Reactions

[pegkerr]

Still absorbing. I'm re-dipping into chapters, mulling. Reading the book was exhausting and yeah, depressing, but I definitely haven't given up on JKR yet. I was reading the storm of comments on epicyclical's entry I appreciated a comment resmiranda made: JKR seems to say that even though love hurts so badly it feels it will kill you, it is still more powerful than evil.

It seemed to me that JKR was taking a huge risk with this book on several fronts. Some may argue that it was just incompetently written; that's why it was so (needlessly) bleak. Well, I don't think it was needlessly bleak. Perhaps needfully bleak. I'm willing to reserve judgment on some things, waiting to see how she plays out what she's set up in this book. For example, the prophecy thing could kill the whole series, unless she finds a way to subvert it, for Harry to be something other than murderer or victim. And I hope she does. She said in CoS that it is our choices that make us what we are, more than our abilities. I don't want her to get trapped into determinism there-are-no-choices-after-all now.

I remember talking with Tim Powers once about why he was so brutal to his characters. They often end up with missing limbs, eyes, etc. I asked him why he did that, and he said he did it because he wanted there to be real consequences to their decisions. He wanted what happened to them to really hurt.

Just got off the phone with kijjohnson, who to my delight, has read it, too, and so we had a long, long talk about it. And in speaking with her, my thoughts crystallized even more. Kij said this book really raised her respect of Rowling as a writer, and yeah, I agree. As much as this book hurt like hell, I think Rowling did the right thing, and I think she took a helluva risk. Because this book is entirely about what I care about most as both a reader and a writer: choosing the heart of flesh over the heart of stone. It was all right there in the scene in Dumbledore's office:

"I don't want to talk about how I feel, all right?"

"Harry, suffering like this proves you are still a man! This pain is part of being human--"

"THEN--I--DON'T--WANT--TO--BE--HUMAN! ...I DON'T CARE! ... I'VE HAD ENOUGH, I'VE SEEN ENOUGH, I WANT OUT, I WANT IT TO END, I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!" . . .

"You do care," said Dumbledore. "You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it."

Bingo. If the fiction I love is about the process of choosing the heart of flesh over the heart of stone, then what this book is about is an unflinching warning: if you choose the heart of flesh, then the cost is pain. Rowling didn't flinch away from making it utter blinding, bleak pain. That was so brave of her. She knows that many of her readers want an escapist romp. They want to go to Hogwarts because it's fun. She knows she may lose some of that audience, but she's showing us a kind of respect in saying, "this isn't all about fun."

Perhaps the next book will be Harry being tempted to choose the heart of stone, to freeze out Ron and Hermione, not telling them the truth. He feels the barrier between himself and other people. He has to find a way to break that barrier. Which is why the next two books, I suspect, may have a great deal to say about whether Harry can ever bring himself to love again. His temptation will be to choose stone: to turn away from any other potential sexual relationship, Hermione or Ginny or even Luna or whoever. Will he be able to bring himself to love again?

Writing this all out has helped enormously. I know that many in the fandom disagree, and feel angered and disgusted and betrayed by this book. I feel it is her Two Towers; I am anxious to see whether she's going to fall flat on her face in the next two (as I said, the prophecy thing could really trip her up.) But so far, I think, she has shown she knows what she's doing. And more and more, especially with this book, she is continuing to write the type of fiction that means the absolute most to me.

Yes, I will read the next. I'll be in line at midnight. I hope this time I'll be able to be in the same room as at least one good friend at the time, so we can read it together.

A good entry from maybethemoon on death, dying and reactions. See also cygnusfap's entry, which I applaud.

Peg

Comments

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

This is a not-useful comment.

I've only read the first chapter (well, had it read to me while driving), but your analysis totally fits with what was in there. (Damn good set up, if so. I think she's getting better as a writer.)

From what I've been reading online, this is Harry with a tinge of PTSD, and yeah, the whole book is about trying desperately not to feel.

(I'm glad to know this, given as my sweetie is the one reading it first and she's been having a hard time with, well, some of the same issues. And that line of Dumbledore's... resonates.)

[karabou.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this entry.. actually, I hadn't considered a few points you'd just made, and I agree with them. I feel a bit better now, even if one of my favorite characters is gone.

