Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Bloomsbury, London, 2003
ISBN 0-7475-5100-6
Monika says:
After three years of eager anticipation it seems to be fair to ask if
Harry's newest adventures were worth waiting for. Rowling has been accused
of writer's block, something she strongly denied. And to be fair, Harry
Potter and the Order of the Phoenix doesn't read like the book of an
author short of ideas. With 766 pages (the Bloomsbury edition uses a
rather narrow typeset) it's above all a long book that takes its time to
write. And after the "wand order debacle" in Goblet of Fire,
it seems to be more sensible to wait a bit longer than to be annoyed about
goofs even the copy editor didn't catch because he was in a hurry, too.
Even on the first read, Order of the Phoenix seems to be better
structured and better written than Goblet
of Fire, though some details only become significant on the second
read when you look at them a bit closer, knowing what will happen later in
the story. Like in previous books, there are hints on later events, small
things which seem to be meaningless or mysterious at first sight, but
after four instalments you should be familiar with the author's skill for
doing this.
It is very difficult to say something about this book without giving
major plot points away. There's a striking difference to previous books in
some regards, e. g. at the beginning we aren't told at length who Harry is
and why he is special. Given the fact that this is the fifth book in a
series of seven, it's only fair to assume that the reader knows what
happened before – if you haven't read the previous books, you won't get
much of what happens in this one anyway. The plot has become so
complicated at this point that it's nearly impossible to start with Order
of the Phoenix; luckily Rowling seems to have understood this. Another
striking difference is that more and more important things are happening
before Harry goes to Hogwarts. After the protective charm his mother put
on him when she died became ineffective during the scene on the graveyard
in Little Hangleton, his aunt and uncle's house isn't a safe haven for
Harry any longer.
Hogwarts isn't the same as in previous years, either – remember Fudge
breaking with Dumbledore at the end of book 4. One (foreseeable) result of
this break-up is the Ministry of Magic trying to interfere at Hogwarts,
something that will have consequences not only for the students, but for
some teachers as well.
Like in the other books, a couple of new characters are bringing a
fresh breeze into the story, and it's hard not to notice that our heroes
aren't children any longer but are growing up, something you won't find in
all "children's series". Those among us who still remember
puberty will agree it wasn't always a great time, and it adds to the
credibility of the author that she takes this into account. Harry finally
seems to become aware of the fact that life has treated him rather
unfairly so far (and it took him quite some time to notice), and if you
are honest with yourself, you can't blame him for reacting appropriately.
It's his acting out and letting off steam that really made him into a
three-dimensional character in my eyes, even though he already showed
tendencies of becoming angry in Prisoner
of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire. At the end of Order of
the Phoenix Harry seems to have reached a point where you would say he
can't take any more, but you already know he is far from having seen it
all.
Order of the Phoenix finally answers a couple of burning questions
like, what was Trelawney's first prediction or why did Voldemort go to see
the Potters in person that fateful night instead of sending his Death
Eaters. Both answers are – as was to be expected – closely linked. We
get to know more about certain characters, even though we are still sort
of left in the dark concerning the true nature of Snape's work for
Dumbledore. If you always thought there was more to Neville than meets the
eye, you won't be disappointed with this book. And Ginny isn't any longer
the shy little girl worshipping Harry from a distance and not knowing what
to say when he talks to her, but is on her way to becoming a self-assured
young lady. Last but not least we meet Gilderoy Lockhart again.
If there's one thing I dislike about this book, it's the ending.
Rowling's explanation of why she had to kill off this character at this
point doesn't satisfy me. But I guess that is my problem. |
Any comments? Write us:
Monika
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