Quitting at the Top

Quitting at the top: it’s almost unheard of. The way Tendulkar dragged on and on is the norm rather than the exception. When past their prime, Pele and Beckham went to play in the US, not exactly a country that cares about football soccer. Roger Federer doesn’t call it a day though it’s now years since he won a Grand Slam event.

Contrast that with Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes. He tried to stop the series when it was still popular, but fans forced him to resurrect the detective.

JK Rowling, author of Harry Potter, first billionaire author in history, evoked admiration when she decided to call it a day, as Anthony L Hall wrote:
“My admiration also stemmed from her steadfast pledge that there would be ‘no more Harry Potter,’ despite all things Potter being a veritable license to print money.”

Unfortunately, Rowling didn’t keep her word. She continued with tweets, continuations, editorializings, and even a sequel. Actually, let’s be honest: most of us would have been happy with her breaking her word had they been of the same quality as the original books. But that’s not been the case, which is why Eryn Carlson wrote an open letter to Rowling that reflects the view of many:
“I’m asking you — I’m begging you — to stop. Stop with the prequels, sequels, derivatives, and footnotes. By all means, keep writing, keep interacting with fans. But put Harry Potter to rest. Let young readers, readers of all ages, discover and rediscover the series as it was in its original form, without the torrent of supplemental material overwhelming its mystery and magic.”

It’s obvious why sport stars, movie stars and authors find it so hard to stop. As Hall wrote back then:
“(It) is the same reason Sylvester Stallone made more Rocky films after the third (and what should’ve been the final) one: money.”

When someone like Rowling, who surely doesn’t need more money (she’s a billionaire after all), doesn’t know when to stop, it makes me admire (even more) the only person who did know how to quit when he was at the top: Bill Watterson, the author of Calvin and Hobbes. Even though fans have begged and pleaded for more. Hats off to the man.

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