[flourish.livejournal.com]

You've just said what I intended to say :) For me, too, choosing the heart of flesh over the heart of stone is important - and that's what made this book brilliant. Love hurts, and joy can only exist for Harry if he's willing to go through pain. But he is. By the end of the book, he's willing to go through pain to salvage Hogwarts, and I'm ready to follow thim through however many depressing books JKR writes if at the end Hogwarts and the innocence of PS/SS can be saved from people like Umbridge.

[jumble.livejournal.com]

Thank you for being more eloquent than I am capable of after a solid day of reading, wine, and little sleep. :)

I think you've zeroed in on a major reason that I loved this book. Harry is reacting to pain in the only way that human beings can, and will now be faced with a very difficult choice, one that I think just about everyone is faced with: when I heal from this tragedy, will I live under the scar or over it. I can't wait to see what happens next.

[kijjohnson.livejournal.com]

when I heal from this tragedy, will I live under the scar or over it

Oh, that's beautiful.

[queerasjohn.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Peg, for another wonderfully thought out entry. I shall be mulling it for a while, I think, as I reread slowly and thinkingly.

Bravo!

[odyssea.livejournal.com]

Peg, I totally agree with you about this. I'm glad to see that you understand and appreciate the pain and bleakness that JKR has brought into her universe, rather than dismissing it out of hand as "depressing" or "unnecessary". JKR has said that the books would get darker, and I was expecting that, which is why I was so shocked at people's response to it.

I agree with you on the heart of flesh vs. stone issue, and think it has run through all of her previous books in a minor way. The Dursleys, especially, which was commented upon at the beginning; even though they are cruel to Harry, they did accept him into their family. Lockhart, too, faced this dilemma and chose the heart of stone; he carelessly disregards other people and shows no emotion except condescension to the people around him.

I, too, will be waiting in line for the next book. Hope you don't mind my comments!

Sara

[mangosong.livejournal.com]

This is a great analysis, and I think you've hit upon exactly what I loved about the book. It was difficult to read, and emotionally draining, but I think the tone of the book was a startling and brilliant risk. It's amazing to me that a series which initially took some criticism for repurposing elements from other classic stories (orphan "chosen one", wise old wizard, dark lord) should in the end do what no other story has done so far, and address the emotions of growing up and coming of age with such brutal realism.

[corinnethewise.livejournal.com]

You are I think the third person I've heard say that this is her Two Towers. After it came out I felt like I was the only person on my friend's list that actually loved the book. It makes sense, though. I adored The Two Towers. It was my favorite part of The Lord of the Rings. I've loved all the Harry Potter books, but this one really got to me. The others I walked away from longing to live in that world. That was fine then. All I read was fantasy, I wanted to get away from the real world. Harry's growing up has coincided with my growing up. Something about that really resonates with me. I loved all the deep dark message-y stuff, but I also really liked the little things. I liked picking out the shippy bits, for whatever ship. I liked noticing the bits that the fandom got right. I liked most of the new characters. And now I am going to go back to work on my reread.

[sundancekid.livejournal.com]

What a great review. Dude. You've summed up a lot of what I was thinking perfectly. I think you're right about the choice Harry is going to have to make - heart of flesh v. heart of stone. *mulls, files for further reconsideration during reread*

[morganmalfoy.livejournal.com]

The scene in Dumpledore's office was a favorite of mine.

-M

[klostes.livejournal.com]

I've followed most of the links you've given to other folks' reactions to OotP, and I'm a bit boggled. I finished the book yesterday and I absolutely loved it. It may just well replace PoA as my favorite Potter book. But then again, I was disappointed in GoF, and the best things about CoS were Ferd and Gorge and their "seriously evil wizard" lines.

I loved how dark, bleak, real-- and yet magical this book was. I loved Harry being the antithesis of evreything he's been in all the earlier books, I loved the courage and the guts it took to write that, to not sell out to the "fairy tale" endings and formulas. I felt like JKR took everything she's done up to this point, twisted it, and made it deeper and better. I think it's her best book yet, technically and stylistically, and even better, her world and characters are maturing and ALL bets are off at this point concerning the future. Marvelous.

(I had more, but I think I'd probably better post it in my own journal. I'm still recovering from working the HP party at my store. FUN, but exhausting!)