CCBC-Net Archives
HP 5 ...
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: MalibuInc at aol.com <MalibuInc>
Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2003 18:05:39 EDT
Dear CCBC,
I received my copy of the latest Harry Potter Book on Monday morning. I finished reading it at about 11:00 PM Tuesday evening. I have to say I thought Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the best in the series so far. My review is listed below. Someone in a previous post had mentioned J.K. Rowling's continuous use of a child's point of view through out the book. The scene which remained most vivid in my mind was Hagrid's battle with Professor Umbridge and her cronies. The entire fight is seen from the student's point of view as they look on in horror from a distance. The moment is another example of children witnessing the fallibility of adults. I was riveted.
My review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is posted below.
With "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," J.K. Rowling has delivered a sprawling and surprisingly ambitious novel which easily surpasses the narrow labeling of children's literature.? I still wonder why on Earth some adults are ashamed to admit they're reading a novel which is nearly a thousand pages long?? If you're one of them, don't be daunted; it's well worth the time spent.? Harry Potter is now fifteen years old.? Gone is the innocent wide-eyed Harry of the previous novels. Harry is now sullen and angry about the lot life has cast him in.? He openly questions authority as he witnesses more of the fallibility of adults.? As Harry goes into his fifth year at Hogwarts he is also more on his own than he has ever been previously.? Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, barely speaks to Harry now.? Hagrid has gone off on a secret mission, and Ron and Herminone have been made prefects.? His godfather Sirius is still hiding from the Ministry Of Magic.? (Did I also mention Harry has a crush on a girl named Cho?)? In addition to all of this, the Ministry of Magic refuses to believe Harry's story about Lord Voldemort's returning.? Instead, the Ministry of Magic tries to discredit Harry by printing loathsome articles about him in a paper called The Daily Prophet.? The Ministry of Magic also interferes with the running of Hogwarts by sending in a particularly hideous woman named Professor Umbridge to monitor activities in the school.? Professor Umbridge quickly takes over the school and turns Hogwarts into a nightmarish institution. Her cruel punishment of Harry's defiance of authority is, shall we say, hands-on.? Professor Umbridge also serves as a bridge between adult foils for Harry.? In past installments, they'd been less threatening characters, more comedic in tone (Rita Skinner, Gilderoy Lockhart, etc.). Professor Umbridge, however, is malevolent and cruel.? She is also a member of those whom we elect to protect society from danger.? Her physical assaults on Harry and the boy's subsequent defiance of her authority serve to reinforce Harry's entrance into an adult world.? Her behavior, which directly contradicts her position of authority in society, gives Rowling an opportunity to blur the lines further between distinctions of good and evil for Harry.? Later, Rowling further strips away Harry's innocence when he's able to view someone's memory of an act of cruelty to them by his own father.? You may put your concerns to rest if you're worried that Rowling has gone too far with the darker passages of? the story.? There is plenty of the humor and flights of imagination we've come to expect.? Hagrid and his latest monstrous stray pet are as funny as anything Rowling has come up with previously.? The two older Weasley brothers making their grand and final exit from Hogwarts is sure to have you cheering along with the students of Hogwarts School.? Some will complain the writing is lackadaisical; the author should have done some judicious pruning of her work.? I couldn't disagree more with those critics.? J.R.R. Tolkien has been accused of? doing much the same thing in his writings.? Indeed, Rowling has borrowed a page from the old master and learned that God is in the details.? Her willingness to write at length and painstakingly create detail after detail is precisely what allows the reader to fully enter the world of Harry Potter.? Rather than sticking to some quick formulaic suspense novel structure, Rowling has bravely dared to push past those simplistic boundaries.? In so doing she has created a world as vivid and memorable to the imagination as those of Dune or Middle Earth.? "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is breathtaking storytelling.? One can only sit back and marvel at the sheer wonder of it.
Received on Fri 27 Jun 2003 05:05:39 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2003 18:05:39 EDT
Dear CCBC,
I received my copy of the latest Harry Potter Book on Monday morning. I finished reading it at about 11:00 PM Tuesday evening. I have to say I thought Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the best in the series so far. My review is listed below. Someone in a previous post had mentioned J.K. Rowling's continuous use of a child's point of view through out the book. The scene which remained most vivid in my mind was Hagrid's battle with Professor Umbridge and her cronies. The entire fight is seen from the student's point of view as they look on in horror from a distance. The moment is another example of children witnessing the fallibility of adults. I was riveted.
My review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is posted below.
With "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," J.K. Rowling has delivered a sprawling and surprisingly ambitious novel which easily surpasses the narrow labeling of children's literature.? I still wonder why on Earth some adults are ashamed to admit they're reading a novel which is nearly a thousand pages long?? If you're one of them, don't be daunted; it's well worth the time spent.? Harry Potter is now fifteen years old.? Gone is the innocent wide-eyed Harry of the previous novels. Harry is now sullen and angry about the lot life has cast him in.? He openly questions authority as he witnesses more of the fallibility of adults.? As Harry goes into his fifth year at Hogwarts he is also more on his own than he has ever been previously.? Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, barely speaks to Harry now.? Hagrid has gone off on a secret mission, and Ron and Herminone have been made prefects.? His godfather Sirius is still hiding from the Ministry Of Magic.? (Did I also mention Harry has a crush on a girl named Cho?)? In addition to all of this, the Ministry of Magic refuses to believe Harry's story about Lord Voldemort's returning.? Instead, the Ministry of Magic tries to discredit Harry by printing loathsome articles about him in a paper called The Daily Prophet.? The Ministry of Magic also interferes with the running of Hogwarts by sending in a particularly hideous woman named Professor Umbridge to monitor activities in the school.? Professor Umbridge quickly takes over the school and turns Hogwarts into a nightmarish institution. Her cruel punishment of Harry's defiance of authority is, shall we say, hands-on.? Professor Umbridge also serves as a bridge between adult foils for Harry.? In past installments, they'd been less threatening characters, more comedic in tone (Rita Skinner, Gilderoy Lockhart, etc.). Professor Umbridge, however, is malevolent and cruel.? She is also a member of those whom we elect to protect society from danger.? Her physical assaults on Harry and the boy's subsequent defiance of her authority serve to reinforce Harry's entrance into an adult world.? Her behavior, which directly contradicts her position of authority in society, gives Rowling an opportunity to blur the lines further between distinctions of good and evil for Harry.? Later, Rowling further strips away Harry's innocence when he's able to view someone's memory of an act of cruelty to them by his own father.? You may put your concerns to rest if you're worried that Rowling has gone too far with the darker passages of? the story.? There is plenty of the humor and flights of imagination we've come to expect.? Hagrid and his latest monstrous stray pet are as funny as anything Rowling has come up with previously.? The two older Weasley brothers making their grand and final exit from Hogwarts is sure to have you cheering along with the students of Hogwarts School.? Some will complain the writing is lackadaisical; the author should have done some judicious pruning of her work.? I couldn't disagree more with those critics.? J.R.R. Tolkien has been accused of? doing much the same thing in his writings.? Indeed, Rowling has borrowed a page from the old master and learned that God is in the details.? Her willingness to write at length and painstakingly create detail after detail is precisely what allows the reader to fully enter the world of Harry Potter.? Rather than sticking to some quick formulaic suspense novel structure, Rowling has bravely dared to push past those simplistic boundaries.? In so doing she has created a world as vivid and memorable to the imagination as those of Dune or Middle Earth.? "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is breathtaking storytelling.? One can only sit back and marvel at the sheer wonder of it.
Received on Fri 27 Jun 2003 05:05:39 PM CDT
