Spreading the OotP love
HBP is one week away, and I realised something: I am not worried about anything that might happen in the book. (I have quite reconciled with the idea of Remus' death.) But what makes me uneasy is the anticipation of the reactions in fandom. There will be hissy fits, there will be character bashing, and there will be outcries of "OMG! JKR is, like, so stupid! She has no idea what makes her characters work, and she dares [dislike Snape/Draco/Voldemort] [like Sirius/Harry/Dumbledore]!!" So, hm, in order to remind myself that there are people who actually like the books and don't mind that it is Rowling who continues writing them, I've got a question: What did you liked about OotP? If anything? Because, personally, I quite liked it. I realise that there are plot holes in Rowling's writing and that Sirius should not have died and that Harry is angry and irrational. But, on the whole, I like the book better than I liked GoF.
- I like angry!Harry. I've always found him too bland in earlier books and never cared much about him, despite his being the hero. His reactions are now appropriate to all the shit life puts him through
- I like that Remus didn't die
- I like Snape's smooth put-down of Umbridge when she demands more Veritaserum
- I like that there isn't so much Quidditch
- I like that Ron is made prefect and not Harry and that Harry is now shut out from a part of Ron and Hermione's life
- I like the glimpse we get of Petunia and Dudley at the beginning (and I like that it is only a glimpse, without any explanation)
- I absolutely adore that Rowling acknowledges that people don't start trusting/liking each other just because they happen to have a goal in common. In fact, this is what I like most about OotP. Most fics written post GoF and dealing with the war had the good guys stand united and fight the evil together (whether or not successfully is immaterial). Snape would train Harry, who would submit to it like a reasonable kid; Snape would forget his own grudge against MWPP and acknowledge Lupin and Black's competence; Dumbledore would be the leader and the Ministry would submit to his leadership... etc. OotP does not offer any of those satisfactory solutions. The good guys keep disliking and distrusting each other, and Harry, despite his hero status, is treated like the brat that he is. OotP is also the book of stagnation: nothing much happens, apart from waiting for Voldemort to act. This drives the characters mad, and their irritation translates to the reader. I don't know whether Rowling did that on purpose, but whatever her intention might have been: she managed to make the readers feel as twitchy and frustrated as the characters. OotP would not work as a stand-alone novel, but as part of a series, it does.
So, I am curious: is there anything you liked about OotP? Or is the hatred of the book universal?
- I like angry!Harry. I've always found him too bland in earlier books and never cared much about him, despite his being the hero. His reactions are now appropriate to all the shit life puts him through
- I like that Remus didn't die
- I like Snape's smooth put-down of Umbridge when she demands more Veritaserum
- I like that there isn't so much Quidditch
- I like that Ron is made prefect and not Harry and that Harry is now shut out from a part of Ron and Hermione's life
- I like the glimpse we get of Petunia and Dudley at the beginning (and I like that it is only a glimpse, without any explanation)
- I absolutely adore that Rowling acknowledges that people don't start trusting/liking each other just because they happen to have a goal in common. In fact, this is what I like most about OotP. Most fics written post GoF and dealing with the war had the good guys stand united and fight the evil together (whether or not successfully is immaterial). Snape would train Harry, who would submit to it like a reasonable kid; Snape would forget his own grudge against MWPP and acknowledge Lupin and Black's competence; Dumbledore would be the leader and the Ministry would submit to his leadership... etc. OotP does not offer any of those satisfactory solutions. The good guys keep disliking and distrusting each other, and Harry, despite his hero status, is treated like the brat that he is. OotP is also the book of stagnation: nothing much happens, apart from waiting for Voldemort to act. This drives the characters mad, and their irritation translates to the reader. I don't know whether Rowling did that on purpose, but whatever her intention might have been: she managed to make the readers feel as twitchy and frustrated as the characters. OotP would not work as a stand-alone novel, but as part of a series, it does.
So, I am curious: is there anything you liked about OotP? Or is the hatred of the book universal?