OOP - Re: Not Surprised that People are Disappointed - OOP

[marephraim]

No: HPFGUIDX 65431

michael wrote:

> I'm sure many of you have noticed that not a few people were 
> disappointed in OoP. Personally, I liked it, though it was quite 
> different from the other books. I have offered some reasons listed 
> below as to why people were disappointed in the book:
> 
> 1. The massive hype surrounding it. 

M.E. - This we must all accept. It would be hard for any book to 
live up to what our imaginations and desires wanted it to be. But 
still....

 
> 2. Introduction of new characters and the absence of the old. 

M.E. - I think that on this issue we will all look back and realize 
that Order of the Phoenix is a masterpiece on a level with Sg Pepper 
(JKR /is/ a Beatles fan, after all). The first three books saw Harry 
as a child, GoF began the transition to his being a teenager and 
with OoP we have full-blown teenage mentality at work. The increased 
maturity (and pronounced teenage immaturity) of Harry is what makes 
the style and narration different. The child Harry was keen on the 
feasts and holidays that punctuated the Hogwarts year. The teenage 
Harry has other preoccupations, perhaps sees these events as 
being 'for the children,' and thus they simply pass by the narrative 
scope of the story. Similarly, it happens that as kids enter and 
pass through the teenage years the old friendships either become 
strained or supplanted by new friendships. I don't think Harry will 
abandon or be abandoned by Ron and Hermione, but it is natural that 
the scope of his close circle of acquaintances and confidants will 
increase, as we have seen with Luna, Ginny, and Neville.

 
> 3. Abensence of popular plot ingredients. ...  Also, did anyone 
> notice that this is the first book that didn't really have a major 
> plot twist at the end? 

M.E. - I think the defining difference between OoP and the previous 
four books is the distiction between suspense and mystery. The first 
four books were indeed mysteries. With the fifth book we have moved 
into the realm of suspense and adventure. But as regards plot 
twists, am I the only one who did not expect the true reason for the 
incident with Dudley in the alley at the beginning? (Wow! that 
sounds suggestive, now don't it!)

I said a few days ago that this volume of the saga lifts Harry 
Potter from the realm of mere 'children's literature' viewed as 
such, to 'art.' I stick by that. No longer will anyone look at JKR's 
work as being 'for kids and liked by adults.' To further my Beatles 
analogy, after Sgt Pepper most of the mass-marketed junk that 
surrounded the explosion of beatlemania simply vanished. The same 
will happen here with Harry Potter. However, the reason will not be 
because of a literary failure on JKR's part but rather the triumph 
of her transforming the genre. The complaints that it's just not 
like Chamber of Secrets or Prisoner of Azkaban is like saying "A Day 
in the Life" just doesn't compare to "From Me To You" or "I Want to 
Hold Your Hand." True, but these are ultimately apples and oranges 
from an artistic standpoint.

Consider the momumental feat achieved in this publication... how 
many millions of copies sold? and read? by just kids? There are 
adult themes at work in this volume, more pronounced than in the 
previous installments, that kids don't and won't get for some time, 
themes that speak to adults without taking away from the youngsters' 
enjoyment of it. 

Try reading some of it outloud to a child, notice the humour that 
you may have missed in a bleary-eyed flurry of reading last weekend. 
And notice the things that you as an adult notice that the kids 
don't. Give it a second read (or third ;D) and note the clarity of 
emotion. (Yes much of it is anger, but geeze! I suppose none of us 
have ever met a disgruntled teenager who wants his gruntle back!) 

Mark my words, Order of the Phoenix is the greatest piece 
of "childrens' " literature, and one of the greatest pieces of 
literature in general in in over fifty years. 

You've heard it here; give it a few more weeks for the rest of the 
reading world to let it sink it.

MarEphraim
(Who is in negotiations to have the entire book tatooed on his right 
knee, to match the map of the Underground on the left one.)