HBP Book Review
Tons and tons and tons of spoilers.
WARNING: MULTITUDES OF HUGE, THUMPING SPOILERS FOR HP&HBP AND HP&OotP AHEAD.
The Darkest One So Far
I'm still swirling somewhere inside The Half-Blood Prince, and limited though my ability is at this point to truly step back from the book, it's never been clearer to me that we've left the innocent world of The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets far behind. Don't be fooled by the blessedly silly humour: this book is the darkest of the series so far, just as JKR promised it would be.
Wartime in the Wizarding World
Even the Muggle Prime Minister has noticed it: we're not in Kansas any more. A very flustered Fudge brings him up to date with the Story So Far, and I must say I liked the way JKR did it this time. I wondered if we'd have to sit through another of Harry's reminisces summing up the series to date, and I was pleasantly surprised. And that's just the first of the good things in this book.
As the jacket summary so aptly says, even in the midst of a war, life goes on. JKR manages to pull off the war atmosphere superbly. Everybody is always, continuously, but ever so slightly, on edge. Molly can't bring herself to tear her eyes off her clock, hoping, perhaps, that one of the hands will, just for a second, swing away from 'Mortal Peril'. Celebrations are overcast with a pervasive gloom, and it's not just the Dementors who are doing it. Perhaps the most effective way that JKR manages to make the dread of war leap off the pages, though, is that shriveled, dead hand of Dumbledore's. It's just... there... reminding us every single minute that this is war, a war that's caused a wizard like Dumbledore to sustain a horrifying injury.
Coming of Age
And so we work our way through the book.. and somewhere in the middle of it, we realise: this is a very different HP book. The focus is very much on explanations, investigation and long, deep conversations - not wild action and rampaging adventure. It contributes tremendously to the character development, and I couldn't escape the feeling that the books seem to have come of age along with Harry. It's not that the characters have been thin before, no, not at all. It's just that we see our major characters more deeply than ever before.
The most notable of them, of course, is Dumbledore. Here, at last, is a Dumbledore who does more than just appear at the end of the book to explain everything. Here, at last, is a Dumbledore in action. I suspect this is how Dumbledore fights his famous battles: long, arduous preparation by gaining a thorough knowledge of the enemy (when he settles not simply for hearsay, but gets to the actual memories of people, no matter how difficult that may be, showing an unusual quantity of respect for the truth untouched by someone's perception), and then moving quickly and purposefully to the tasks ahead, which take far less time than one would expect compared to the preparations. I loved seeing Dumbledore, and getting to know him. I loved that Harry had the chance.
The explanations-mode also lends itself to some superb character moments, and there are many in this book that are, for me, the highlight of the series so far. Harry saying that he's "Dumbledore's man, through and through", Dumbledore's "I am not worried, Harry. I'm with you", that confrontation between Dumbledore and Draco, where I can just see the conflict and realization in Draco's head, even Snape's succinct "Avada Kedavra" which spoke volumes (to me, at least)... These moments are products of nothing short of sheer genius. Not that I ever doubted that JKR was one.
I wish there had been more for Hermione and Ron and the rest of Harry's friends to do, though. In focusing so completely on Harry and Dumbledore (and secondarily, on Snape, Draco and Ginny, and by necessity, because he's a new character, on Slughorn), Ron and Hermione are relegated almost exclusively to the romance subplot. Others I wanted to see more of - Neville, Luna, McGonagall and Lupin - are present only in the fringes of Harry's existence during his 6th year. And frankly, I could have done with far less of Slughorn. I don't understand his role in the book at all... Other than his one precious memory, that is. Will he be bigger in Book 7? I wonder. He seems as inconsequential to me as Lockhart was, and he's far less amusing.
Pacing and Voice
I've only read the book once, I know, but it seemed to simply fly by. The pacing is tight enough to be constrictive: we hardly ever see Harry's ruminations, and I'm afraid that's something I've gotten rather used to. Instead, we see a new Harry who is willing to trust everyone around him and tell them what he's thinking - or perhaps, it's just that he has grown up and is assertive enough so that he's not afraid of being laughed at any more. (That scene with Mr. Weasley, where Harry demands he raid the Malfoy Manor again, is a wonderful example.) Too much is happening all at once, as a result... and I found myself longing for the comparatively leisurely storytelling of Book 5.
But then again, I could be feeling this way because I've read it just once.
I think the only major problem the book runs into is one of voice/viewpoint. We have here, breaking the pattern, not one but two non-Harry's-POV chapters... and though they are both excellent, they are just the visible symptoms of the strain of sticking to a single viewpoint. Later, when we are led through an entire battle by a group of people recalling what happened, it gets rather more awkward. There's nothing that can be done about it, I suppose... it's too late for JKR to just up and give in and not write in Harry's POV any more. Just one of those things.
The Snape Question
Well. I could hardly write a review without devoting some time to the enigma of the Half-Blood Prince.
