poliphilo | The Order Of The Phoenix

When has there ever been a best-selling children's fantasy quite so long or quite so grim?

Harry Potter's schooldays are turning into a via crucis.

Rowling's universe expands. The Ministry of Magic and Grimmauld House are wonderful. The Ministry makes me think of the Circumlocution Office in little Dorrit. Grimmauld House (inspired name) makes me think of Arthur Clennam's house- also in little Dorrit.

In fact all the way through I was thinking of Little Dorrit. (Little Dorrit is my favourite novel). Mature Rowling is a lot like mature Dickens- lots of jokes but an unremittingly sombre vision of life.

Dolores Umbridge is so New Labour.

This is a very ambitious book. As inventive as ever, but with a deepening moral complexity.

Will the movie be able to deal with the moral complexity? I doubt it.

Invention+moral complexity=literary greatness: discuss.

Oh, it's not perfect. Nothing so big could possibly be perfect. I didn't care as much about Sirius as I think I was supposed to. But I do care about Harry's anger. Harry's anger is wonderful. Rowling remembers what it feels like to be 15.

And Luna Lovegood. Now there's a truly Dickensian creation.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Tony, you are really drawing me in! I haven't read any of the books -- saw a couple of the movies and liked them OK -- but I think I'd like to start!

I'm also getting interested in reading Little Dorrit.

I've seen all the movies. They're very fine, mainstream entertainment, but they miss out so much of what's in the books.

I'm crazy for Dickens. I read little Dorrit first when I was seventeen and go back to it periodically. It has everything- humour, pathos, weirdness, tragedy and blistering political satire.

YOu didn't ask me, but I'll encourage you to read the books. They are - as good as the movies are - streets better than the movies. Read them. The best thing about them is that no matter what your age, you'll find something you like. And she doesn't talk 'down' to the younger people who read her books.

I appreciate the encouragement! Will do!

I confess I haven't been able to get through OotP. However, I love Luna, and I remember thinking about Umbridge that Rowling had some reeeeeal issues with education--not that they're unfounded, by any means. Much as I like Imelda Staunton, though, she's not at all how I pictured Umbridge; my Umbridge is more like American actress Kathy Kinney as the evil secretary Mimi on The Drew Carey Show.

I wonder what sort of school JKR went to.

Up until now there's been no serious questioning of the ethos and rules of Hogwarts, but now- as Harry becomes an angry adolescent- that's all changing. Take the school points system- why should we care what house wins at the end of the year when an evil-minded little git like Malfoy can empty the Gryffindor hourglass on a whim? And maybe there are more important things in life than Quidditch.

I too prefer the books, but as I usually end up seeing the movies late in their run in Tallinn which means I am usually the only large person in theatre half full of smaller sizes does add an interesting dimension.

More to the point that interests me is that in a world where children are thought to have the attention spans of juvinile fleas and are routinely offered reading material that would put a hyper-active widget to sleep, CHILDREN! are buying and reading these very long, very challeneging books. Somebody, somewhere has been missing the point - and it ain't J. K. Rowling.

The books are getting more and more adult. OotP is a thrilling ride but it's also full of pain and anger. A kid who can manage this can manage anything.

I think the books and their popularity with young readers probably does reflect that childhood has become a much more threatening and dangerous period. The Potter books are popular for that they very reason - they reflect the reality that children are having to deal with. It also speaks to why I believe it would be a massive betrayal of the children if ole Harry gets killed off in the last book.

I am thoroughly enjoying your commentaries on the books, Tony. You´ve given me a new perspective in some instances. I think I need to go back and read the last two books with some new thoughts in mind. Harry anger is indeed mèrfect!
(And now I have to re-read Little Dorrit!)

Thanks.

And now I need to go start The Half Blood Prince

I also need to proofread before hitting the "post" button.
"perfect" is what it should be but I´m sure you figured it out.
*chuckle*

Happy reading!

I did briefly wonder whether it was some Spanish word I hadn't come across before...

Haha...I even managed an accent, didn´t I? Except we don´t do the backwards kind in Spanish. Spanish keyboards still confound me sometimes.
;)

Do read it! Little Dorrit is a wonderful book - as indeed is all of Dickens

dolores umbridge reminds me of a teacher i had in college, or any number of the media-types i worked with. i suppose we've all known people like this. what i like about OotP is that the nature of evil is changing; up until now, things have been fairly straightforward. hogwarts and its authorities are good; voldemort and his supporters are bad. they may hide, sure, but eventually they reveal themselves, and there's a face on the back of the head, or a snake, or something tangible. but now, evil is becoming less about the characters and more about attitudes-- fudge and umbridge aren't voldemort supporters, but their willful ignorance is evil. the perils of indifference, and all that. things are becoming less black and white, and more like the real world. we are shifting from a child's perspective of good and evil to an adult's.

Dolores is a second-rater who makes up for her inadequacy by exercising ever more and more control. She's typical of people who've been promoted beyond their capability. She's not fundamentally evil- or at least, not consciously evil; she sincerely believes she's doing the right thing.

Dolores is a second rater. She's typical of people who have been promoted beyond their capability. She defers to authority and is incapable of thinking for herself. She's not fundamentally evil- at least not consciously evil; she sincerely believes that she's acting for the best.

i love it that you're reading these, and even more that you're getting so much out of them. i wouldn't have read them and drawn parallels to abu ghraib or even the new labour term the way you do- but to hear your ideas about that- opens a whole new door on what a genius rowling is.

harry's anger constantly rocks. i suppose it's the peg the whole series is hung on. or one of several pegs that all come from the same kind of place- righteous anger, love, loss, all that makes him who he is and that will bring the 7 books full circle in the end.

order of phoenix is long and so complex. her plotting- especially in the absence of any big simple bad guy, like there were in at least books 1 and 2, just blows me away. i try to think back and remember what it's about, and even now when i read it recently what i come back with is not big plot strokes but characters- umbridge, the DA, ron and hermione, harry's anger and having to constantly chow it down. it's a mish-mash flow from one thing to the next, but she pulls it off.

maybe i'll check out this little dorritt of which you speak.

very keen to hear what you think of half-blood prince.

I think OotP is the most accomplished of the novels.

I've nearly finished HBP. I'll reserve judgement until I finish, but right now I think she's marking time.

The Order Of The Phoenix

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