OoTP: one more reaction
Jun. 22nd, 2003 01:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ivyblossomWell, I've read a lot of divergent opinions on The Order of the Phoenix so far. A lot of people hated this book, apparently. Well, I did not hate it. Not at all. I felt while I was reading that for once this was really JKR talking to us, not her lawyers, not her publishers, not the PR machine, but JKR herself. That was a heady experience, after all the time I personally have invested in her universe. I giggled over Dudley asking Harry if Cedric was his boyfriend. It probably wasn't, but it felt like a shout out.
I felt as though she had been listening to our criticisms. First off, this book was far, far better written than any of the ones that came before it. It's still in the same general style, but she seems to be taking her own story more seriously...there are no more jokey people are plot points. This is serious, the irony is real when it's there, and the humour is beautiful.
"Both buttocks in place?"
One of the major problems with the series to date was the pitiful female characters. We had Hermione and that was about it. Well, no more. She gave us Luna, who I think is a stroke of brilliance. We needed 'the weird girl' anyway, and I think JKR finally decided to break out of the 'I will only write Gryffindors seriously' bubble she had been in. I love Luna. I can't quite see Harry/Luna, but I almost can. He is very comfortable with her, and I like that. I like Harry branching out and connecting with more people. McGonagall kicks ass. Umbridge is the most villainous villain ever. Her pink cardigans and her lacy office, her plates with kittens on them, the lines that cut into Harry's hand...brilliant, all brilliant. And she has a real motivation, unlike Voldemort of previous books. We never really understood why he did the horrible things he did. Umbridge we understand. She is worried about rebellion, she wants control, she feels righteous. It was beautiful. Hermione was still Hermione, but Ginny got a serious turn-around. I liked that. It made sense. She had a crush on Harry but it's over now. She's her own little person with her own talents. I am pleased, I liked her.
Tonks. Hey, we needed another lesbian in these books. And the shape-shifting is just damn cool.
Cho. I actually really liked the Cho parts. She managed to write that relationship totally not working without actually making Cho a complete idiot. At first I was like, why is Cho flirting with Harry when her boyfriend just died? But JKR didn't drop the ball there. Cho's doing it because she wants comfort, she thinks Harry is the only person who understands her. Of course she cries a lot, her boyfriend is dead and she's sixteen. And then they both just move on from each other, it works.
Harry/Ginny seems kinda dead, but I could still possibly see it in the future, at some point. More now than I could before. Ginny has to not be a fangirl to hook up seriously with Harry. But we'll see.
Molly Weasley. She is a very passionate woman. Passionate and bordering on abusive, if you ask me. But her presence is welcomed by me here. She's scared and she loves her children. Also, Harry.
Petunia. Oh Petunia. I was so thrilled with the first part of this book. Even the Dursleys aren't given short shrift here. They have become real people at last.
So characterwise I personally am very pleased with this book. I think she did a great job, worthy of, dare I say it, fanfiction.
Plotwise: I like the Umbridge bit, as I've said. It's not, excuse me for saying so, a stupid plot like CoS. It makes sense. The ending kind of lost me, though. I liked the idea that Harry's heroics really do bite him in the ass in the end, but I think it would have been cooler if no one around Harry heard that prophecy. Stupid prophecy though it was. Why Voldemort wanted it so badly is a mystery. Sirius's death didn't phase me at all. I hated Sirius in this book. He was moody and more immature than Draco (almost). I have a mean plot bunny for a dastardly and abusive Sirius/Harry where Sirius molests Harry and keeps calling him James. So I was actually very glad when he died. I don't want a guy like that being a father figure to Harry.
I really, really love Harry.
The ending was a bit disappointing. We didn't end with any real sense of victory, and we didn't get a normalizing scene there to show us how things proceed directly after all this. Dumbledore's story was too long and seemed more like JKR's apology to us for all the dumb plot tricks she's used in the past. The prophecy needs work. It should have actually been a weapon, it should have been something we can feel relieved that Harry kept away from Voldemort. But after all the heroics that stupidly worked for Harry, I'm glad to see him fuck up.
I liked that Dumbledore calls Voldemort "Tom".
