Goodbye Harry Potter: "Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince" Review (Spoilers)

[matt_zimmer]

Goodbye Harry Potter: Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince

This book is a gem. I hesitate using such high praise because as far as gems go, it has its FLAWS, but the book is surprisingly strong.

The thing that kills me is I think the book being as good as it is is almost an accident on J.K. Rowling's end. I don't think she was smart enough when she wrote it to understand how awesome it is, and the reasons it is awesome. It is unusual that a creator understands their work less than the fans of the work, but that rare happening tends to occur for broadly popular, easily accessible stuff like Harry Potter. But I don't think Rowling actually appreciates or understands why both this book and the entire Harry Potter saga work.

No matter what you think about J.K. Rowling, she created one of the best fictional villains in living memory. Not Voldemort, silly. Severus Snape. Snape has always been my favorite character, and I believe he's MANY people's favorite character too. We root for him in a way we don't any of the other antagonists. And the reason I think this book being awesome is an accident, and that Rowling doesn't actually understanding the significance of what she's done, is the simple appalling fact that in every single interview I've seen Rowling give, she strongly dislikes Severus Snape.

He's the best thing she's ever done. Readers everywhere find him fascinating, charismatic, and glamorous, and his morality delightfully ambiguous. But no, in every interview Rowling does she reiterates Snape is an abusive teacher to Harry Potter (ignoring that Harry treats HIM quite shittily in his own right) and that every move he's done on the side of the good guys is down to selfishness and narcissism. Rowling created one of the most INTERESTING fictional characters in recent literature, and in every interview she insists Snape is MUCH less interesting and worthy of praise for characterization than the reader interprets. There is something deeply wrong with Rowling's writing skills if she is completely unable to recognize her own strengths about something like that. She created an amazing character like Severus Snape without ever once realizing he's amazing. All of the unusual and unique things readers love about the character? Rowling is quick to insist those things are not even present. Am I wrong in not being impressed with Rowling's writing skills in that scenario, even if the book IS a gem? I think not.

I don't think this review will be as long as Order Of The Phoenix, thank God, but it will also not be very cohesive either, and also told in the order it comes to me, rather than the order the prose reads best.

If anything Luna Lovegood makes an even more positive impression in this book than she did in the last one. I think the early chapter with Harry, Neville, and Luna on the Hogwarts Express was brilliant. In the previous book when Cho comes into their compartment Harry is embarrassed by their company. In this book, after he trusts them and has befriended them, because of the ordeal at the Ministry Of Magic when people look in the cabin, and start talking shit, instead of feeling embarrassed, Harry sticks up for them. Luna saying people expect him to have cooler friends suggests that Luna is not actually crazy and knows the real score. She's insightful, and weird chicks rock (and always did).

I loved Harry taking her to Slughorn's party as a friend, mostly because she was so excited and happy. The best part is the second after Harry does that kindness, he half-regrets it, which is very realistic for a kid Harry's age. But it works out for the best.

Luna's Quidditch commentary is as great as Ron insisted it was.

I love that Luna says that Ron isn't always very nice. Harry calls that embarrassing honesty. But when you reread all seven books, wherever there is a major falling out in the Trio, whenever their friendship is permanently threatened, Ron is ALWAYS the main catalyst. And USUALLY the actual instigator. He is not a nice dude at all.

I might object less to the Harry / Ginny ship if Rowling knew how to write it. Ron and Hermione is awkward, but Rowling put in the legwork there, so I could see it. I could also see Harry and Hermione. Harry and Ginny seems to randomly come out of nowhere. And it's poorly written. When Harry believe that Ginny has become "The heart and soul of the team" that is some of the shoddiest prose Rowling has ever written, and his entire self-sacrificing relationship at the end with her seems to be an unpleasant rip-off of Peter Parker and Mary-Jane Watson from the early Spider-Man films. It's trite as fuck is what I'm saying.

So Rowling has no clue that the best character she ever created is interesting instead of boring. What are we to make of the Pensieve Flashbacks and inevitable Horcrux Hunt?

Elements of the Horcruxes SORT of fit into the earlier books, but not EASILY, and this very much feels out of left field, and turning the erstwhile school drama instead a quest series. Do all of the real-world educators, grateful that Rowling has gotten kids interested in reading, really appreciate that it appears the protagonist of her saga is an actual high-school drop-out? I dunno.

Similarly, Rowling claims the librarian Madame Pince is horrible because if she were helpful like real-world librarians are, Harry and friends would get to the answers too easily. Somehow that excuse doesn't impress me. If you can't think of a way to make your heroes successful without taking a shit on librarians, maybe you aren't a good writer. That's where I land there.