I lie in the Snape-is-loyal-to-Dumbledore camp. There's a lot of evidence for this. Snape seems to be way too concerned for the safety of the students during the final battle to be a true DE - why else would he urge the other DEs out simply because "the job is done"? If you look closely at what the others tell Harry about their experience of the battle, Snape seems to be protecting the students - curses are mysteriously deflected from them when he's around. He doesn't try to harm Harry in any way - or even try to take him to Voldemort - when he has Harry at his mercy. (The only time he tries to hurt Harry is when he's called a coward - which seems to irk him beyond reason - but I think I do know the reason.) There's a lot more evidence - just see any Snape discussions on the Sugar Quill for viewpoints - and I truly think that Snape's betrayal is an illusion... and I shudder to think what he will have to go through to convince Harry and the Order of his loyalty. I do believe he might die trying.
The Other Things
What can I say? All I need to do is copy and paste from my other reviews of the other HP books: I think the plot is brilliant... I think that despite the pacing problems, everything flows together beautifully. I liked the fact that romance figured in so much more in this book, because it was so apt: Dumbledore's most important lesson to Harry in HBP was that his power to love was important and very potent. It makes sense that major subplots in the book should revolve around love.
It was off-putting that a lot of the wonderful themes explored in book 5 were abruptly given up. Sirius Black - who was that, surely not a parental figure Harry suddenly lost? SPEW who? The DA disbanded on what seemed almost a whim. The Dursleys once again are caricatures, the evil stepsisters no one has to take seriously. And the House Unity that the Sorting Hat keeps mentioning and that the DA seemed to at least partly embody -- vanished like summer rain.
The only thing that even harks back a little to Order of the Phoenix and ties in with it a little is Harry's reaction to Dumbledore's death. Harry (& JKR) handled Dumbledore's death so differently from Sirius's. Harry's thoughts during the funeral were poignant to the point of making me cry: how apt is it that even the death of this man somehow resurrects hope?
The Dark, Twisting Path Ahead
A part of me can't believe we're leaving Hogwarts with Harry.. that Hogwarts might actually close. I might be in denial... but I cannot imagine that happening.
It will be incredibly daring of JKR if she takes Harry, Ron and Hermione out of school for the last year - admirably so. Imagine of the possibilities!
But I think we will return to Hogwarts in the end, one way or another. We've found out that Voldemort was obsessed with Hogwarts and its founders... and it wouldn't surprise me if one of the first Horcruxes he made was hidden at Hogwarts itself. (It would explain his eagerness to hang around, for one thing.) As the scene of the Final Battle, or as the place that Harry goes looking for the ultimate answers, I have no doubt that Hogwarts will return. And that is as it should be: Hogwarts is as much a character in these books as Harry or Ron or Dumbledore.
WARNING: MULTITUDES OF HUGE, THUMPING SPOILERS FOR HP&HBP AND HP&OotP AHEAD.
The Darkest One So Far
I'm still swirling somewhere inside The Half-Blood Prince, and limited though my ability is at this point to truly step back from the book, it's never been clearer to me that we've left the innocent world of The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets far behind. Don't be fooled by the blessedly silly humour: this book is the darkest of the series so far, just as JKR promised it would be.
Wartime in the Wizarding World
Even the Muggle Prime Minister has noticed it: we're not in Kansas any more. A very flustered Fudge brings him up to date with the Story So Far, and I must say I liked the way JKR did it this time. I wondered if we'd have to sit through another of Harry's reminisces summing up the series to date, and I was pleasantly surprised. And that's just the first of the good things in this book.
As the jacket summary so aptly says, even in the midst of a war, life goes on. JKR manages to pull off the war atmosphere superbly. Everybody is always, continuously, but ever so slightly, on edge. Molly can't bring herself to tear her eyes off her clock, hoping, perhaps, that one of the hands will, just for a second, swing away from 'Mortal Peril'. Celebrations are overcast with a pervasive gloom, and it's not just the Dementors who are doing it. Perhaps the most effective way that JKR manages to make the dread of war leap off the pages, though, is that shriveled, dead hand of Dumbledore's. It's just... there... reminding us every single minute that this is war, a war that's caused a wizard like Dumbledore to sustain a horrifying injury.
Coming of Age
And so we work our way through the book.. and somewhere in the middle of it, we realise: this is a very different HP book. The focus is very much on explanations, investigation and long, deep conversations - not wild action and rampaging adventure. It contributes tremendously to the character development, and I couldn't escape the feeling that the books seem to have come of age along with Harry. It's not that the characters have been thin before, no, not at all. It's just that we see our major characters more deeply than ever before.
The most notable of them, of course, is Dumbledore. Here, at last, is a Dumbledore who does more than just appear at the end of the book to explain everything. Here, at last, is a Dumbledore in action. I suspect this is how Dumbledore fights his famous battles: long, arduous preparation by gaining a thorough knowledge of the enemy (when he settles not simply for hearsay, but gets to the actual memories of people, no matter how difficult that may be, showing an unusual quantity of respect for the truth untouched by someone's perception), and then moving quickly and purposefully to the tasks ahead, which take far less time than one would expect compared to the preparations. I loved seeing Dumbledore, and getting to know him. I loved that Harry had the chance.