All in all...great book. I didn't feel the stupid plot holes as I usually do, though I'm sure someone will point them out. We didn't have a series of locks that Harry and his friends miraculously break through in spite of being only 11. We don't have a giant snake slinking through the school that miraculously manages to never kill a single person. We don't have harebrained schemes. When Harry and his friends manage to defeat the Death Eaters it's because they've been practicing hard. Yes, this book is bleak. There were definitely points when I didn't want to be at Hogwarts anymore. But I felt that in GoF and PoA as well; Hogwarts has never been a totally wonderful place for Harry.
I disagree with what a lot of people are saying, that this book is about Harry turning on the system that has supported him. The system has never supported him. It has used him and abused him, it has pointed and laughed at him, it has made him feel like a freak. And by system I mean a) the general public, b) the government, c) the political (student) system at Hogwarts. There has only ever been one thing that supported Harry, and that would be, as we now know, The Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Sirius, Remus, and the Weasleys. There is nothing else in Harry's world that has supported him, and nothing is different in this book on that score. What's new here is that Harry knows that he can't solve things by himself, that he can fuck up, and that things are very, very serious. This isn't a day trip, this isn't an outrageous journey and adventure he can come back from and curl up in his four poster bed. Nowhere is safe anymore, unless he makes it safe.
I would also like to point out that I am still very much an Harry/Draco shipper, and that Draco did nothing in OoTP that I would not have expected him to do. Except for bragging about writing poetry, perhaps. There are, actually, a few things I would have expected Draco to do that he didn't, but that just makes my ship feel more and more alive. More on the non-deadness of my ship later, this post is too long as it is. :)
I felt as though she had been listening to our criticisms. First off, this book was far, far better written than any of the ones that came before it. It's still in the same general style, but she seems to be taking her own story more seriously...there are no more jokey people are plot points. This is serious, the irony is real when it's there, and the humour is beautiful.
"Both buttocks in place?"
One of the major problems with the series to date was the pitiful female characters. We had Hermione and that was about it. Well, no more. She gave us Luna, who I think is a stroke of brilliance. We needed 'the weird girl' anyway, and I think JKR finally decided to break out of the 'I will only write Gryffindors seriously' bubble she had been in. I love Luna. I can't quite see Harry/Luna, but I almost can. He is very comfortable with her, and I like that. I like Harry branching out and connecting with more people. McGonagall kicks ass. Umbridge is the most villainous villain ever. Her pink cardigans and her lacy office, her plates with kittens on them, the lines that cut into Harry's hand...brilliant, all brilliant. And she has a real motivation, unlike Voldemort of previous books. We never really understood why he did the horrible things he did. Umbridge we understand. She is worried about rebellion, she wants control, she feels righteous. It was beautiful. Hermione was still Hermione, but Ginny got a serious turn-around. I liked that. It made sense. She had a crush on Harry but it's over now. She's her own little person with her own talents. I am pleased, I liked her.
Tonks. Hey, we needed another lesbian in these books. And the shape-shifting is just damn cool.
Cho. I actually really liked the Cho parts. She managed to write that relationship totally not working without actually making Cho a complete idiot. At first I was like, why is Cho flirting with Harry when her boyfriend just died? But JKR didn't drop the ball there. Cho's doing it because she wants comfort, she thinks Harry is the only person who understands her. Of course she cries a lot, her boyfriend is dead and she's sixteen. And then they both just move on from each other, it works.
Harry/Ginny seems kinda dead, but I could still possibly see it in the future, at some point. More now than I could before. Ginny has to not be a fangirl to hook up seriously with Harry. But we'll see.
Molly Weasley. She is a very passionate woman. Passionate and bordering on abusive, if you ask me. But her presence is welcomed by me here. She's scared and she loves her children. Also, Harry.
Petunia. Oh Petunia. I was so thrilled with the first part of this book. Even the Dursleys aren't given short shrift here. They have become real people at last.
So characterwise I personally am very pleased with this book. I think she did a great job, worthy of, dare I say it, fanfiction.
Plotwise: I like the Umbridge bit, as I've said. It's not, excuse me for saying so, a stupid plot like CoS. It makes sense. The ending kind of lost me, though. I liked the idea that Harry's heroics really do bite him in the ass in the end, but I think it would have been cooler if no one around Harry heard that prophecy. Stupid prophecy though it was. Why Voldemort wanted it so badly is a mystery. Sirius's death didn't phase me at all. I hated Sirius in this book. He was moody and more immature than Draco (almost). I have a mean plot bunny for a dastardly and abusive Sirius/Harry where Sirius molests Harry and keeps calling him James. So I was actually very glad when he died. I don't want a guy like that being a father figure to Harry.
