I agree that the Dursley stuff is very reminsicent of Roald Dahl. That's what I don't like about it. With Roald Dahl, that's part of of the man's basic approach, and while I don't like it, it's consistent.

With Harry Potter it feels grafted on, as if someone said "let's give the little sods some Roald Dahl stuff to keep them happy, it seems to sell well!". Once you've got through the Dursley chapters I feel it all gets a lot better.

But don't lets getv too heated about all this. It could turn into a "guns" type dispute if we're not careful. I thinkm, it's best to concentrate on the things we like rather than the tnings we don't. And the school stuff I think is great. I get the impression a lot of peope in America don't appreciate how much about Hogwarts is standard English Public School, rather than fantasy. (That's why there's such a clash in my mind with the to-my-mind over-the-top Dursley stuff - apart from the odd bit of magic, the school stuff is essentially fairly realistic.)