I made the same mistake with this one as with Order of the Phoenix. I read it so fast, I’m certain I didn’t take in much of what needed to be considered. Nevertheless, a few initial thoughts have formulated in my head, which I will share in the extended entry link below. There are spoilers, so don’t click and read if you’re not done! These are in no particular order; you’re about to enter a sort of stream of consciousness look at my first reading of HBP.
WARNING: The Spoilers Start Here!
The book started awkardly, in my opinion. If I recall properly, the opening two chapters represent the first parts of the story in the whole series that we do not hear from Harry’s point of view. The entire narrative of the HP series until those two chapters, as well as of chapters 3 until the end of HP6, are Harry-focused. We only know what Harry knows and feels; we discover things as Harry discovers them. It was a bit strange to have two scenes unfold before our eyes of which Harry had no inkling.
It felt like a slow go for me until the chapter on Horcruxes, at which the pace quickly picked up. The book almost seemed like an extended set-up for the final installment. I wanted more pages, and more questions answered. I also want her to go back and write about Dumbledore. I know she doesn’t plan to do prequels, but a series of books on our beloved Headmaster would be a great read.
Dumbledore’s death was not a surprise; I had a strong feeling it would happen in this book. How it happened, on the other hand, was unnerving. I hate, hate, hate that Snape killed him. I had been so drawn in by the wisdom of Dumbledore that I was absolutely convinced, despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, that ultimately Snape would come through, and Dumbledore’s faith in him would be proved. It was exceedingly difficult to watch the character I loved most in this series die in a state of utter weakness at the hands of a betrayer (Judas reference, anyone?) without being able to put up a proper fight, and pleading for his own life. Utterly gut-wrenching. Dumbledore’s final dialogue with Draco, however, was revealing and powerful.
The other surprise about Dumbledore’s death was my own reaction. My wife came out of the bedroom from a nap to find my eyes so welled up with tears I couldn’t see the page. It happened twice during the narrative, and since I put down the book, I’ve been rattled, both by the evil of Snape and the loss of Dumbledore.
The resurrection scene which I anticipated did not disappoint, though I did not notice a particular "Christ symbol" involved in the scene, as in the other 5 books, unless one considers Dumbledore as a sort of type of Christ in this book, given that he gives up his life in order to save Harry’s. Perhaps I’m missing something. In any case, the scene in the underground lake with the Inferi was simply chilling, and it was hard to hold back feelings of despair as Harry and a badly injured Dumbledore clambered out of the cave.
The other option for a resurrection scene might be Dumbledore’s death leading to Harry’s new resolve to defeat Voldemort, but that might be pressing things a bit.
Disappointing aspects included the lack of any information at all, really, about Neville. He almost dropped out of the story entirely. In addition, some aspects of the storyline seemed to be dropped almost entirely, such as the house-elf slavery. Too many questions unanswered, in my opinion, and I’m not sure even a 1,000 page Book 7 would be able to answer them all.
The book overall felt a bit more like Chamber of Secrets, especially with the many references to it, picking up from its plotline. There was another reference to the Sword of Gryffindor, which I still think will make another appearance before it’s all said and done. I think my appreciation for Chamber has grown as a result of this installment.
I suppose I’ll stop this rant for now and return to it when I’ve had more time to process. Overall, I did enjoy the book immensely, and will moreso upon further consideration, I believe. I’m definitely going to need a second read through this book soon.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Scott Moore 07.18.05 at 3:25 pm
Travis:
Excellent observations. Very good post. I, too, have read it quickly but here are a couple of responses:
First, on resurrection: I think that there are (at least) two ways of reading this. The more plausible is that Harry and the reader must experience the full weight of Dumbledore’s death. If there is to be a resurrection here, we will have to wait until the next book. As the disciples wondered what would become of them without the Christ, so the Order of the Phoenix awaits a new day without Dumbledore. I think JKR wants us to experience the full horror of Dumbledore’s death. A less persuasive (but still possible) interpretation is that we do get a figurative death and resurrection of Harry when Dumbledore freezes Harry, Harry is forced to watch the entire saga play out as if he were dead (he can’t do anything about it), and only coming back to life after Dumbledore dies. In both cases, the Christ symbol present is the Phoenix with his mournful lament. Remember, it was the song of the Phoenix which sustained Harry in the graveyard at the end of HP4. I expect we’ll hear it one more time. (We are, of course, not done with Dumbledore. Not only does Harry remember his words that he will never be gone as long as there remain those who are faithful to him, but also all of the previous Headmasters of Hogwarts have their portraits hanging in Dumbledore’s office. They all speak and are pledged to assist the current Headmaster. I wouldn’t be surprised if Harry gets more advice and consolation from Dumbledore’s portrait in HP7.)
Second, I don’t think we’re done with Snape. Maybe I’m just naive, but I think that there’s a very good chance that there is a second unbreakable vow, and it is one that Snape made to Dumbledore. This is why Dumbledore continues to trust Snape.
Third, not that it’s terribly important, but there are actually a number of instances in the earlier books which show scenes without Harry (and of which Harry has limited or no knowledge). Most obviously, Harry is absent from the first two chapters of HP1 (Mr. Dursley’s trip to the office, and then McGonagall’s and Dumbledore’s waiting for Hagrid on Privet Drive) and the introduction to HP4 (the murder of the Riddle family and the murder of Frank Bryce [who kept the grounds]). It also seems to me that we get some minor scenes (mostly with Hermione in the girls’ dorm, or the library, or in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom) and some quiddich and battle scenes (during the World Cup and the Tri-Wizard Tournament in HP4 and during HP5, there are duels going on in three different rooms of the Ministry). All that being said, I wasn’t that bothered by the initial chapters of HP6. As the story grows more complicated, she is almost forced to do more of this. What to make of Snape, Bella, and Narcissa is, of course, the $64,000 question.
Thanks again for your insightful observations. Pity we have to wait a couple of years for Seven, no?
Scott Moore
Travis 07.18.05 at 10:00 pm
Scott,
It is, indeed, a pity. Thanks for your comments. I think your observations are spot on, and I’ll add a few notes.
On Resurrection: I think you nailed it with your first idea (feeling the weight of Dumbledore’s death as a parallel to the disciples’ agony over Christ’s death). Good point about the Phoenix song as well, and I too suspect we’ll see more of Fawkes in HP7. I also thought of Dumbledore’s portrait. I have a suspicion Harry’s going to want to get Gryffindor’s sword before Voldemort can make an attempt at it, which will provide at least one possibility of conversing with Dumbledore.
On Snape, I want to agree with you, whether naive or not. It would seem like a monumental blunder to me to have Dumbledore be the one wrong about Snape; but then again, JKR is big into surprises about the true nature of her characters, as your friend John Granger likes to point out.
Finally, you’re right about chapters 1-2 of HP1, though I think I recall the Riddle murder/Frank Bryce scene at the beginning of HP4, while a real scene, occurring in a dream of Harry’s, though he did not remember it well when he awoke. There were, I suppose, a few details in that chapter that did not appear in the dream, and therefore would have been outside Harry’s experience.
In any case, thanks for your comments; gives me much more to chew on!