My HBP Review

[Penny & Bryce]

Hi all --

Decided I would do a massive review of HBP and respond to many of the posts 
that have been flying about while I've been ruminating and re-reading and 
wondering exactly what I wanted to say frankly.  I was also waiting on The 
Interview, which I've just read.

SHIPPING

Well, let's just start with the Hard Part, shall we?

:::takes very large slice of crow pie and gags it down::::

I concede defeat.  Happy?  Good ------ please spare me the gloating. 
There's no good pretending I'm not utterly and completely devastated by the 
events of HBP.  I'm more devastated by the tone of The Interview.  IMHO, it 
was quite unprofessionally handled by the interviewers, since they 
supposedly have a better understanding of the dynamics of the fandom than 
Rowling would.  To call an entire segment of the fandom "delusional" in an 
incredibly high-profile interview is very poor taste and bad judgment.  And, 
even though Rowling distanced herself from the word "delusional," I'm not 
too happy with her not stepping in ages ago.  I realize that she and the 
other side all believed that the books spoke for themselves, but clearly, 
she was aware that there was this whole segment of people who had a 
different interpretation of things.  I was obviously "over-invested" in this 
whole topic, but it doesn't make the end result any less painful.

I don't mind H/G so much really (although I could have done with JKR 
establishing Ginny's character quite alot more in the earlier books), but I 
still don't feel like I really know and love her, as one should love the 
Hero's girl.  I mean really -- isn't this still him getting together with a 
girl who's both pretty and a great Quidditch player?  Yes, there's more to 
Ginny than that, and I concede that she is his friend on some level (but we 
readers have been exposed to precious little of that interaction).  He's 
still excluding her from the "inner circle" even late in the book after all! 
I don't hate it though.

I don't know whether I think this thing with Harry and Ginny is a lasting 
one or not -- I think it ultimately depends on whether Harry dies or not. 
If he's dying, then I see this as an idyllic little interlude that Rowling's 
given him so that she won't be killing off the Hero whose only sexual 
experience is to believe that kisses are wet because the girl was crying. 
He needed to have a good romantic experience.  If he's not meant to die, 
then I can see it quite possible that he and Ginny reunite at the end 
(though, like Debbie, I think he may be too changed a person).

R/H?  As I said above, I accept that I was "wrong, wrong, wrong" -- oh so 
very wrong.

But.  I.  Don't.  Have.  To.  Like.  It.

And, I don't. And, I *never, ever* will.  I *HATE* and loathe and despise 
this pairing.  Most especially since instead of Hermione pulling Ron *up* to 
her level, it seems that he's going to drag her down to his.  I didn't even 
recognize Hermione in this book, and I didn't like her.  And, I'd never have 
thought I would say *that*.  I absolutely cannot stand and cannot understand 
why on earth Rowling felt compelled to do this.   I can't help wondering if 
the fact so many in the fandom saw Hermione as far more developed and far 
more worthy a girl for Harry caused her to shift gears and downplay Hermione 
overall (and make her a flighty, boy-crazy, scheming shrew that most of us 
who loved her before can't compare to the bright, self-assured, and 
dignified young woman of the previous volumes).  Bitter?  Nah.  That's an 
understatement.

The writing of all the romance stuff?  Gag.  I felt I was reading really, 
really bad fanfic in many places.  "The creature inside his chest roared in 
triumph"?  *Blech*.  :::retching noises:::  Really bloody awful.

And the whole premise of his breakup with Ginny was preposterously silly, as 
Amy Z has already noted.  He's breaking up with Ginny so she won't be a 
target, but yet he's allowing Ron and Hermione to come along on his Quest? 
And, even if they didn't go, are they any safer?  Is there anyone close to 
Harry who is safe at this point?

So ..... moving on .........

WRITING STYLE

Yeah, while we're on this topic, let me just say that I thought this one 
really did have some problems with the writing.  It wasn't just the shippy 
stuff that made me wince and think I was reading very bad fanfic at times. 
Yes, she lost the excess adverbs.  But, really, she is very repetitive for 
one thing.  All the characters "fired up at once" at one time or another. 
Quite annoying.

HARRY

He has definitely come into his own and while I didn't hate the Angry!Harry 
of OoP as many did, I am glad to see him getting his temper under control 
and being more the Harry we all knew from before.

He has become the Leader and the "Chosen One," and there's nothing more 
poignant about this passing of the mantle in my mind than taking the line 
from early in the book when Harry and Dumbledore are going to see Slughorn 
and Dumbledore notes that Harry is safe because "You are with me" and 
comparing it to the journey back to Hogsmeade near the end when Dumbledore 
says "I am not worried, Harry .... I am with you."  That was just 
beautiful -- really it was!  [And it foreshadowed Dumbledore's death nicely 
for any who were still in doubt that this was about to happen .....]

