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

[annegirl11 at juno.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 118034

This reply is to no one in particular.

I know the party line. I get it. Sirius supposedly died because death is
sudden, it has no meaning, yadda yadda. I'm not saying that wasn't JKR's
intention. What I'm saying is that, in critiquing OOtP -- without
fanwanking or information gleaned from interviews -- that theme didn't
come across.

Here's the thing: *Cedric's* death was a pointless death that was
well-written and well executed. I sobbed for that kid, for the
pointlessness and the waste. GoF is well-written, and the Cemetary scene
was extremely effective. The MM scene is poorly written, shaky, and, as
someone said, cartoonish. When Sirius died, all I felt was, "wtf?" I
wasn't convinced that this happened for any reason other than that JKR
felt like it. The text is  ineffective.

The one possible explanation I've heard is that Sirius' death will be
explained in the next book. (This doesn't change that OOtP is a poorly
written book, compared to the rest of the series, but can, theoretically
explain the Sirius gap.) I guess it's a matter of opinion, then, whether
or not a book in a series is fair game for literary crit before the
series is finished. My feeling is that the HP books are separate literary
entities in their own right;  readers have the right to think about them
independant of the other books. As OOtP stands, I feel that *many*
aspects of the book, not just Sirius, were poorly done.

Aura

~*~
"What he didn't like about heroes was that they were usually suicidally
gloomy when sober and homicidally insane when drunk."
- Discword
http://archive.skyehawke.com/authors.php?no=606