I have decided.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 - Posted by Amelia at 9:21 PM
Here I was, reading along when I read one sentence, just a single sentence, and it hit me. The sentence was simply "When Mr and Mrs Dursley woke up on the dull, grey Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country." It's such a simple, modest beginning. It even has one of those "our story begins" things. When reading that first page, that one phrase, no one could have imagined the enormous, powerful, legendary, beautiful phenomenon that came from it. The introduction to this adventure is so humble and unassuming and yet the way it starts already reflects on the underlying theme of ignorance and prejudice against other groups/peoples/cultures. We're introduced to this magical world through the eyes of Mr Dursley, the most anti-magical creature to ever exist. In fact, it says "he didn't approve of imagination".
It's funny, because the big famous beginning of the series is when Dumbledore takes out the street lights and he, Professor McGonagall and Hagrid leave little Harry on his evil relatives' doorstep. But when you mention to people who've read the books "when Uncle Vernon got hugged by a wizard" they'll instantly recognize it. Even with, and probably due to, its simplicity, that scene is an unforgettable opening to an unforgettable story.
EDIT: lol nope the movie has come and gone and I got distracted. Maybe some other time.
