JKR's writing in OoP (was Re: Sirius's Future)

[carolcaracciolo]

No: HPFGUIDX 117963


---annegirl11 at j... wrote:
>> I'm going to make an extreme statement here: Sirius' death was 
bad writing. Sirius' story is so ridiculously, over-the-top tragic 
that killing him at the pit of his depression is a cop-out. It's 
soapy, it's lazy writing, and it's a waste of a complex, interesting 
character.

The writing in Foot, particularly towards the end, is not JKR's best.
The point I'm trying to make is that if JKR had a plan for the 
significance of Sirius' death, she didn't pull it off. As a reader, 
I was not convinced that Sirius' death impacted Harry in some 
positive, life-lesson way. Cedric's death impacted me in a dramatic 
way; Sirius' was contrived and obvious. <<


Carol says:

Wow!  I'm sure I'm breaking the cardinal rule of posting by just 
agreeing with Aura but...Wow!  I certainly thought I would be 
thoroughly flamed if I suggested that OOtP was not JKR's best 
writing...I'm so glad someone agrees!  In every other HP book, I can 
point to events and their context with authority.  OOTP seems like a 
foggy memory...and I've read it three times!  After my initial 
reading, I felt like it wasn't the same author.  The style seemed 
wrong.  Characters were acting in ways that were not in keeping with 
the people we had known up to that point.  The only two parts that 
really rang with JKR's prints were the first chapter with the 
Dursleys and Fred and George's Bon Voyage.  After it was over, I 
didn't feel like she had propelled the story any further along.  
We're, in a VERY basic way, in the same situation we were in at the 
end of GoF...LV is back and we have to fight him.  Yes?  

As far as Sirius is concerned, I was deeply disappointed.  He 
promised to be a character much like Snape.  Complex...not easily 
pinned down as far as his basic make up.  Is he inherently good or 
evil?  Many would point to his good deeds and sacrifices and 
say "good".  However, in Snape's Pensieve we see a Sirius who acts 
very much like Draco...a bit of a show-off, bully who relies on his 
group for back up and picks on the outcast.  This is a good thing 
because it makes him a multi-dimensional character.  To kill him off 
at this point in the story seemed extremely contrived...like an 
exclamation point in an otherwise mediocre book.

I hate that this is my first post but...c'est la guerre!

Carol

P.S.  I love this group!  I really enjoy intelligent discussion of 
these books.  Thanks for letting me participate!