The explanations-mode also lends itself to some superb character moments, and there are many in this book that are, for me, the highlight of the series so far. Harry saying that he's "Dumbledore's man, through and through", Dumbledore's "I am not worried, Harry. I'm with you", that confrontation between Dumbledore and Draco, where I can just see the conflict and realization in Draco's head, even Snape's succinct "Avada Kedavra" which spoke volumes (to me, at least)... These moments are products of nothing short of sheer genius. Not that I ever doubted that JKR was one.
I wish there had been more for Hermione and Ron and the rest of Harry's friends to do, though. In focusing so completely on Harry and Dumbledore (and secondarily, on Snape, Draco and Ginny, and by necessity, because he's a new character, on Slughorn), Ron and Hermione are relegated almost exclusively to the romance subplot. Others I wanted to see more of - Neville, Luna, McGonagall and Lupin - are present only in the fringes of Harry's existence during his 6th year. And frankly, I could have done with far less of Slughorn. I don't understand his role in the book at all... Other than his one precious memory, that is. Will he be bigger in Book 7? I wonder. He seems as inconsequential to me as Lockhart was, and he's far less amusing.
Pacing and Voice
I've only read the book once, I know, but it seemed to simply fly by. The pacing is tight enough to be constrictive: we hardly ever see Harry's ruminations, and I'm afraid that's something I've gotten rather used to. Instead, we see a new Harry who is willing to trust everyone around him and tell them what he's thinking - or perhaps, it's just that he has grown up and is assertive enough so that he's not afraid of being laughed at any more. (That scene with Mr. Weasley, where Harry demands he raid the Malfoy Manor again, is a wonderful example.) Too much is happening all at once, as a result... and I found myself longing for the comparatively leisurely storytelling of Book 5.
But then again, I could be feeling this way because I've read it just once.
I think the only major problem the book runs into is one of voice/viewpoint. We have here, breaking the pattern, not one but two non-Harry's-POV chapters... and though they are both excellent, they are just the visible symptoms of the strain of sticking to a single viewpoint. Later, when we are led through an entire battle by a group of people recalling what happened, it gets rather more awkward. There's nothing that can be done about it, I suppose... it's too late for JKR to just up and give in and not write in Harry's POV any more. Just one of those things.
The Snape Question
Well. I could hardly write a review without devoting some time to the enigma of the Half-Blood Prince.
I lie in the Snape-is-loyal-to-Dumbledore camp. There's a lot of evidence for this. Snape seems to be way too concerned for the safety of the students during the final battle to be a true DE - why else would he urge the other DEs out simply because "the job is done"? If you look closely at what the others tell Harry about their experience of the battle, Snape seems to be protecting the students - curses are mysteriously deflected from them when he's around. He doesn't try to harm Harry in any way - or even try to take him to Voldemort - when he has Harry at his mercy. (The only time he tries to hurt Harry is when he's called a coward - which seems to irk him beyond reason - but I think I do know the reason.) There's a lot more evidence - just see any Snape discussions on the Sugar Quill for viewpoints - and I truly think that Snape's betrayal is an illusion... and I shudder to think what he will have to go through to convince Harry and the Order of his loyalty. I do believe he might die trying.
The Other Things
What can I say? All I need to do is copy and paste from my other reviews of the other HP books: I think the plot is brilliant... I think that despite the pacing problems, everything flows together beautifully. I liked the fact that romance figured in so much more in this book, because it was so apt: Dumbledore's most important lesson to Harry in HBP was that his power to love was important and very potent. It makes sense that major subplots in the book should revolve around love.
It was off-putting that a lot of the wonderful themes explored in book 5 were abruptly given up. Sirius Black - who was that, surely not a parental figure Harry suddenly lost? SPEW who? The DA disbanded on what seemed almost a whim. The Dursleys once again are caricatures, the evil stepsisters no one has to take seriously. And the House Unity that the Sorting Hat keeps mentioning and that the DA seemed to at least partly embody -- vanished like summer rain.
The only thing that even harks back a little to Order of the Phoenix and ties in with it a little is Harry's reaction to Dumbledore's death. Harry (& JKR) handled Dumbledore's death so differently from Sirius's. Harry's thoughts during the funeral were poignant to the point of making me cry: how apt is it that even the death of this man somehow resurrects hope?
The Dark, Twisting Path Ahead
A part of me can't believe we're leaving Hogwarts with Harry.. that Hogwarts might actually close. I might be in denial... but I cannot imagine that happening.
It will be incredibly daring of JKR if she takes Harry, Ron and Hermione out of school for the last year - admirably so. Imagine of the possibilities!
But I think we will return to Hogwarts in the end, one way or another. We've found out that Voldemort was obsessed with Hogwarts and its founders... and it wouldn't surprise me if one of the first Horcruxes he made was hidden at Hogwarts itself. (It would explain his eagerness to hang around, for one thing.) As the scene of the Final Battle, or as the place that Harry goes looking for the ultimate answers, I have no doubt that Hogwarts will return. And that is as it should be: Hogwarts is as much a character in these books as Harry or Ron or Dumbledore.