posted Tuesday, July 01, 2003 - 12:17 PM (#6990)
Ok, we now have a place for those who've read the book. If you haven't finished the book and you read this thread, it's your own damn fault. If you henceforth post anything revealing about the content of the book in the other thread, you're a bastard.
Down to business...
In spite of my best intentions, I got sucked into the book and have now finished it.
I like that the characters are developing with increasing realism. I'm happy to see that the characters -- especially the main "hero" character -- have realistic flaws. They're not perfect Good Guys from a world of black-and-white morality. I'm very pleased to see Rowling push against that sort of theme, and she made it very explicit in this book when Sirius tells Harry that the world isn't divided between good people and Death Eaters.
Moreover, I'm glad to see believable flaws instead of cliched Hollywood "our hero needs a flaw" flaws. Whatever else he is, Harry is a 15-year-old boy. He gets angry and paranoid. He feels isolated and alone against the world. It may not give you a warm, fuzzy feeling, but it is as it should be.
One thing which I find annoying is the same theme throughout all of them. This one did stray a bit, but each has that same "Harry saves the day and Dumbledore and him become closer friends". It gets old.
I don't really see that. Harry is always a key player in how the book turns out (what else would you expect given the books' titles?), but in none of them would I say he single-handedly "saved the day". I would say, particularly, that in 1, 4, and 5 he was manipulated and used by Voldemort, so that Harry's apparent successes were actually defeats.
In 1, it's not clear to me that Voldemort would've gotten as close to the Stone as he did if Harry had never gotten involved. How would he have gotten past the mirror?
In 4, I'll admit that Harry's escape was an important victory, but the book's ending as a whole was not so up-beat.
In 5, Harry's involvement was almost a disaster, and it was the Order who saved the day. The only "good" aspect was that it drew Voldemort out into the open. This is significant, but clearly was not "part of the plan" such as it were.
That said, I think book 4 is my favorite thus far. The new one has a lot going for it: good character development; it advances the main plot; it was what it needed to be to fill its place in the series. But standing on its own, 4 had a more engaging story. In 4, there were well-written elements of mystery and clues such that the reader could play along at home. In 5, there was some mystery, but mostly Harry's lack of comprehension stemmed from youthful inexperience and lack of communication with Dumbledore; I though it was generally pretty clear to the reader what was going on this time.
BTW, for those reading the American edition - has anyone else noticed that this one hasn't been as American-ized as the previous four?
Down to business...
In spite of my best intentions, I got sucked into the book and have now finished it.
I like that the characters are developing with increasing realism. I'm happy to see that the characters -- especially the main "hero" character -- have realistic flaws. They're not perfect Good Guys from a world of black-and-white morality. I'm very pleased to see Rowling push against that sort of theme, and she made it very explicit in this book when Sirius tells Harry that the world isn't divided between good people and Death Eaters.
Moreover, I'm glad to see believable flaws instead of cliched Hollywood "our hero needs a flaw" flaws. Whatever else he is, Harry is a 15-year-old boy. He gets angry and paranoid. He feels isolated and alone against the world. It may not give you a warm, fuzzy feeling, but it is as it should be.
One thing which I find annoying is the same theme throughout all of them. This one did stray a bit, but each has that same "Harry saves the day and Dumbledore and him become closer friends". It gets old.
I don't really see that. Harry is always a key player in how the book turns out (what else would you expect given the books' titles?), but in none of them would I say he single-handedly "saved the day". I would say, particularly, that in 1, 4, and 5 he was manipulated and used by Voldemort, so that Harry's apparent successes were actually defeats.
In 1, it's not clear to me that Voldemort would've gotten as close to the Stone as he did if Harry had never gotten involved. How would he have gotten past the mirror?
In 4, I'll admit that Harry's escape was an important victory, but the book's ending as a whole was not so up-beat.
In 5, Harry's involvement was almost a disaster, and it was the Order who saved the day. The only "good" aspect was that it drew Voldemort out into the open. This is significant, but clearly was not "part of the plan" such as it were.
That said, I think book 4 is my favorite thus far. The new one has a lot going for it: good character development; it advances the main plot; it was what it needed to be to fill its place in the series. But standing on its own, 4 had a more engaging story. In 4, there were well-written elements of mystery and clues such that the reader could play along at home. In 5, there was some mystery, but mostly Harry's lack of comprehension stemmed from youthful inexperience and lack of communication with Dumbledore; I though it was generally pretty clear to the reader what was going on this time.
BTW, for those reading the American edition - has anyone else noticed that this one hasn't been as American-ized as the previous four?
--
Constants might be the only universal irony
Constants might be the only universal irony