HP 20th anniversary reread--chapter 1 and 2
I thought I'd be late to the party with the HP reread, as it officially began yesterday, and I was busy all day (and went to bed early to get up at 2 today!) But I forgot two things: 1. Time zones! Being anywhere between 5 and 9 hours ahead of people in the US means Tuesday is almost Monday. :p 2. Audiobooks! Meaning I could 'read' as I walked into the train station this morning. My 45min walk (and subsequent wait for the train) took me through 2 chapters. And I took the chance on the train to pen down my thoughts and two drabbles, one for each chapter. I'm writing this post at Gatwick Airport now. So yay, here we go!
Anyway, I should have mentioned, this is a reread in honour of twenty years of HP. Can you believe it's been so long? (This year also happens to be the year of '19 years later'. Yikes!)
It struck me while reading (listening, whatever) that third person, omniscient is a very rare writing style these days. In most of the fiction I read, it's usually first person or third person, limited. I know the style doesn't continue throughout the book, and I wonder if that's why it picks up a lot more after the first chapter. I remember when I first picked up PS when I was a kid I didn't get into it until someone assured me I would like it if I continued. And I wonder now if the PoV was part of the reason I didn't find the book attractive on first read.
A lot of info does get squeezed into this first chapter, though, and it's full of dry British humour--much more recognisable having lived here over a year. (Plus, it sounds absolutely delightful when read by Stephen Fry, I have to say!)
I know there's been plenty of inconsistency around Dumbledore and McGonagall's conversation (timing, for one, and the fact that she sat on Privet Drive all day on what I assume was a school day?!) but it was also necessary. I think we don't give authors enough credit sometimes--it's not easy setting the scene and infodumping without writing everything blatantly in the text, and this conversation unravels just enough of what we need to know, sprinkles characterisation into the mix, and teases us with the hint of this intriguing world that we are about to enter.
So although the chapter started dull (in my opinion, anyway--Vernon definitely isn't my idea of a character I want to get to know better!) my appetite for more is whet in the concluding scene.
And then she makes us wait for the next meal ... but I'll get to that.
Some other things that stood out to me this chapter--
Petunia commenting on Harry--'nasty, common name'; I wonder if this was a prevalent upper/middle class view at that time period (1981) or if not, what that says about Petunia. I don't think Prince Harry was yet born, but 'Harry' does have a history as a name associated with royalty since it's a diminutive for Henry. In which case 'common' is an odd argument for Petunia to make.
Voldemort--how common is it in stories for the villain to get an explicit mention in the very first chapter? It strikes me that authors usually keep this a mystery, adding suspense by keeping people guessing about it, until halfway through the book. But no, we know straight off who the bad guy is from the start. I don't know if this is good or bad. Just something that I took note of this time round and I thought, hm, actually that's not usual, is it?
Sirius. I know it's been mentioned many times, but I have to just say it again. Just, wow. The level in which she had already plotted out this thing is amazing. Unless it was a throwaway detail which she later picked up and wove into a much more complex story, but I get the feeling she knew precisely who Sirius was and what he was doing at this time, and to be able to drop it there and not reveal anything about the backstory. That's impressive. And part of what makes her world so rich and fun to play in.
Last year I did a fic based on this chapter trying to explain McGonagall waiting for Dumbledore all day, which is here. (Though after this listen, I think I may have missed that Hagrid was the one to tell her where to find Dumbledore--I need to reread my own writing to check, lol.)
Here's another offering that was inspired by the line, in fact, Mrs Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister.
I probably won't do this every chapter (I've already done it up to chapter 14, anyway), since I have way too much to write already and a busy summer. But since I had a train ride handy this morning, why not?
So, like I was saying, we got hungry for more about this strange world that was recently liberated from the villain under mysterious circumstances. And then we go back to the mundane.
I guess it creates suspense, doesn't it?
I'd forgotten how snarky Harry could be. For a kid that's beaten down and trodden on and stuffed in the cupboard, he's not exactly silent and submissive. I've read some fics that try to deal with his trauma at being emotionally neglected by characterising him that way, and while the logic of it makes sense, nothing in this book really goes by logic, does it? (Okay, Hermione tries to ... and maybe Snape's potion riddle. But I'm getting ahead of myself.) Harry's smart and clearly not afraid of speaking up (he just talks about his flying motorcycle dream in the car) and he's such a kid. I mean that in a fond way, of course. He doesn't want to visit Mrs Figg--not because she's mean, but because she's boring to a child. He takes pleasure in getting ice lollies and sundaes. And I like Harry's narrative voice. I guess this is the chapter that makes or breaks the book--from here on in, we're stuck with Harry, so if I'm going to continue, I better darn well like him. And fortunately, I do!
