OOP : My review (spoilers)

shihtouji Noel.Chevalier at uregina.ca
Wed Jun 25 16:16:00 UTC 2003


No: HPFGUIDX 63656

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "imo_star" 
<sixbrokensoldiers at h...> wrote:
> Feel I have to get a few things off my chest, beware spoilers
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> This is my first post, though i have been reading everyone elses 
> thoughts for sometime.  
> 
> 6   I liked that Ginny is actually starting to have more of 
> character, but its a pity Hagrid wasnt killed off, as far as i can 
> tell he would be no loss if he wasn't in the book at all, so 
hopefully 
> the whole Grawp storyline will have some bearing on future books 
> otherwise was it really necessary, 

I actually find it interesting--and believable--that Hagrid is 
becoming less important in the overall developing story.  He was the 
way in to the Wizarding World for Harry, and was an important source 
of information in the early books, but it's clear both that Harry is 
outgrowing him and that Hagrid's interests are lying elsewhere.  
Harry has nothing more to learn from him in terms of how Hogwarts 
works or his fight with Voldemort, and there is a moment near the end 
of the book (can't look it up right now) where there's a definite 
note of boredom at the idea of "tea with Hagrid."  I think HRH will 
always care deeply about him, as he will about them, but as they get 
older there doesn't seem to be the need to run down to his hut every 
five minutes to get an adult perspective on their discoveries--and 
they are clearly on opposite sides about the harmlessness of certain 
magical creatures.

The Grawp storyline, while I admit seemed a little contrived (the 
part about his rescuing H and H from the centaurs especially) 
reinforces the theme of blood/family which seems to be the running 
theme of Book V--it's true that we don't learn any huge revelations 
about Harry and LV, but we do get an amazing amount of insight into 
families--Sirius', for one, but also Harry's own parents (and Aunt 
Petunia), Neville's (the scene at St Mungo's, not Sirius' death, was 
the one that moved me to tears), Snape's (hope to see more of this)-- 
even Dumbledore's brother shows up.  Even minor characters, like 
Susan Bones, show that they have a family history.  It's the other 
side of the Mudblood/Pureblood binary that LV wants to impose, and I 
hope is going to continue to be an important feature of the last two 
books.

I'll just add one criticism about Book V: I could have done with less 
wandfighting at the DoM--seemed a touch too Hollywood, and got boring 
after a few pages.  I imagine this will be a major feature of the 
film (when it's released), with nifty CGI effects and all, but I hope 
JKR refrains from doing more spell-'em-up scenes in future.  It 
ruined the book for me, and undercut so much of the subtlety and 
complexity of what she had been developing up to that point.

And one more thing:  Did anyone else think that JKR has taken the 
criticism about there not being enough strong female characters 
seriously?  Now we've got Tonks (of whom I hope we see more), a more 
developed Ginny, a Mrs Weasley who has an important role in the Order 
(I'm so glad the predictions about her death were wrong!), and 
probably a few others I'm forgetting (and no, I'm not going to 
mention Dolores Umbridge!)

Red Inkstone






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