JEDDAH, 20 August 2005 — Despite the book’s lack of an Arabic edition, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blooded Prince” is a hot seller in Saudi Arabia, capturing the imaginations of young and old alike. British author J.K. Rowling earned a million dollars an hour on July 16, the book’s worldwide release date.
“Harry Potter is the No. 1 selling English book in Saudi Arabia,” a salesperson at Jareer Bookstores told Arab News.
Earlier books in the series are available in 45 different languages. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blooded Prince” also marks a series first with an edition for the blind.
“The Arabic version is only available for the first five books in the Harry Potter series,” said another bookstore salesperson, noting that “Harry Potter is Harry Potter,” implying that its international success transcends language.
“I am interested in fantasy books, and I did not find any other fantasy books available in the market,” said one 35-year-old Potter fan. “Plus, I wanted to know what the fuss is about.”
Parents highly recommend the fascinating series of the Harry Potter novels.
A parent with a young child in primary school finds the Potter series excellent as “it sparks the imagination of children.” Once she began reading the book to her daughter, the book started to get to her after a while. “The vocabulary is amazing, the sequel of events, and the portrayal of characters all help make the book very interesting,” she said.
There is more to Harry Potter than the printed page; the series also has spawned a series of Hollywood blockbuster films. Popular in theaters around the world, many have garnered large audiences in Saudi Arabia on satellite television.
“Many people here do not have time to read the books, which is why they would rather watch the movies,” said a girl studying at a local university. “Personally, I like the movies very much. The stories are creative, and the plot lines are very good.”
Children studying at local schools are encouraged by parents and teachers to always read the books before they watch the correspondent movie production. This is particularly the case for Harry Potter as it stimulates the child’s imagination, and creates a broader perspective that can help the child better enjoy the movie.
As a result of Rowling’s outstanding success on the New York Times bestseller list, the decision was made to introduce a bestseller list for children’s books, which has proven to be a boon for competing authors. Rowling has been working on Harry Potter for many years now, and dreads the upcoming end of the series as reported by Telegraph on opening day of “The Half-Blooded Prince.”
“It really will be a shock, because I have been writing about him for 15 years so far, and by the time I finish obviously it will be 16 or 17,” Rowling said. “It is going to be a wrench, definitely.”
Although Rowling isn’t looking forward to the end of the series, it is likely that she has created a series of books that will capture the imagination of young readers for generations to come, and that is real magic.
