A little behind all of you... Harry Potter

[lit_gal]

Okay, I finally read books 6 and 7 in Harry Potter.

Book 6. Boring. Okay, I struggled to get through this whole thing. First off... yeah, yeah, yeah, Snape might be evil. Um haven't we seen this plot already. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Dumbledore died. I predicted that back at book one because it's such a standard trope in children's literature to remove the parents so the children have to take the responsibility. Yeah, yeah, yeah, more of Harry struggling with love. I'm sorry, but this came off as kinda weird. Harry has a beast in him??? I would expect him to be more timid and awkward around Ginny, not thinking of a beast in his chest. And then the book. Okay, Harry and Ron lost their minds if they thought that book was a good idea. What did I like? Slughorn. I like that softer version of Slytherins--not really evil as much as self-involved and self-important.

Book 7. Loved. Okay, I didn't love it all, but I really love most of it. I adored the backstory on Dumbledore, the man who wanted more and didn't really want to hurt others, but who didn't really consider others as much as he should. I thought this was realistic and really turned a very two-dimensional archetype of a mentor into a flesh and blood person with very real issues. And yes, I did see the slashiness.

I did love Snape, but his death was too quick, too lacking. I wanted Harry to face Snape and admit that he'd been wrong, or at least stand up in front of the crowd remembering their honored dead and include Snape. Instead, all his sacrifice seemed to get shoved to the side. Now, I don't mean to turn Snape into an angel because after seeing everything, I still say he was motivated by fear. He was afraid of being alone, of being weak, of powerless... if he had truly been motivated by love, he wouldn't have ever called Lily a mudblood and he would have fought to save her, not tried to die when he learned of her death. However, despite the fear that had paralyzed him in his youth, he managed to do something more difficult than any of them.

I loved the cycle with the Malfoys. They aren't good, but they aren't evil incarnate. They're just selfish little pigs.

I did think the number of deaths a little gratuitous, but it was war. I would rather have that than think of all those adults leaving Harry alone to fight the greatest evil in the world. They all fought with him and they all earned their freedom from Voldemort. The magic lore was complicated, but not so complicated as to throw me off.

So, overall, I think the end is great. The epilogue seemed a little tacked on, but whatever. I do think Ginny is a good match for Harry, and I totally expected that since it was the only way to make Harry a real part of the Weasley family, but I can see where it upset some people who wanted other pairings. However, canon has never limited any of us.

Oh, and the Dumberdore controversy??? Okay, let's look at the evidence. BTW, I can't remember the name of Dumbledore's young love... the evil wizard.

1. He was pro-muggle in Hogwarts, but he was willing to compromise enough to subjugate muggles as long as you're nice to them. (Do stupid stuff in order to make the other person happy. Do really, really stupid stuff)
2. They were owling late into the night. (Um, boys don't do the talking on the phone all night thing.)
3. They were planning a life of conquering together. Um, megomaniacs are not well known for sharing. (Building a future, fantasizing about "forever", writing your name with the boy's last name... all classic signs).
4. Dumbledore comments that he was the only one who didn't know the guy was going to take a runner. (Situational blindness)
5. Dumbledore was so unwilling to confront the guy that he let folks in Europe die before he would take a stand (Willingness to let the other person get away with outrageously stupid shit).

And finally....

The other guy, old and withered, accepted torture rather than point Voldemort at Dumbledore.

Oh yeah, there's nothing lovesick about that AT ALL. Geez, did Jo have to carve a heart in a tree with their initials?? Having worked with 17 year old boys for over a decade, this is what teenagers do in love. As far as I'm concerned, she DID out Dumbledore in the book.

Comments

[raissad.livejournal.com]

I completely agree that she needed an editor from Book 4 on. As for Book 6, it does ramble, but makes more sense when you think of the last two books in particular as two halves of one novel, which is how JKR thinks of them, according to interviews.

Apart from everything else, I just love how JKR turned Dumbledore into the Potterverse equivalent of LFN's Operations and introduced generations of kids to the concept of abeyance through Dumbledore's death, even if she used different words for it. These ideas are old hat for some, but extremely provacative for readers under twelve.

[shakatany.livejournal.com]

So, overall, I think the end is great. The epilogue seemed a little tacked on, but whatever Legend has it that JKR wrote the last chapter of #7 when she started the series and kept it later on in a bank vault. Now was this legendary last chapter the confrontation etc. or the coda with Harry as an adult?

The series was written from the POV of HP and like many children, the idea of adults having sex, het or gay, is something they ignore. Harry was also a bit naive and self-centered as he concentrated on finding ways to survive the inevitable confrontation with Voldemort so if it wasn't relevant to his quest it didn't register. Reading book 7 I suspected there was something between Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald especially with Rita Skeeter's insinuations but being a children's series I thought JKR didn't wish to be controversial and merely implied but didn't state Dumbledore's sexual inclination. Her later great reveal did not come as a surprise to me.

Shakatany

[texanfan.livejournal.com]

Hurray! There's someone else who didn't finish it 10 minutes after it hit the stands.

I wish Snape had gotten more of a memorial. I wish Harry had buried him next to his mom. That would be fitting I think. I am sorry they never had the chance to resolve their issues face to face. Snape's psyche was all kinds of twisty. I think he did love Lily, if he didn't, he would never have stuck around after her death.

I didn't notice the Dumbledore slashiness when I read the book because I really wasn't paying much attention, but once the controversy came up I thought about that relationship and said, "Of course."

[1more-sickpuppy.livejournal.com]

No fear, I'm way behind you, even. Just marathon-watched the first four films this weekend, after finally taking an interest in Harry Potter after reading that fic you recced. And I'm actually thinking of having a look at the books, just to see some more development of the characters. Oh all right, of Snape. I love Alan Rickman's Snape!
It's impossible not to have been spoiled by now so I'm peeved that he dies, but it'll be interesting to see how he reads, and Harry and all the rest. If I wear my magic slash goggles (as I did for the films), things might be extra fun! So... Dumbledore is gay, huh?

[(Anonymous)]

I thought the last book could have been called, "The Tragedy of Severus Snape". I also thought he deserved a better death that acknowledge his sacrifice. Well, that book will make a great movie and maybe the movie will improve on it.