I loved the Pensieve stuff for how dark and varied it was. It opened up the world like nothing else. Similarly impressive were the first two chapters "The Other Minister" and "Spinner's End". Snape's Unbreakable Vow was a DAMN good hook, even if Rowling doesn't seem to understand it is one. The fucked up thing is Snape being on Dumbledore's side IS played at the surprise twist in the final book to the READER. Rowling thinks it's not really relevant or neither here nor there. I am just supposed the think the dude Harry named his FUCKING son after was a scumbag deep down and just accept her judgment there after the fact. No, that doesn't make any sense to ME either.

I love that Kreacher gives Harry a package of maggots for Christmas and when Ron makes, fun, Harry quips he prefers them to the necklace. Ouch.

I think Horace Slughorn is long overdue. I think an openly good Slytherin, completely against the dark arts and the Death Eaters is something we should have gotten all along. And let it be said, Slughorn's version of ambition is the actual definition of the word. Slytherin and Voldemort's Pure-Blood lunacy and bigotry have NOTHING to do with ambition, so it's frustrating as fuck that is what the House is best known for.

I love Snape, but I think he gets a raw deal in both this book and the next one, probably because Rowling doesn't understand that readers love him and she treats him as if we hate him. She is not a good barometer of the fandom there, (or about much else in hindsight, to be honest).

How does Snape get a raw deal here? Every bit of evidence against him is occurring because Harry Potter is a shithead. If Harry actually did NOT suck ass at Occlumency, he would have been let in on the scheme between Snape and Dumbledore to kill the Headmaster to protect Draco and keep Snape's cover. Because Harry sucks he has to be kept in the dark about this crucial thing. Honestly if you think about it, Dumbledore forcing Snape to do that is the cruelest thing Dumbledore does to Snape. Because regardless of whether Harry understands it or not, Snape had friends at Hogwarts. He got on well with both McGonagle and Hagrid. Dumbledore forcing him to kill him to keep his cover basically made him a pariah with the last people on who Earth who actually trust him, cared about him, and accepted him. And the reason I think less of Rowling as a writer is because that aspect of the sacrifice has never been explored in the story. Much less acknowledged by Rowling after the fact. Yeah, Rowling wrote a gem. But like a LOT of popular culture that gets a bit bigger than its creator envisioned, it being amazing is probably a lucky coincidence. I think talent on Rowling's end has little to do with it.

Harry's manipulations of Slughorn were brilliant. When he tells him to be brave like his mother was I was like "Yes!" Harry Potter is not awesome enough for my my liking. And when Harry is impressed at Voldemort's skills at wheedling info from Slughorn upon seeing the true memory, it's cool that it comes from a place where HE has to do that all the time himself, and game recognizes game.

The idea that the Defense Against The Dark Arts teaching position has been jinxed for decades is an actual retcon. All five earlier books made the short term nature of the jobs seem like a VERY recent development, that literally started when Harry himself started Hogwarts. Calling b.s. on this "revelation" here. It don't fit.

One last observation. I think Rufus Scrimgeour sucks. And he sucks because Rowling is not a good writer. Him not sucking might actually be interesting. But the second Harry Potter rebuffs his idea to show the Ministry support, Scrimgeour shows Harry open contempt. Does Rowling actually know a THING about politicians? Yes, the first chapter ending with Fudge telling the Prime Minister than the other side knows magic too is a great way to cap the first chapter on politics, but real politicians would see Harry's obstinance there and try to wear him down. By finding out what he fucking wants! Not just declaring him Dumbledore's man and storming off. Getting Harry's support is a HUGE ask, so maybe, yeah, Harry is entitled to GET something out of it. Stan Shunpike released? Done! Dolores Umbridge put in Azkaban? Done! A smarter politician than Scrimgeour wouldn't be promising Harry the career he's already destined for. He'd be offering help and power that Harry could not afford to refuse, or get anywhere else. And do you know the messed up thing? That would be interesting drama! The Apple in the Garden of Eden to tempt Harry Potter! What a story hook! Rowling always thinks the saga is smaller and more boring than it actually is. That does not impress me.

In the end, I love the left turns the book takes, and how it shows a lot of awesome stuff. What I love less is that the Author doesn't actually seem to understand a lot of the awesome stuff she shows IS awesome, and thinks the readers would be better off believing it predictable and mundane instead.

I don't understand that bit either. ****1/2.