I remember being convinced earlier on in the series that it was going to turn out that either Harry's paternal grandparents had been killed by Voldemort or that they had disowned James for marrying a Muggleborn. But JKR's answer in an interview makes me think they just never occurred to her. Apparently James's parents were very old when they had him, and they both managed to die of a disease sometime between when Sirius went to live with them and Harry's first birthday. I'm sure similarly vague fates are the reason for most of the rest of that generation's disappearance.
I'm always puzzled when JKR is referred to as an amazing world-builder, because in my view that's her weakness as a writer. Timeline mistakes, contradictions, things that just don't make sociological sense... Oh, she's an amazing world-conceiver, but to me, it's a bit like calling someone who paints beautiful cityscapes a master architect. On the one hand, this weakness makes the series prime fodder for fanfiction for those of who love backstory, but on the other, it made for a very frustrating open canon. "What do you mean Dumbledore's only 110—and he's been headmaster since when, even though Remus said—wait, so Molly and Arthur were just a couple of years ahead of James and Lily—so that means Filch has only been caretaker since—agh!"
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Date: 2010-08-03 07:46 pm (UTC)I'm always puzzled when JKR is referred to as an amazing world-builder, because in my view that's her weakness as a writer. Timeline mistakes, contradictions, things that just don't make sociological sense... Oh, she's an amazing world-conceiver, but to me, it's a bit like calling someone who paints beautiful cityscapes a master architect. On the one hand, this weakness makes the series prime fodder for fanfiction for those of who love backstory, but on the other, it made for a very frustrating open canon. "What do you mean Dumbledore's only 110—and he's been headmaster since when, even though Remus said—wait, so Molly and Arthur were just a couple of years ahead of James and Lily—so that means Filch has only been caretaker since—agh!"