My Reaction

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 132936

Okay, I've finished the book, and my reaction is very complicated. 
Please bear with me. I'd be interested in hearing what you think.

First of all, I thought that in and of itself the book was very 
good. Having said that, I think the way it fits into the total sweep 
of the series is a little odd. Or, maybe it might be better to say 
that it highlights the odd way in which OOTP fits into the total 
sweep of the series.

I have often thought that JKR is a little bit disingenuous about 
some of her statements. She has claimed to have the entire series 
plotted out in advance, and that she is writing for herself and not 
readers. I don't think either of those things is completely true. I 
suspect she has things nailed down a lot less firmly than she likes 
to let on and that she pays a lot more attention to the fandom than 
she likes to let people think.

It seemed to me that large segments of HBP were written to 
please/placate/pacify certain sections of the fandom. I don't mean 
that as a criticism, by any means, since I think any author ignores 
their fans to their peril. Still, it was striking how things worked 
out. For the shippers we get LOTS of attention to the two most 
popular ships, as well as a nod to a minor ship (R/T) which even 
most people who shipped it probably never expected to see in canon. 
For those interested in Draco we got a humanizing of him. For those 
interested in Slytherin we got a Slytherin who was, if not exactly 
good, at least competent, loyal, and more-or-less harmless.

However, what really interested me is the way in which many, many 
issues and themes raised by OOTP were either dismissed or swept 
totally under the rug. Sirius Black - who was that, surely not a 
parental figure Harry suddenly lost? SPEW who? The DA disbanded on 
what seemed almost a whim. The prophecy -- well it isn't REALLY 
binding, after all. Luna and Neville relegated to near cameos. The 
Dursleys once again are caracatures, the evil stepsisters no one has 
to take seriously. And Harry's anger, guilt, depression, and 
turmoil, almost completely gone. That scene in DD's office - he 
didn't mean it, as DD is his bestest and favoritest person in the 
world. As for the ominous implications of the war starting in the 
last chapter of OOTP and the sense that things would be much 
different at Hogwarts -- well, mostly we decided to put that aside 
in favor of Quidditch and snogging. And the House Unity that the 
Sorting Hat keeps mentioning and that the DA seemed to at least 
partly embody -- vanished like summer rain. It was as if JKR was 
saying "Okay, a lot of the implications and themes of OOTP just 
didn't work out the way I intended. Let's kinda pretend like OOTP 
didn't happen." And in truth, much of what happened in this book 
could have been done in fifth year as easily as sixth. If she had 
expanded the book a hundred pages or so and dropped in the prophecy 
and Sirius' death, she wouldn't have needed OOTP at all except as a 
way of getting everybody to take their OWLS. Even the tone, by and 
large, was closer to that of the earlier books than to that of OOTP, 
although of course terrible things happened.

Oddly, like I say, I don't really mean this as criticism of HBP. I 
think it was, in general, a very good book and much better than 
OOTP. But I find the sudden backtracking from much of the tone and 
implications of OOTP highly bemusing.

I thought the whole thing with Snape was well-done but 
extraordinarily manipulative. She essentially showed us something 
while banging us over the head almost every chapter with reasons why 
we shouldn't take what we see at face value -- which itself raises 
suspicions that maybe we should do just that. I am, once again, 
almost totally bemused.

The only thing that I really didn't like on the face of it was 
Passive!Remus with large helpings of EmotionallyDistant!Remus. So 
much for him getting closer to Harry. Its as if JKR is lining up one 
major "adult" friend for Harry in each book, and doesn't want to 
deal with the implications of more than that.

Anyway, my thoughts.


Lupinlore