"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003)


This is a frustrating book for me.  I think some of its themes and plot elements are completely awesome, but on the whole, the book is just way too long.  As such, the great parts can get bogged down by the fat surrounding it, which keeps the book from being as good as it could be.  Even though The Goblet of Fire is also really long, this is the one that first made me think J.K. Rowling needed a stronger editor (spoilers for the end of The Goblet of Fire.)

Although Voldemort’s return at the end of The Goblet of Fire is a huge factor here, much of Harry’s time isn’t spent fighting You-Know-Who.  Instead, his largest foe in this book is the Ministry of Magic, the wizard government currently beset with fear-mongering and propaganda as the Ministry sticks its head in the sand re:  Voldemort.  The Minister of Magic and his emissary to Hogwarts, the saccharine and malevolent Dolores Umbridge, try to discredit Harry’s claims and prevent their real fear:  that Dumbledore wants to usurp the Minister and is training his students to fight in his name.  With Umbridge making sure everyone toes the Ministry line and keeping them from learning any practical defensive magic, the trio steps up to help their friends prepare themselves for Voldemort’s coming war, appointing Harry as their secret teacher.

We’re start with what I love, which is everything about Umbridge and the DA.  Umbridge is just a tremendous antagonist:  syrupy sweetness that disguises her most vicious tendencies.  I like that hers is a bureaucratic sort of villainy, controlling what people at Hogwarts can and can’t do; it can seem almost banal at first, which is partly what allows her to embed herself as deeply as she does.  By the same turn, I love Harry and co.’s efforts againt her, dissent expressed in knowledge (OMG, that is so Hermione.)  The tricks they use to avoid detection are cool, and it’s neat to see the form that their stand takes.

We also get deeper into Voldemort, which goes more into his mysterious connection with Harry.  This leans on the “chosen one” angle, which I’m not super crazy about, but the story does some unexpected things with it, and there’s a nice sense of atmosphere surrounding the scenes that explore this connection.

What doesn’t really work for me is some of the teen drama stuff:  the Quidditch plot really drags, neither Harry nor Cho are well-served by their storyline together, and while this time through, I better recognize the elements fueling the whole Angry!Harry thing, it can still grate.  I’m also not especially interested in the Hagrid and Grawp stuff.

It all adds up to just too much.  I wouldn’t quite equate it with The Hobbit movies, because it doesn’t get to those lengths, but it does create a similar effect.  As awesome as the Umbridge and DA scenes are, it’s harder to fully appreciate them when you have to read through so many flabby, less interesting chapers to get to them.  If the plot were tighter, this could’ve been one of my favorites in the series, but as it stands, it’s far more middling.

Warnings

Violence (including torture,) strong thematic elements, scary moments, and drinking.

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