I have loved books ever since I can remember. I couldn’t learn to read
fast enough; I virtually inhaled books from the age of four, causing a
maddening overflow from the shelves filling the hallways of our house. I
ordered enough books from the Scholastic book club at school to get
practically every selection in the end-of-year bonus catalogue for free.
My mom invented the school’s Book Swap just for me; I regularly
contributed about half the books. Not only have I a passion for reading
but a deep-set ambition to find my own name amongst my favorite authors
on the shelves at the bookstore. So I try to write, but in the meantime I
read and read and read some more. But every once in a while, a book
comes along that is so noteworthy, so marvelous, so touching and
intimidating, it stops me in my tracks. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was such a book.
I’d never heard of the boy wizard with a lightning mark on his forehead
when my aunt first presented me with the introductory volume for my
birthday several years ago. He was all mine to discover, and once I’d
fallen in love with the glorious world J. K. Rowling created, there was
no going back. I was devoted, and all the ensuing negative press failed
to sway me. I lingered over the subsequent volumes as they arrived to
ever-increasing fanfare, unwilling to sacrifice the drinking in of any
minute details in favor of speed reading bragging rights. So it was when
the sixth book finally arrived in the middle of July, after two years
of waiting and seven months of having a definite date to look forward
to, I did not feel the need to open it and draw out its contents
immediately. I had hoped to laud its arrival with my friends at the
bookstore where I worked when I heard the publication date, but
circumstances prevented this. However, I still found myself in
possession of a copy on that first day, courtesy of the same aunt who
introduced me to the series in the first place. And I waited. I cast
furtive glances in the book’s direction for the next two weeks,
heightening the anticipation until I could no longer stand the suspense
(or the possibility that key plot points might be leaked to me
inadvertently). Skipping past the table of contents with potentially
revealing chapter headings, I opened to the first page of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and began to read...
J. K. Rowling is the sort of genius who makes me feel as though
pursuing a career in writing is silly. Her inventiveness and knack for
creating complex plots and living, breathing characters knows no bounds.
Nonetheless, I do confess to having been just a bit disappointed by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Harry was far too surly for my liking, and Hogwarts on the whole had
become intolerably sinister, no longer the sanctuary Dumbledore strived
to make it. His absence throughout the majority of the book cast a
pallor on the whole ordeal, so I was quite pleased to see him back in
his position of power. I was a bit surprised at Harry’s demeanor in this
installment. It was as though the fifth book was a blip on the radar
screen; the brooding, enraged teenager was all but gone, replaced with a
boy who was once again kind and considerate, aside from momentary
bursts involving certain established nemeses. A bit unexpected,
particularly considering how the last book ended, but a welcome relief
in my opinion. That doesn’t mean young Potter is spared from churning
emotions. Instead, as he watches Ron and Hermione plunge into the
dangerous waters of teenage hormones, he tries to submerge his own newly
discovered impulses. As Harry and his friends stand on the brink of
adulthood, they have another major threshold to cross: learning to
Apparate. While Muggles struggle through learning how to drive, witches
and wizards are at last allowed to develop the handy skill of
teleporting, a prospect that breeds excitement but also considerable
stress. In the meantime, other aspects of Hogwarts which once were vital
elements of his school year become relegated to the background. Sadly,
this means Hagrid, who gets my vote of favorite Rowling character my the
tiniest of slivers, with Dumbledore an easy second. Happily, when the
big-hearted half-giant does appear, his scenes impart maximum impact.
I found it curious that Harry did not make an actual appearance in the
book until the third chapter. Nonetheless, reading certain events first
puts the rest of the year into context. We are introduced to the new
Minister of Magic, and we learn that the situation has grown so dire
that the Prime Minister of the Muggles must be notified. The stage is
being set for a truly spectacular showdown. Furthermore, Rowling leaves
us with the impression that Harry’s greatest troubles this year may come
from sources closer to home than the vile but still somewhat nebulous
Voldemort. Finally, there is another introduction to be made: Professor
Slughorn, an addition to the faculty at Hogwarts who is nearly as silly
as Gilderoy Lockhart but considerably more talented. Aside from this,
it’s the same old faces, and in spite of the pre-Harry material, we find
ourselves at Hogwarts considerably earlier than in the fifth book. In
spite of the gathering danger, accentuated by Harry’s trips to
Dumbledore’s office to piece together the mysteries of Voldemort’s past
and his quest to discover just what Malfoy and Snape are up to,
Rowling’s wit shines through, and there are many laugh-aloud moments.