I really, really love Harry.
The ending was a bit disappointing. We didn't end with any real sense of victory, and we didn't get a normalizing scene there to show us how things proceed directly after all this. Dumbledore's story was too long and seemed more like JKR's apology to us for all the dumb plot tricks she's used in the past. The prophecy needs work. It should have actually been a weapon, it should have been something we can feel relieved that Harry kept away from Voldemort. But after all the heroics that stupidly worked for Harry, I'm glad to see him fuck up.
I liked that Dumbledore calls Voldemort "Tom".
All in all...great book. I didn't feel the stupid plot holes as I usually do, though I'm sure someone will point them out. We didn't have a series of locks that Harry and his friends miraculously break through in spite of being only 11. We don't have a giant snake slinking through the school that miraculously manages to never kill a single person. We don't have harebrained schemes. When Harry and his friends manage to defeat the Death Eaters it's because they've been practicing hard. Yes, this book is bleak. There were definitely points when I didn't want to be at Hogwarts anymore. But I felt that in GoF and PoA as well; Hogwarts has never been a totally wonderful place for Harry.
I disagree with what a lot of people are saying, that this book is about Harry turning on the system that has supported him. The system has never supported him. It has used him and abused him, it has pointed and laughed at him, it has made him feel like a freak. And by system I mean a) the general public, b) the government, c) the political (student) system at Hogwarts. There has only ever been one thing that supported Harry, and that would be, as we now know, The Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Sirius, Remus, and the Weasleys. There is nothing else in Harry's world that has supported him, and nothing is different in this book on that score. What's new here is that Harry knows that he can't solve things by himself, that he can fuck up, and that things are very, very serious. This isn't a day trip, this isn't an outrageous journey and adventure he can come back from and curl up in his four poster bed. Nowhere is safe anymore, unless he makes it safe.
I would also like to point out that I am still very much an Harry/Draco shipper, and that Draco did nothing in OoTP that I would not have expected him to do. Except for bragging about writing poetry, perhaps. There are, actually, a few things I would have expected Draco to do that he didn't, but that just makes my ship feel more and more alive. More on the non-deadness of my ship later, this post is too long as it is. :)
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no subject
Date: 2003-06-22 11:23 am (UTC)I also loved Luna. She was great. I liked the Cho parts too, but mostly I like that they're not together at the end of the book. I also liked the way Ginny developed. She's become a really great character
But...*sniffle*...I miss Sirius! A lot. I definitely didn't hate him in this book, I really felt bad for him. He's had a really shitty life and Harry is basically the only good thing he's got, but they were unable to communicate for much of the time and he just seemed very very lonely :-(
no subject
Date: 2003-06-22 11:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-22 11:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-22 11:59 am (UTC)So I'm sorry he died and all, but I'm glad it was him and not someone more useful or helpful. Like Remus, Dumbledore, Arthur Weasley, or even Hagrid.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-22 12:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-22 12:23 pm (UTC)I agree with this, but I feel that Rowling does an excellent job in explaining why Sirius isn't more the adult. I didn't understand where Sirius was coming from, until Harry stepped into Severus' pensieve. The Sirius he sees there is almost exactly the Sirius of the present. Being in Azkaban aged him in more ways that we can imagine, but he hasn't matured, he hasn't grown - he's stunted. I wouldn't say that explains away a lot of his behavior, but his actions are like a warped mirror of Harry in this book, uncontrollable tempers, pettiness, anger - all the things that Harry's going through now, as a teenager, Sirius hasn't/doesn't outgrow. True, he's sent to Azkaban when he's 22ish, when he should have outgrown his Hogwarts years (and who is a fully formed adult at that age? I still consider most of the 20s to be teenagish years) but all things point to Sirius clinging to those years, and how everyone/everything *was* back then as the best years of his life. He's regressed. Being trapped in his old house, with all the memories of his childhood and teenage years that he hated I'm sure doesn't help, it's amazing how easy it is to go back to your teenage years when everything around you reminds you of that part in your life.
This was longer than I thought it would be, and sorry for jumping in uninvited (unprovoked), Sirius is far from my favorite character, but something about this book really makes me think.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-22 12:46 pm (UTC)Not narrative or character problems, I just judged them more harshly than others do, perhaps. :)
no subject
Date: 2003-06-22 02:27 pm (UTC)