I've always been a fantasy fan, and the thing about fandom is that it privileges the reader. When I decide I like a book, it's because it appeals to me as an individual,--pretty selfish, huh?--but as a graduate student in English, I often have to explore things that I don't like (like The Barrytown Trilogy--I didn't like it, but it offers one of the best female perspectives written by a male author). Despite my inclination to dislike certain texts, I find that my perspective changes for the better when I know enough about them. I have recognized that even when I don't particularly like a book I can still see the value of what it's doing for literary tradition or for potential readers. With that in mind, I want to share with readers some of my perspective of books that this lens has given me, so that they can decide to read a text because they know it will be meaningful to them, rather than because I like it.
I think my experience with the Harry Potter series demonstrates this best. As a long time reader of fantasy, I felt myself betraying my sense of genre-ed self in liking Harry and his adventures (well, actually I like Harry's friends, especially Neville. Harry himself is not a chap I'd hang around with; I think he's lame). I know that there was something about Harry Potter that appealed to me, but I didn't feel like it was fantasy. I mean if you look through the books you think magic? check, fantastic creatures? check, battle between good and evil? check, but something still didn't seem to fit. I'm still not quite sure why that is.
What I do know is that the series is drawing on so much literary tradition that it boggles the mind, and a lot of it isn't fantasy. As a fantasy reader, you might think the language is simple, but it's real and modern, which only seems simple in contrast to the formal and old/historic sentence patterns of much fantasy (I would be over-generalizing if I attached a single time period to fantasy--it varies more than you'd think).
Also, if you think of Harry Potter as a mystery series, you're likely to be pleased. The series is elaborately constructed of tiny clues and brilliant red herrings. The Great Snape Debate is evidence of how much of this series is mystery. I think structurally, the series meets the needs and reading strategies of mystery fans best. Although, I'm not sure what mystery fans would think of the Epilogue.
I'm not an expert in mystery, I understand the reading strategies of fantasy readers, not mystery. Just let me say that if you feel like Rowling should have scrapped the ending or that her editors failed in allowing it to be printed, I would have agreed with you whole-heartedly just a few weeks ago, but now I know how much Jane Austen (a mastery of mystery herself, check out Emma) influenced Rowling. I don't think you can help but appreciate the Epilogue of the Harry Potter series knowing that it stems from the Austen tradition.
I'm rambling, but I promise that I will be more concise in the future. I'll provide a clear list of what can be appreciated from each novel, so that you can read only what interests you.
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