Emotional Impact of CoS

[MMMfanfic at hotmail.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 27488

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Penny & Bryce <pennylin at s...> wrote:
> Hmmm ... I think some of the more poignant phrases come in the 
> Dumbledore/Harry conversation at the end of CoS.
> 
> "Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled *that* out of the hat."
> 
> AND, my favorite:
> 
> "...nothing but that could have called Fawkes to you."
> 
> One of my husband's colleagues once confessed to me at a party that 
he 
> cried while reading CoS, the above line in particular.  I don't 
think 
> that it is the least emotional.  I do agree with some of the plot 
> problems that others raised in the last couple of days, but lack of 
> emotional resonance wouldn't be a reason I'd give for why it isn't 
as 
> beloved as the other books.

Personally, I think the ranking is, well, stupid -- it's like trying 
to rank all the Dickens books -- should it be The Great Expectation, 
The Tale of Two Cities or A Christmas Carol?

I wasn't saying it was cold and stony like a Tom Clancy novel (Please 
don't kill me, Clancy fans.), it just doesn't 'connect' as much with 
me.  For example, if you look at all the Harry/Dumbledore 
conversations at the end of the books -- they are all excellent-- but 
some are more excellent than the others.  IMO, the one in CoS is the 
weakest in terms of emotional resonance.
Strangely enough, I have no problem with either the plot or the 
characters in CoS.  In fact, I think it has a clever plot twist and  
wonderful characters, Dobby in particular.  The only other problem I 
have with it is Snape's relatively minor involvement.