Harry Potter 5: At Long Last - Not As Much Magic
Written: Jun 25 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Still a fun book. More character development.
Cons: not a stand alone. long.
The Bottom Line: A necessary book to read if you're reading the series, but not a book that can stand on its own. Not the best of the series.
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| naphtalia's Full Review: J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Order of the ... |
I first became a fan of the Harry Potter series when I was teaching in Israel. I had not read any of the books, but the kids were reading them like crazy. It's hard, as a teacher, not to like a book that gets kids interested in reading. My real passion for the series came, however, when I was able to get my hands on a copy in English and read it for myself. I've since read the previous four books, watched the two movies that are out, purchased copies of Fantastic Beasts and A History of Quidditch and waited along with many of my students for book 5 to come out. When I got home from out of town this Sunday, I found my advance copy in a package on my front doorstep.
I immediately set to reading. While I enjoyed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I think that it lacks some of the charm of the first, third and fourth books. (I'm not a big fan of the second book, but recommend it to those doing the whole series.) It begins as the books all begin with Harry Potter at the home of his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. He has been having a miserable time there, and has decided to hide out in the bushes where he can listen to the news and not be seen. He is listening for some news that might indicate that Voldemort is on the move again. When there's no news, he goes for a walk. On that walk he encounters his cousin Dudley who is always out to make trouble for him along with some other trouble one would not expect in the Muggle world. He soon finds himself whisked back into the Wizarding world.
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry is dealing with all kinds of teen difficulties. He's beginning to date. He's still in the public spotlight, but the Wizard-world newspapers are not saying nice things about him anymore.
The book does a good job developing characters who were more minor characters in the past such as Ginny, Fred and George Weasley. At the same time, it introduced several new characters. Some of the new characters, such as a female auror named Tonks, feel woefully underdeveloped. Will they show up in the future? It's likely. Rowling has a way of making the minor character in one book a central figure in the next.
The most compelling of the new characters is this year's Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. This one is a woman named Professor Umbridge (as in take umbridge). She is appointed by the Ministry of Magic when Dumbledore cannot find a replacement teacher. As an appointee of the Ministry, she eventually moves from Dark Arts Teacher to the Grand Inquisitor with powers to inspect, punish, and fire. As a teacher in our public school system, I loved the satire about the functioning of the educational system. Up until now, the evil characters in the series have been involved with Voldemort or with the Muggle world. Here we finally find out that it's possible to be a miserable person in the Wizarding world without being a follower of the Dark Lords'. As much as I appreciated this character, however, I did not like the final revelation about her motivations.
I also like the fact that we learn a bit more about Snape's enmity towards Harry and where it stems from. I would like to see Rowling get past the doubts of whether Snape is really a good guy or a bad guy. That is getting a bit old.
The book is an easy read. Even given its length, it did not feel overly long. What it did feel was overly detailed. Because there are still two more books to go in the series, it's hard to tell what details are important in events to come. I can't help but wonder, however, if some of the detail couldn't have been reduced. It was just too much at times. When I teach writing, I encourage the students to make sure every sentence moves the story forward, develops a character, or (at the very least) entertains. Too often, the writing doesn't do any of that.
Another problem with this book is the lack of action throughout. Much of the book deals with Harry and his inner turmoil. Eventually, we do get to the action, but only after a lot of hand-wringing and people trying to keep Harry safe by not letting him do anything. In fact, until we get to Hogwarts, much of what we get to see Harry doing is cleaning house and being a grump.
Although Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has some exciting moments and some suspenseful bits, they come quite late in the book and by that time, I was getting worn down by the other stuff. also has a certain amount of excitement and suspense, though it comes late in the book and lacks the pacing that made the first four books in the series so exciting. Rowling is good at creating suspense, she just waters it down too much in this installment.
As I said before, I am a big fan of Harry Potter. I think the series has been, for the most part, exceptionally good up until now. Up until now, it has been best to read the books in order, but it was possible for any of the books to stand on their own. With Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, one must know what came before to have the story make any real sense. This book feels more like a transition book than one that has its own focus. At about 900 pages, it should be more than just a transition.
The book lacks the sparkle and the magic of the previous books of the series. There was simply too much angst over doing homework and passing tests. Since no one was willing to tell Harry what was really going on until late in the book, we're left in the dark too long. Harry Potter is too angry this time. He's not just curious and searching. He's outraged and raging. That works for a while, but eventually just wears thin.
The final battle at the end of the book, has a lot of concentrated action, but goes on too long. When it happens, it's predictable. While there are some surprises, most of what happens is not too interesting. I found there were points that I had to go back and reread to find out exactly what happened to particular individuals.
In the end, I would not recommend the book on its own, but it is worth reading if you've been reading all along. Tehre are questions that are answered here, and clearly there are things one will need to know in this book for the next book to make sense. I'm still a fan of the series, but this book isn't my favorite.
I hope that the next book doesn't take so long to come out, and that perhaps more editing will take place. I hope Rowling finds the spark and the magic that this book lacks. The children who began reading Harry Potter years ago are growing up along with Harry. It is appropriate that Harry's problems grow and change. I'm glad to see him struggling with romantic relationships as well as Quidditch. I just hope the book regains its charm and joy.
Recommended:
Yes
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naphtalia
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Just cause you got the monkey off your back doesn't mean the_circus has left town.
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