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Why does LJ hate me? It seems that whenever I start typing an entry in the past couple of days, it decides it needs to reload.
Anyway. I really need to finish my Everwood flash fic, as it's due tomorrow. But I've got it under control, so I wanna talk about OotP instead.
Okay. Let's start with the tone of the book. Whoa. This ain't no kids' book. Remember how in GoF, the big scandalous line was Ron asking Lavendar if he could "see Uranus"?
Well. I'm not saying I wouldn't let my hypothetical kids read OotP (remember some of the shit we used to like as kids that makes us wonder now why anyone ever thought it was appropriate for children?), but I would make them read it with me nearby so I could answer any questions they might have.
Within the first thirty pages, Dudley asks jeeringly if the Cedric Harry talks about in his sleep is Harry's boyfriend and Uncle Vernon says "effing." So much for restricting his cursing to "ruddy" like he'd been doing before. Later, characters actually get away with saying "damn."
Oh, no, I'm not complaining. I'm impressed. Somehow, some way, JK Rowling was allowed to make the characters talk like real people! It's amazing!
But that's a bit of a diression; that's not why I'd want to be around when my kids read the book. That would be because there is some dark shit in that book. Umbridge's blood quill, for example, completely shocked me. That's creepy. That's so bad not even Snape would sink that low, and if you find something that Snape wouldn't do to Harry if he had the chance then you know it's bad. (Stop that sniggering and gets your minds out of the gutter.) I'm being a bit of a prude, I know; with the kids of things kids can read and watch without blinking an eye, I don't think this is going to upset too many of them. The majority of kids can handle what's in OotP just fine.
And I loved it. I loved that the story and the mood are really darkening, because it reflects the gravity of the situation the world now finds itself in. Voldemort may be the suckiest villain that ever sucked a suck (like, you MORON, first you have to duel with Harry, now you can't just disguise yourself with a Transfiguration or something and get the fucking prophecy yourself? Did I miss a bit that said you can't do that?) but that doesn't mean that he doesn't bring untold danger with him, and it's good to see that Rowling is able to make the books really bring that home.
By the way, how much do I love Umbridge and Kreacher's names? What great puns. I'm sure every reader took umbrage at the things she did, and that house elf really was treated like a creature not worh considering. Love it.
Since I could easily go on all day, I'm just going to stick to the three major things that really made an impression before I end for now.
First things first. Gilderoy! Oh, man. Wow. See, Gilderoy is my favourite character, and I've had three years to accept the fact that he's a very minor character, very few people like or care about him, and there was no real reason for us to see him or even hear about him ever again. I figured my best shot was hoping for a tiny paragraph or a throwaway sentence about his whereabouts.
And Rowling gives us an entire scene and lots of telling little details to indicate his state of mind and possible progress. (Heh. Longbottoms who?) Bless you, woman. I was so happy to see him I almost cried. (I bet the only person happier about this than I is Kenneth Branagh himself, as he's said that he hoped Gilderoy would make another appearance so he could do another movie.) And then I almost cried again when those telling little details just about broke my heart. His pride over learning "joined-up writing" (which is definitely what I'm calling from now on), those pictures on his headboard autographed to himself (I can just see him working on them labouriously, tip of his tongue sticking out as he concentrates on getting the letters right, and his delight when he finishes one), his uncertainty about why people keep writing to him (I bet anything they keep telling him how handsome he is and asking for autographed pictures, hence the reappearance of his ego) . . . he's just like a little kid. Broke. My. Heart. (Also? So much for the Gilderoy journal that I swear I intended to get back to eventually.)
Yeah, yeah, I know. He got what he had coming to him in the second book. I'm not so blinded by fangirl love that I can't see that. Poetic justice yadda yadda. But I just can't find it in myself to blame an amnesiac for crimes he doesn't remember. When you lose your entire life, you're no longer the person you were.