Chapter-based fic for this chapter:
Last year's is here, and is about Harry's scar and the whole 'don't ask questions' dynamic he and Aunt Petunia had.
I did another one (again it's Petunia, what's with that?! Must be a priming effect after writing the first one ...) This one based off the line Aunt Petunia often said Dudley looked like a baby angel. (I don't know how I got from that to angst!)
Anyway, I should have mentioned, this is a reread in honour of twenty years of HP. Can you believe it's been so long? (This year also happens to be the year of '19 years later'. Yikes!)
It struck me while reading (listening, whatever) that third person, omniscient is a very rare writing style these days. In most of the fiction I read, it's usually first person or third person, limited. I know the style doesn't continue throughout the book, and I wonder if that's why it picks up a lot more after the first chapter. I remember when I first picked up PS when I was a kid I didn't get into it until someone assured me I would like it if I continued. And I wonder now if the PoV was part of the reason I didn't find the book attractive on first read.
A lot of info does get squeezed into this first chapter, though, and it's full of dry British humour--much more recognisable having lived here over a year. (Plus, it sounds absolutely delightful when read by Stephen Fry, I have to say!)
I know there's been plenty of inconsistency around Dumbledore and McGonagall's conversation (timing, for one, and the fact that she sat on Privet Drive all day on what I assume was a school day?!) but it was also necessary. I think we don't give authors enough credit sometimes--it's not easy setting the scene and infodumping without writing everything blatantly in the text, and this conversation unravels just enough of what we need to know, sprinkles characterisation into the mix, and teases us with the hint of this intriguing world that we are about to enter.
So although the chapter started dull (in my opinion, anyway--Vernon definitely isn't my idea of a character I want to get to know better!) my appetite for more is whet in the concluding scene.
And then she makes us wait for the next meal ... but I'll get to that.
Some other things that stood out to me this chapter--
Petunia commenting on Harry--'nasty, common name'; I wonder if this was a prevalent upper/middle class view at that time period (1981) or if not, what that says about Petunia. I don't think Prince Harry was yet born, but 'Harry' does have a history as a name associated with royalty since it's a diminutive for Henry. In which case 'common' is an odd argument for Petunia to make.
Voldemort--how common is it in stories for the villain to get an explicit mention in the very first chapter? It strikes me that authors usually keep this a mystery, adding suspense by keeping people guessing about it, until halfway through the book. But no, we know straight off who the bad guy is from the start. I don't know if this is good or bad. Just something that I took note of this time round and I thought, hm, actually that's not usual, is it?
Sirius. I know it's been mentioned many times, but I have to just say it again. Just, wow. The level in which she had already plotted out this thing is amazing. Unless it was a throwaway detail which she later picked up and wove into a much more complex story, but I get the feeling she knew precisely who Sirius was and what he was doing at this time, and to be able to drop it there and not reveal anything about the backstory. That's impressive. And part of what makes her world so rich and fun to play in.
Last year I did a fic based on this chapter trying to explain McGonagall waiting for Dumbledore all day, which is here. (Though after this listen, I think I may have missed that Hagrid was the one to tell her where to find Dumbledore--I need to reread my own writing to check, lol.)
Here's another offering that was inspired by the line, in fact, Mrs Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister.
I probably won't do this every chapter (I've already done it up to chapter 14, anyway), since I have way too much to write already and a busy summer. But since I had a train ride handy this morning, why not?
So, like I was saying, we got hungry for more about this strange world that was recently liberated from the villain under mysterious circumstances. And then we go back to the mundane.
I guess it creates suspense, doesn't it?
I'd forgotten how snarky Harry could be. For a kid that's beaten down and trodden on and stuffed in the cupboard, he's not exactly silent and submissive. I've read some fics that try to deal with his trauma at being emotionally neglected by characterising him that way, and while the logic of it makes sense, nothing in this book really goes by logic, does it? (Okay, Hermione tries to ... and maybe Snape's potion riddle. But I'm getting ahead of myself.) Harry's smart and clearly not afraid of speaking up (he just talks about his flying motorcycle dream in the car) and he's such a kid. I mean that in a fond way, of course. He doesn't want to visit Mrs Figg--not because she's mean, but because she's boring to a child. He takes pleasure in getting ice lollies and sundaes. And I like Harry's narrative voice. I guess this is the chapter that makes or breaks the book--from here on in, we're stuck with Harry, so if I'm going to continue, I better darn well like him. And fortunately, I do!
Chapter-based fic for this chapter:
Last year's is here, and is about Harry's scar and the whole 'don't ask questions' dynamic he and Aunt Petunia had.
I did another one (again it's Petunia, what's with that?! Must be a priming effect after writing the first one ...) This one based off the line Aunt Petunia often said Dudley looked like a baby angel. (I don't know how I got from that to angst!)