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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