Speaking of losing one's life, the other thing I want to talk about: Sirius. Holy shit. Holy. Shit, y'all. A couple of days ago, Amanda was fretting in her Blurty over rumours she'd heard to that effect. My foolhardy response, and I quote: "Sirius will not die. He's part of the ultimate happy ending: 'Evil is vanquished and justice is brought to all, including Sirius!' There is nothing to worry about." (I've also been predicting for the past three years that Dumbledore would be the one to die in book five. Hence my short, profane entry last night.) So. Wow. I never even considered Sirius as a possibility, so confident was I that the seventh book would end not only with the final vanquish of Voldemort, but with Sirius miraculously being exonerated of his crimes and blah blah pink fluffy coulds and orange sunsets. I haven't cried the buckets that many others have and will cry, but I am grieving. I liked Sirius, dammit. Even though I never subscribed the mystifying view that he was somehow a nice guy (excuse me, would a nice guy have deliberately sent Severus Snape toward werewolf!Remus - essentially to his death? I don't care if he then purposely told James knowing that James would stop him, if that is indeed even the case; if he were a nice guy, he wouldn't have done it to begin with), I still liked him, and I'm still sad.
But you know what? Part of me is glad too. I remember the exact same rumour flying around before book four - a major character death. I spent the entire book worrying about this character and that one, only to find that the death was some dinky tertiary character who we'd never even heard of before book three? I was pissed. This death, on the other hand, was worth stressing over for nine hundred pages, and this death tells me that Rowling is serious (uh, sorry) about telling the story no matter what happens. It also tells me that there's no knowing that to expect - if she's willing to kill off Sirius, the one character other than Harry who I thought was guaranteed survival to the end, who knows what's coming next? (It'd be really nice, by the way, if we didn't have to wait three years to find out, but I'm not holding my breath.) I still think that Voldemort will ultimately be defeated, but I no longer expect a "happy" ending. For that matter, she's even made teasing remarks about how she doesn't understand people's assumption that Harry will live. Take that as you will.
Oh, and while I'm talking about Sirius, here's something that did piss me off: the dismissal of James and Sirius's behaviour as stuff that kids will do. The fuck? Okay, so Draco Malfoy is to be excused too, since his slinging around the word "mudblood" and his attempts to get Hagrid fired and his constantly trying to curse or hex or jinx Harry are all just things that kids will do? I say thee again, the fuck? I would expect such sadistic behaviour out of young kids, sure, but James and Sirius were way too old in that memory to be excused. Fifteen is too fucking old for deliberate torture to be glossed over, and I for one am impressed with Lily Evans for giving them shit. Given that, I'm also a little mad at her for ever marrying James. And Sirius and Lupin's giggly dismissal of the whole thing is. Not. Okay.
Dammit. No wonder Snape is so fucked up. I think I'm going to have to join him in hating James now. As indicated above, I've long since accepted Sirius's assholishness, besides which that particular scene is small potatoes compared to what he did later (which, by the way, wouldn't you think that would be "Snape's worst memory?"), but James was supposed to be a decent kid, you know?
Excuse me, please. I hate to end on such a sour note, but I have to go remind myself that I have faith in JK Rowling. This will all work out. There will be further consequences. And if nothing else, at least it shows us that Snape's long-held hatred isn't so unreasonable, after all.
Anyway. I really need to finish my Everwood flash fic, as it's due tomorrow. But I've got it under control, so I wanna talk about OotP instead.
Okay. Let's start with the tone of the book. Whoa. This ain't no kids' book. Remember how in GoF, the big scandalous line was Ron asking Lavendar if he could "see Uranus"?
Well. I'm not saying I wouldn't let my hypothetical kids read OotP (remember some of the shit we used to like as kids that makes us wonder now why anyone ever thought it was appropriate for children?), but I would make them read it with me nearby so I could answer any questions they might have.
Within the first thirty pages, Dudley asks jeeringly if the Cedric Harry talks about in his sleep is Harry's boyfriend and Uncle Vernon says "effing." So much for restricting his cursing to "ruddy" like he'd been doing before. Later, characters actually get away with saying "damn."
Oh, no, I'm not complaining. I'm impressed. Somehow, some way, JK Rowling was allowed to make the characters talk like real people! It's amazing!
But that's a bit of a diression; that's not why I'd want to be around when my kids read the book. That would be because there is some dark shit in that book. Umbridge's blood quill, for example, completely shocked me. That's creepy. That's so bad not even Snape would sink that low, and if you find something that Snape wouldn't do to Harry if he had the chance then you know it's bad. (Stop that sniggering and gets your minds out of the gutter.) I'm being a bit of a prude, I know; with the kids of things kids can read and watch without blinking an eye, I don't think this is going to upset too many of them. The majority of kids can handle what's in OotP just fine.