Though lovable jokesters Fred and George are no longer at the school,
they remain a strong presence thanks to the products from their joke
shop, Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, which are banned but nonetheless find
their way into the hands of many students. Neville shrinks back into a
minor role here, but loony Luna becomes more prominent, injecting
startlingly tactless remarks into everyday conversation and even a
Quidditch commentary. While Harry is weighed down with the knowledge
that he must eventually face Voldemort, he’s also got his hands full as
captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and best friend to two people
who, in their determination to mask their passion for one another, wind
up regarding one another with a loathing from which neither one seems
likely to recover.
In the midst of all this drama, the titular
character seems to play a fairly unimportant role. This unknown wizard
(or witch, as Hermione stubbornly suggests) who once scribbled his
ingenious potions insights all over Harry’s textbook allows Harry to
have greater success in that class than he has ever enjoyed, but the
suggestions rarely give him an advantage outside of the classroom.
However, Hermione suspects that there is a danger about this book that
Harry cannot surmise. Perhaps the long-ago student whom Harry has come
to regard as a friend will come to haunt the present owner in ways no
divination instructor could foresee.
The development of
Rowling’s characters continues to be more than satisfactory. Harry is
not perfect by any means, but he’s a lot easier to deal with in this
book than in the last. His greatest flaw perhaps lies in judging people
too quickly and refusing to allow his perceptions to change. He
obsessively despises Snape and Malfoy, allowing a thirst for unveiling
their plots to override concerns that are probably more pressing, such
as his lessons with Dumbledore. I was torn throughout the novel between
being frustrated with Harry for not considering that Dumbledore might be
right about Snape and with Dumbledore for not considering that Harry
might be. Snape, meanwhile, remains an intriguing character, perhaps the
most ambiguous of all the major players in Rowling’s epic fantasy. He
is cruel and demeaning, and by the conclusion of the novel, events have
occurred that seem to point to Harry’s view of Snape being correct all
along. Yet Dumbledore trusts him, and if there’s anyone in Harry’s world
who can be relied upon absolutely, it’s Albus Dumbledore. I nearly
always prefer redemption to comeuppance when dealing with villainous
characters, and in spite of all the evidence against it, I am especially
keen to believe that Snape is a better man than he appears, because I
crave evidence that Dumdledore’s wisdom is absolute and that his
altruism is not unfounded.
Ultimately, I think Dumbledore is
the most compelling character in this novel. He is a man we have grown
to love, have come to know so well, and after his shattering removal, he
has returned to guide Harry as a battle a lifetime in the making looms
ever nearer. I can’t help but be reminded of Gandalf, Tolkien’s beloved
wizard who similarly served as mentor and leader. Dumbledore, wizard
though he may be, is mortal and beginning to show his age. He is weaker
than before, his hand blackened by a dark encounter which he will not
recount to Harry until the time is ripe, his mind plagued with the
horrors of a world gone awry. It is most touching to see this stalwart
guardian turn to his student for assistance and even protection. But his
sense of humor remains razor-sharp, his cleverness is undiminished,
and, most importantly, his capacity for compassion remains untouched.
He, perhaps above all others, embodies the true spirit behind Harry
Potter, the reason that I can never take seriously the arguments that
Rowling’s books are evil or dangerous or anti-Christian. Boiled down to
its most basic element, the Harry Potter series is about one thing:
love. This is what sets Harry apart from his arch-enemy, and though it
may not sound like much to a young wizard in training, it seems destined
to be the key to bringing about Voldemort’s downfall. Harry’s
deep-seated friendship with Ron and Hermione, his mother’s willingness
to die for his safety, the overflow of affection to be found at the
Weasley home... even Hagrid’s unseemly devotion to the most dangerous
creatures in the wizarding world points to the fact that Rowling’s is a
world powered by love, unable to be undone by even the most evil of
upstarts. So it is that I leave the sixth novel, with its most exquisite
and elegaic of endings, in full possession of the faith that good will
indeed triumph in the last, desperate, thrilling, heart-rending, and
undoubtedly brilliant chapter in the chronicles of a boy named Harry
Potter.
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