[HPforGrownups] Re: Oyez, Oyez, the I Hate Horcruxes Society is Now in it...

[OctobersChild48 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 163383




> Julie:
> Oh, so many of so little faith! (Not just you, Sandy!) JKR has
> not failed in even one HP book to completely surprise me, and
> I don't expect DH to be any different. (Even though you didn't
> like the last two books, did you expect many or most of the
> plot points that occurred?) 

Sandy:

I admit that you have me on this one. No, I did not, up to and including 
Dumbledore's death. I don't normally read this gemre of books so I was not aware 
that the mentor is expected to die so the hero goes it alone.

As far as my dis-satisfaction with the last two books goes:
With OoP it is all about Umbridge. I don't care if she is necessary to the 
plot or not; I can't stand the woman, so much so that reading the parts that 
involved her caused my stomach to knot up and my teeth to grit. IOW, I have a 
very physical reaction to the story, and it is not pleasant. A big part of the 
problem, for me, is that I am related to someone who is very much like Umbridge 
and who, for 4 1/2 years, made my life absolute hell. So reading OoP is like 
deja-vu for me. I have read the book twice and it stressed me out equally both 
times and I just don't know if I can put myself through that again. As for 
HBP; I considered it a total let-down. In all of the pre-publication interviews 
JKR went on about how it was going to answer so many of our questions. As far 
as I'm concerned, the only question she answered, and we didn't actually ask it 
(JKR posted on her website that she was so surprised that no one had asked), 
was why Voldemort survived when the AK backfired on him, and she did so by 
introducing us to those hateful Horcruxes. I have three other beefs with the 
book. There is a full fledged war going on, but you get no sense of it at all, at 
least not until the very end. Oh, and the trip to Diagon Alley. I got so 
excited upon reading that DD was paying a visit to Privet Drive: oh boy, the 
Dursleys are really going to get it now, but no, all they got was a small reprimand 
and annoyed by the wine glasses. I was looking forward to a real showdown; to 
DD really putting them in their place. Then there were the seemingly endless 
pages devoted to the Ron-Lavender crap that could have been so much better 
used. I have to wonder if the juvenile readers even enjoyed that. But, as per the 
Leaky/Mugglenet interview, JKR was quite pleased with herself over the romance 
in the book. Earth to JKR; You have more important issues to address and it 
ain't your strong suit. I also didn't enjoy the Slug Club. It was boring.


Julie again:

JKR has also rarely repeated 
> 
> herself. She dealt at length with horcruxes and detailed the
> hunt for the locket horcrux in HBP. While the rest of the
> horcruxes still have to be destroyed--by Harry or others--to 
> defeat Voldemort, I have confidence that the hunting will
> take place in the background, and the mechanics of it will
> be dealt with quickly so that those many other questions
> can be answered and their emotional repercussions dealt with.
> Really, I do.

Sandy:

You are right about her rarely repeating herself, and I hope you are right 
about the rest.

Julie again:
 I also think that many of the situations JKR
> 
> has set us up to expect--Harry not going back to Hogwarts,
> Harry going on an extended hunt for each horcrux, Ginny
> biding her time waiting for him to return or not return
> to her, Snape in a position where he can gain no one's 
> trust, etc, etc--may well not come to pass. She's certainly
> led us astray before (or we've led ourselves astray ;-)
> 
> 

Sandy:

On two of these points I am in agreement with you. I am one of the few who 
believes that Harry *will* go back to Hogwarts, and I don't for a minute believe 
that Ginny is going to docilely sit by and back waiting to see what becomes 
of Harry. As for the other two points, I can only hope you are right.

As I said, disappointed as I am that she is still not finished writing book 
7, I am choosing to be encouraged by it, hoping that she is taking the time to 
make sure she has answered all the key questions and brought the story to a 
satisfactory conclusion.

Sandy


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