Harry Potter books and a bibliography, both by Lindsey Fraser. This part of the book is of questionable value. The problems are that it is rather rambling and that it contains errors. Perhaps some people find rambling prose quite pleasant to read, but the mistakes are really fairly unforgivable. Let me give you two examples.
The first example is in the overview section. Ms Fraser writes; "That first summer holiday back at Privet Drive must have been dreadful, now that he knew how enjoyable and exciting life could be. Because he didn't realise that his mail was being intercepted by his uncle and aunt, he also thought his new friends had forgotten all about him." Anyone who has read 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' will be able to tell you that it is in fact Dobby who has been withholding Harry's letters, and not his aunt and uncle. Has Ms Fraser read book 2?
The second example is taken from the bibliography and is even worse. Ms Fraser writes; "The Quidditch World Cup is the thrilling high point of Harry's summer holiday prior to his return to Hogwarts for a fourth year. There his name is drawn from the Goblet of Fire to Represent Hogwarts in the Triwizard Tournament featuring Quidditch teams from Europe's greatest wizarding schools." If Ms Fraser had actually read 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' (which she ought to have done if she were going to write something about its plot) then I would have expected her to know that the Triwizard tournament does not feature Quidditch teams from Europe's greatest wizarding schools. In fact, it doesn't involve any teams at all. Moreover, it doesn't involve Quittitch at all! It has only four competitors in it, none of whom are required to play Quidditch, and none of whom take part as members of a team. Has Ms Fraser read book 4?
In conclusion, the interview section will be of interest to fans of Mrs Rowling, but the overview and bibiography have a very 'thrown together' feel and will not, I suspect, be of much use, to anyone.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
For novices and aficionados of Harry Potter, 21 Jan 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: An Interview with J.K.Rowling (Telling Tales) (Paperback)
If you have just discovered the Harry Potter books and want to learn more about their author, this is the book for you. In addition to the interview, there is a summary of the books and a description of the main characters.
If you are a real fan and have read the news paper interviews, you will know some of it already, but you will still find many new details. In this interview Joanne Rowling elaborates on her childhood, her likes and dislikes, and on how she came to write the Harry Potter books. Especially, the details of her childhood in the country are very endearing.
All in all, a very nice, little book for young and old, for novices and aficionados.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Concise, clear and just what I needed., 30 Aug 2009
I was teaching my Year 6's about auto-biographies/biographies and this book helped immensely as we had a Harry Potter theme. It's really clear and simple for children to read and also good for dipping into for fun facts about Rowling.
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