Book Five:
So, the ultra condensed version of this story is as follows
Harry is upset.
Sirius dies.
Dumbledore explicitly confirms what we, as readers, knew all along, but may have been a slight surprise to Harry; that Harry and Lord V are going to have to duel to the death.
At over eight hundred pages, the longest book in the series so far (is sever longer? I haven't checked), that's an awful lot of pages for such a small plot point.
Which makes me think that Rowling would have had more fun, if less market success, if she had kept her overarching plot a little humbler. She is obviously better at the delicate politics of personal relationships in the school, the twin's joke shop, and Harry's battle with teen aged angst than getting through her epic battle of good and evil.
There are a few details and short lived subplots that broke up the ear splitting monotony of Harry's whine. The DA was a really good idea. Please find a way for Harry to take an active role in his education. The Weasley twin's joke shop was fun.
I don't know what kind of villain the dreadful Professor Dolores is. She is not a death eater, she's in denial with the ministry. She kind of seems like a wizard equivalent of the Dursley family. Corporal punishment, snobbery and bureaucratic take over of Hogwarts sounds like something Harry's aunt would like to do. I am always amazed at what an ineffective fight the Hogwarts faculty puts up whenever there is trouble of any kind at the school. They did next to nothing that we know of when the chamber of secrets was opened and they make no political efforts that we know of to fight the political attack of Dolores. They just look harassed and grumble under their breath.
Then there is the thing about Harry's dad and friends. Did anyone find the resolution of that little incident at all satisfying?
In all, this is my least favorite book to date.
Yep, I'm with you. I think book 5 is the worst. About just as little happens in book 6, but it's not quite so angsty (although Rowling decides that everybody and his dog needs to have a love interest, roll eyes).
ReplyDeleteI was so annoyed with Harry in this book. Are teenagers really this annoying? I mean, I guess maybe Rowling has that right, but I don't really want to read about it. I could easily go volunteer at the nearest high school and get all the teenage angst I want. But whereas books 1-4 had an overarching story that held them together, Rowling seems at a loss as to how to get Harry from year 5 to his final battle with Voldy in year 7.
I was excited about the lessons with snape as I thought it might force some character growth for those two, but alas no. Rowling won't let that happen it seems. I hated the scene with Harry's dad. Hated it. In fact, I rather dislike how many student-to-student fights break out... But perhaps I'm being old-ladyish.
But I did appreciate the fantastically imaginative fight scene in the Ministry. Rowling shows her usual flare for creativity in the small things.
Actually it's funny. I find the overall story of the series to be pretty predictable, but that's not always a bad thing. Many of my favorite books are predictable. Isn't it Lewis who says that you shouldn't try to be original? so why does Rowling excel so much with the small things but leave me slightly unsatisfied in her main storyline?
I must say though Karen that I'm not quite on the same page as you regarding the Hogwarts professors. What kind of political attack were they supposed to make against Dolores? I think you just want to snark about them.
ReplyDeleteAnd as fun as it is to tear about the books, I still enjoy reading them. I really do. I love the characters and the world and all the fun asides. I don't think they're the best thing I've ever read, but I do think they're good books.
I just think, that if the government is continually overruling the headmaster of a school, through a teacher who is supposed to be his inferior, passing ordinances in the night to make the school more and more like a one woman dictatorship, there should be someone calling foul. I guess I don't know how the M of M works in all it's detail, but we never get the impression that fudge is a dictator, he can be kicked out of office. Someone should have been on Professor D's side on principal. But of course, no one ever seems to do things on principal...
ReplyDeleteSo it just puzzles me that the whole faculty takes it lying down.
Book Five is 600 pages of whining and 200 pages of story. This one is also my least favorite. More thoughts to come when I finish.
ReplyDeleteWell my assumption is that they follow Dumbledore's lead. I mean, it's plain that they all were on Dumbledore's side. I mean, for myself, I thought the book was political enough without having the staff of Hogwarts getting into a huge Ministry of Magic power struggle. I wouldn't say that they took it lying down. Besides, the books aren't necessarily concerned with the teachers' stories anyways. Harry's the center and so his perspective is the one we get.
ReplyDeleteAnd once again, what exactly are they supposed to do about it? Any action they might take probably wouldn't yield immediate results. I can see your argument regarding them in Chamber of secrets, but I'm not convinced they're such poor examples as you tend to paint them.
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