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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