Harry's still not perfect though.  I agree with Catherine that using that 
curse on Draco was hugely akin to the Prank.  (Sparing you all a detailed 
argument of why I think Hermione was wildly OOC to not have kept insisting 
that Harry show that book to Dumbledore, which significantly weakens the 
plot in my mind). He's got alot to learn even yet, and I desperately hope 
that McGonagall is turning over Dumbledore's pensieve (as well as diaries 
and anything else of value that he left) to Harry!

SNAPE

Like Joywitch, my gut inclination is to view Snape as just the same slimy 
evil greaseball nasty git that he's always been in my mind, but sadly, I do 
think it will turn out that the Snapefans are probably mostly right.  Loved 
AmandaGeist's old HPfGU message (#47077) and think she (and Jan) were 
clearly on the right track way back when.  I do wonder though about 
Catherine's question regarding Snape's intent  (and there have been so very 
many Snape messages flying around, I hope I'm forgiven if I missed where we 
all worked this one out already) -- doesn't the AK require a more negative 
intent to murder (rather than a "positive" intent for a mercy killing)?

Amy Z said:

<<<<I can't believe even the exasperatingly tight-lipped Dumbledore wouldn't 
have
warned him about it:  not just "obey my orders even if I tell you to
leave me in mortal danger," but "you may see Professor Snape do
something unthinkable--trust him."  Snape and Harry are now the
deadliest of enemies.  How is this part of a plan?>>>>>>>>

Yes, that is troubling, isn't it?  I dunno.

DUMBLEDORE

He's dead.  Folks, I'm living proof that you shouldn't expect JKR to do 
anything too terribly complex.  She's going for the "obvious" in many cases, 
despite her professed love of Jane Austen.  </bitter rant>  Seriously, he's 
dead.  Dead, dead, dead.  Now whether Fawkes has some unusual connection to 
him and we'll have some remnant of Dumbledore through him, I dunno.  But, I 
don't expect to see whimsical twinkling Dumbledore walking and talking to 
Harry again.  At least one of my long-standing predictions (Dumbledore dead 
in Book 6) came to pass.  Whew, I'm not at zero after all!  But, it's not 
exactly a stunningly novel and clever position to take now, is it?  <g>

THINGS I MISSED (OMISSIONS)

I agreed with virtually everything that Neri wrote, most especially this:

<<<<<<<<JKR invents a whole horde of new characters, which necessarily come 
on the expense of continuing the development of old ones. Why was there any 
need to replace Fudge with Scrimgeur just to fill approximately the same 
function? Neville, Moody and the Creevys
brothers were completely neglected. Bill, Luna, Dean, Lavender and
Hagrid are there but merely as plot devices.  Percy gets half a scene
that doesn't develop the story in any way. Ginny's exclusion from the
trio just doesn't sound realistic:  would a determined girl like that
agree, practically without argument, to be excluded from the secrets
kept by her boyfriend, her brother and her best female friend? Not
bloody likely.>>>>>>>>>>>

Yes, yes, yes on the whole "Ginny's being excluded from the Trio" bit. 
Again, it really undercuts the believability of the H/G ship for this to 
continue for one thing.  And, it's just not in keeping with what we're told 
is Ginny's character.  :::high fives Neri:::

1.  Luna and Neville ---- I'm glad Harry was nice and took Luna to that one 
party, but I really could have used more of her.  I think she is 
astonishingly refreshing, and quite perceptive (*loved* her comment that Ron 
could be very funny but could also be very unkind ---- and loved especially 
that Harry agreed with her mentally).  And, where was Neville?  I was 
expecting more -- I guess I had bought into the notion that now that Harry 
was more used to having friends other than Ron and Hermione helping him, he 
would expand his circle of support even more in the last 2 books. 
Surprising to me that the DA disbanded as well.

2.  Percy ----- Are we ever going to learn exactly what's going on with 
Percy?  Starting to think I should give up the PINE membership too ........

By the by, I really enjoy the Goat's neighbor's theories.  The only way that 
Dumbledore drinking all that gunk makes any sense at all is if you consider 
it possible that the gunk was a horcrux that Dumbledore was destroying. 
Good one!

ALCHEMY

I agree with Phyllis that it is a virtual certainty that Rowling is using an 
alchemically inspired structure for the series, and if you've not read John 
Granger's work, rush out and buy it.  [Since this isn't *my* theory --- it's 
John Granger's -- you needn't fear that it is wrong from the get-go].  His 
book is coming out in paperback with HBP points worked in this coming fall. 
Also interesting is the Time interview with Rowling, wherein she says 
("choosing her words carefully"): "I don't think they [her novels] are all 
that secular."

I agree with everyone who has said that she has left an awful left for the 
last book.  There were quite a few things left dangling from earlier books 
that were not picked up in HBP (or weren't fully resolved), not to mention 
all the loose threads left just from this one.  She's quite right to think 
that Book 7 will need to be the size of an encyclopedia ---- it sure seems 
that will be needed unless she can dispense with some things with just small 
bits of exposition.

Hoping that I can just distance myself for awhile and re-read HBP in a few 
weeks and discover that there is still a reason I named my son Harry and 
there is still a reason to love this series, even if I've lost some measure 
of respect for the author this evening ..........

Penny