And I loved it. I loved that the story and the mood are really darkening, because it reflects the gravity of the situation the world now finds itself in. Voldemort may be the suckiest villain that ever sucked a suck (like, you MORON, first you have to duel with Harry, now you can't just disguise yourself with a Transfiguration or something and get the fucking prophecy yourself? Did I miss a bit that said you can't do that?) but that doesn't mean that he doesn't bring untold danger with him, and it's good to see that Rowling is able to make the books really bring that home.
By the way, how much do I love Umbridge and Kreacher's names? What great puns. I'm sure every reader took umbrage at the things she did, and that house elf really was treated like a creature not worh considering. Love it.
Since I could easily go on all day, I'm just going to stick to the three major things that really made an impression before I end for now.
First things first. Gilderoy! Oh, man. Wow. See, Gilderoy is my favourite character, and I've had three years to accept the fact that he's a very minor character, very few people like or care about him, and there was no real reason for us to see him or even hear about him ever again. I figured my best shot was hoping for a tiny paragraph or a throwaway sentence about his whereabouts.
And Rowling gives us an entire scene and lots of telling little details to indicate his state of mind and possible progress. (Heh. Longbottoms who?) Bless you, woman. I was so happy to see him I almost cried. (I bet the only person happier about this than I is Kenneth Branagh himself, as he's said that he hoped Gilderoy would make another appearance so he could do another movie.) And then I almost cried again when those telling little details just about broke my heart. His pride over learning "joined-up writing" (which is definitely what I'm calling from now on), those pictures on his headboard autographed to himself (I can just see him working on them labouriously, tip of his tongue sticking out as he concentrates on getting the letters right, and his delight when he finishes one), his uncertainty about why people keep writing to him (I bet anything they keep telling him how handsome he is and asking for autographed pictures, hence the reappearance of his ego) . . . he's just like a little kid. Broke. My. Heart. (Also? So much for the Gilderoy journal that I swear I intended to get back to eventually.)
Yeah, yeah, I know. He got what he had coming to him in the second book. I'm not so blinded by fangirl love that I can't see that. Poetic justice yadda yadda. But I just can't find it in myself to blame an amnesiac for crimes he doesn't remember. When you lose your entire life, you're no longer the person you were.
Speaking of losing one's life, the other thing I want to talk about: Sirius. Holy shit. Holy. Shit, y'all. A couple of days ago, Amanda was fretting in her Blurty over rumours she'd heard to that effect. My foolhardy response, and I quote: "Sirius will not die. He's part of the ultimate happy ending: 'Evil is vanquished and justice is brought to all, including Sirius!' There is nothing to worry about." (I've also been predicting for the past three years that Dumbledore would be the one to die in book five. Hence my short, profane entry last night.) So. Wow. I never even considered Sirius as a possibility, so confident was I that the seventh book would end not only with the final vanquish of Voldemort, but with Sirius miraculously being exonerated of his crimes and blah blah pink fluffy coulds and orange sunsets. I haven't cried the buckets that many others have and will cry, but I am grieving. I liked Sirius, dammit. Even though I never subscribed the mystifying view that he was somehow a nice guy (excuse me, would a nice guy have deliberately sent Severus Snape toward werewolf!Remus - essentially to his death? I don't care if he then purposely told James knowing that James would stop him, if that is indeed even the case; if he were a nice guy, he wouldn't have done it to begin with), I still liked him, and I'm still sad.
But you know what? Part of me is glad too. I remember the exact same rumour flying around before book four - a major character death. I spent the entire book worrying about this character and that one, only to find that the death was some dinky tertiary character who we'd never even heard of before book three? I was pissed. This death, on the other hand, was worth stressing over for nine hundred pages, and this death tells me that Rowling is serious (uh, sorry) about telling the story no matter what happens. It also tells me that there's no knowing that to expect - if she's willing to kill off Sirius, the one character other than Harry who I thought was guaranteed survival to the end, who knows what's coming next? (It'd be really nice, by the way, if we didn't have to wait three years to find out, but I'm not holding my breath.) I still think that Voldemort will ultimately be defeated, but I no longer expect a "happy" ending. For that matter, she's even made teasing remarks about how she doesn't understand people's assumption that Harry will live. Take that as you will.
