Disappointed with GoF

[plinsenmayer]

Original Yahoo! HPFG Header:
No: HPFGUIDX C6834
From: plinsenmayer
Subject: Re: Disappointed with GoF
Date: 8/14/00 10:09 am  (ET)

Hi:

<<<I worry that JKR is being pressured to write the books too fast now
and they're not being edited carefully, either by herself or by her
UK/US editors. I mean, did the book really need to be 700+ pages long,
just so Harry could face Voldemort in a duel?>>>

I do agree that the editing process seems to be suffering. There are typos
that have been pointed out before, but there are also some inconsistencies
which any editor worth his or her salt should have caught. I wonder if the
close secrecy of this book caused some of those types of problems (i.e.,
there weren't enough eyes looking at the manuscript). The other thing I'll
throw out is that because Scholastic insists on marketing these books as
"childrens' books," there is a possibility in my mind that the editorial
staff simply isn't used to giving the same level of attention to details
& potential inconsistencies. I in no way mean that comment as a slam
against childrens' lit or childrens' lit editors. But, it does strike
me that if you are used to editing less complex plots & you are being
given rather unrealistic deadlines & not much help, things might slip
through the cracks more easily. I think it might be interesting to send
a print-out of our FAQs pages (once they're complete) to the Scholastic
HP editing team. They may not have any idea that there is a segment of
the general population giving these books much more scrutiny than they
seem to be. I don't mean by my earlier comment that those same editors
aren't *capable* of changing gears and giving more focused attention to
the books, I just think they might not be used to operating this way &
they may not have been given sufficient time to do it in any case.

The book has been criticized in some quarters for its length. I personally
disagree. JKR is well-known by now for throwing in what, at first blush,
appear to be "throw-away" details (things that could be cut out of the
book without detracting from the story or character development). These
same "throw-away" details are then shown to be much more significant for
later plotlines & so forth. I also think there was considerably more to
this book than just the duel with Voldemort at the end. IMO.

JKR has said this is the "pivotal" book in the series, and that she was
quite pleased with it. I believe, based on those statements, that we
can assume that some of the more minor details may well be important
later. She felt it was important for it to be 700+ pages, and that's
good enough for me anyway.

<<<I thought there were interesting plot elements that were introduced
but never developed: the whole thing with SPEW, for example,>>>

My take on this one is what Neil said -- this is a way of showing that
Hermione has a passion for social causes. The SPEW storyline serves to
develop her character quite a bit more. It also gives us more information
about the house elves.

<<< <snip> The Triwizard Tournament bits were
compelling but they didn't really amount to much more than bits.>>>

I was sad that she chose to eliminate Quidditch based on the Triwizard
Tournament. The reasoning for the elimination of Quidditch for that
year didn't ring true for me. But, I did enjoy the TriWizard tournament
events. I actually thought those bits were exciting & developed a fair
bit (particuarly if you consider the months before each event where
Harry is tense & worrying about each task).

<<<In each of the previous volumes, Harry has learned something important
about his past which is linked to his destiny. What did he learn in
GoF?>>>

He learned that Dumbledore can't fix or know everything, that he wants
to face evil on his father's terms, that death is final, that evil is
*truly* evil, etc. I'll save this one for another message later. I think
he learned quite a bit; I agree with JKR that this one was the pivotal
volume (at least so far).