[the_old_crowd] Reading OoP

[Catherine Coleman]

--- Eva Thienpont <severelysigune at ...> wrote:
> Sigune here:
> 
> As one of those newcomers who offered OotP as their favourite, I feel inclined to reply to this.
> After reading the recent complex discussions on this board I am very painfully aware of the fact
> that my contribution is going to sound exceedingly simple and nave, but well, so be it.
> 
> First I want to say that my partiality for OotP has much to do with the characterisations and
> complexity - with Harry growing up, with the Snape glimpses, with James and Sirius becoming more
> problematic than before. I am not much of a sleuth (clues to mysteries simply pass me by - this
> probably makes all of you wonder what I am doing here, but hey, I *do* enjoy reading other
> people's speculations and like to keep them in mind when re-reading), so I just let the plot
> meander towards its finish and keep myself amused with other elements instead.

Yes - I agreed with much of what you said, when I read it in your intro.  It was quite refreshing
to come across, actually, because so many people expressed disappointment in OoP in the first days
after its release.  Myself included, on first reading, but that wasn't because of the book - it
was more because I'd spent so much time on HPFGU that the first reading felt stale.  It wasn't as
enjoyable as my first reading of any of the others.  In short, it was a victim of over analysis of
the series (Mrs Figg a squib?  Not Lily's best friend Aged Up?  Oh well, hey ho.  Moving on...)

That left me by my second reading, fortunately;  OoP surprised me many times over and exceeded my
expectations in some ways and although it isn't my favourite - that is still PoA - it is
increasingly becoming a close second.  Why?  Well, I think that like you, I am more of a character
person than a plot person, and I loved Angry Harry.  I also loved Umbridge - JKR's best villain to
date, IMO, although I wished she hadn't got her to own up to the Dementors in that way (and
Kneasy's analysis made me look at her in a slightly different way, for which I thank him).  The
Harry/Snape relationship moved from outright hatred, to ambivalence, to outright hatred again - I
wonder how long (if ever) it is before Harry realises that his renewed hatred of Snape may stem in
part from his anger over the tarnished image of James?  Dudley - the interaction between him and
Harry took a different turn (and I'd still like to know why Dudley goes to Kings Cross every year
- surely *he* can be trusted to stay at home alone?).  

Because of the pain of Sirius' death (I still find it hard to read on past Harry's History of
Magic exam), and because of the way in which everything in OoP is turned on its head for Harry,
and therefore us as well, the book seemed less formulaic than usual (although still operating
within the usual parameters), and therefore a much less comfortable read.  But I now enjoy it all
the more for that.  Yes, I am dissatisfied with the plotting, and I'm unhappy that she killed off
Sirius - but in a way I admire her for it, because the "what ifs", skewed logic and easily
avoidable mistakes which occur result in something messy and heartbreaking - just like in Real
Life.

Catherine




		
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