Oh, and while I'm talking about Sirius, here's something that did piss me off: the dismissal of James and Sirius's behaviour as stuff that kids will do. The fuck? Okay, so Draco Malfoy is to be excused too, since his slinging around the word "mudblood" and his attempts to get Hagrid fired and his constantly trying to curse or hex or jinx Harry are all just things that kids will do? I say thee again, the fuck? I would expect such sadistic behaviour out of young kids, sure, but James and Sirius were way too old in that memory to be excused. Fifteen is too fucking old for deliberate torture to be glossed over, and I for one am impressed with Lily Evans for giving them shit. Given that, I'm also a little mad at her for ever marrying James. And Sirius and Lupin's giggly dismissal of the whole thing is. Not. Okay.
Dammit. No wonder Snape is so fucked up. I think I'm going to have to join him in hating James now. As indicated above, I've long since accepted Sirius's assholishness, besides which that particular scene is small potatoes compared to what he did later (which, by the way, wouldn't you think that would be "Snape's worst memory?"), but James was supposed to be a decent kid, you know?
Excuse me, please. I hate to end on such a sour note, but I have to go remind myself that I have faith in JK Rowling. This will all work out. There will be further consequences. And if nothing else, at least it shows us that Snape's long-held hatred isn't so unreasonable, after all.
From: (Anonymous)
no subject
I too thought Umbridge's blood pen thing was sick, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. Also loved the Weasley twins' triumphant kiss-off of toad-face toward the end. God, did Umbridge ever have that coming to her. Although the centaur/giant thing?...meh.
I can see your point about Sirius and James's assholishness, but I disagree with your sentiment that Rowling herself dismissed it. Quite the contrary, as seeing said assholishness in "Snape's Worst Memory" (*snerk*, as if) had quite an effect on Harry. Not only did he then question his previously unflappable admiration of his father and godfather, but he also finally found a bit of sympathy for the enemy (Snape, not Voldemort).
What didn't I like? As usual, Hagrid and his mercifully few chapters (was it only 3 this time? That's better, but still too many) were too cartoonish, buffoonish, and unimportant to the main plot. The fab-3 may have sat through his story about the journey to giant-land in fascinated awe, but I kept checking ahead to see how many pages were left in the freaking chapter. If someone had to die, I'd have chosen Hagrid over Sirius. (Does that make me a heartless bastard?) On the flipside, I really liked the way Rowling turned Comic!Relief!Neville! into 3-D-Character-Neville in this book. The scene in the hospital was well done. (And I definitely second the yay to the return of Gilderoy!)
Getting back to gripes, Dumbledore's explanation to Harry (in his office after the slightly disappointing showdown at the Ministry of Magic -- as you mentioned, Voldemort is starting to look about as skilled a villain as Dr. Evil) about why he hadn't explained the prophecy felt like a bit of post-exposition (a.k.a. afterthought). I mean, it was sweet for Albus to confess that he cared about Harry and all after ignoring him for the entire frigging year, but for some reason the speech just didn't tie the whole bundle of what we've seen thus far together properly for me. Nonetheless, considering that some speech of the sort was required to serve as the denouement of a mammoth and eventful fifth tome in this increasingly sprawling series, I was willing to overlook its device-ishness and accept it at face value. Besides, there was still much of the good in that scene, most of which involved Harry struggling to come to terms with Sirius's death. Poor kid.
~...am approaching reply size limits now. Will continue post in the next reply.
From: (Anonymous)
no subject
The outcome of this book is that I'm now much more a fan of the HP character than I ever was. Before I was more of a fan of the series itself, the detailed and utterly enthralling world Rowling created, with the constant threat of evil lurking in the background and occasionally manifesting itself. In the previous books Harry, while a likeable enough lead character, served more as a looking glass into this fascinating world than as an engaging hero. He was a bit Forrest Gump-ish, representing all us naive and uninitiated Muggles, acting more as an awed observer/pawn than a willful participant. But with OotP Rowling has gone and developed him into an incredibly deep and sympathetic character, a much more active and thoughtful (if not necessarily willing -- yet, although I imagine his godfather's death and his eventual acceptance of the prophecy will change that) participant in the outcome of every conflict. I now look forward to the sixth book not just because it will provide another fantastic trip through the hallways of Hogwarts, but also because it will undoubtedly provide a powerful trip through Harry's mind.
Whew! Sorry for all the babbling. It's hard for me to sum up my thoughts on this book in short sentences.
~Hoedogg