Anyway, I liked the book about as much as I liked the first one. I noticed it is pretty much the same book, just different circumstances (chamber of secrets instead of philosopher's stone). So does this mean all 7 books follow the same formula? I guess most kids books do. Nancy Drew for instance is the exact same book written 75 or so times. I'm not complaining, just wondering. Emily did tell me the series takes a turn in the 3rd book, so I'll just have to see.
Here are the things I liked:
The Dursley's again. I really enjoy how over the top awful the author makes them. Giving Harry a used pair of Uncle Vernon's socks for his birthday, and his cousin Dudley gets like 150 birthday gifts.
The scene where Ron was throwing up slugs. I thought it was gross, but I liked it.
Tom Riddle's diary. I thought it was pretty cool how when Harry finally wrote in it, Tom wrote back. I didn't like so much Harry actually going into the diary and seeing things. I would have liked it better if the author just kept it to writing back.
I liked it when Fawkes, the Phoenix, just suddenly burst into flames in Dumbledore's office.
I'm liking the whole Weasley family more. Especially Mr. Weasley. I like his fascination with Muggle things. I like how they are a family of wizards and witches, but yet, they are so normal! The kids tease eachother, they have chores, they are poor, etc.
The "howler". That is the letter Mrs. Weasley sends Ron that when he opens it, it starts yelling at him. I wish those really existed.
And the thing I liked the most about the book--Gilderoy Lockhart! He is the Ted Baxter of wizards. I just loved him. I loved the colors of robes he wore and his silky hair. I love how much he loves himself and how he assumes everyone loves him and wants his picture and autograph (Ted Baxter). I love how he is really just an idiot who takes credit for things other people do (Ted Baxter). I love how his spells and wand tricks always go wrong and he always has some excuse. I liked how at the end, Harry and Ron find him packing and planning on sneaking away. I just really liked everything about Lockhart. His character alone makes me want to see the movie just so I can see him. I kept trying to come up with what actor I thought would do best in that part. I settled on Kelsey Grammer, but wasn' t exactly satisfied in the choice. I didn't want to know who it was while I was reading, I always like to picture things in my head. When I finished the book, I looked it up on IMDB, and saw it is Kenneth Branagh. I was kind of disappointed at first. He bugs the hell out of me. I really liked the Frankenstein movie he did, but hated, hated, hated the Hamlet he did. He added about an hour at the end that wasn't in the play! You don't mess with Shakespeare! (I better stop now before I really go off.) Anyway, after thinking about it, I do think he was a good choice. Even though I really don't like him, I do think he is a good actor, and I can see him doing good things with Lockhart's character. I was kind of sad at the end of the book when he loses his memory.
Now for the things I didn't really like:
Floo powder. This is the powder they use at the Weasley's to transport themselves to Daigon Alley. That just bugged me and I didn't like it.
Another minor dislike is Moaning Myrtle. I got tired of her sobbing all the time.
De-gnoming the garden. It really is a very minor scene in the book (1 page I think) with no relevance at all to the book as a whole, but nonetheless, I didn't like it.
The line in the book "celebrity is as celebrity does". I think Lockhart says it to Harry. When I read the line I almost threw the book across the room in disgust. The Forest Gump people should sue her.
All of them flying up the drain at the end holding onto the Phoenix's tail. I wish the author could have come up with a better way for them to get out of the chamber.
I didn't particularly like the idea of Ginny being taken over by Voldemort and doing all the attacking. I can see what she was trying to do. I mean it would be way to obvious if it was Draco Malfoy. But I thought using Ginny kind of disrupted the flow of the book. I think if the author wanted to use the last person you'd expect, than Percy would have been a better choice. I don't know, using Ginny just flopped with me. Like how it was Maggie that shot Mr. Burns in the Simpsons, just doesn't work.
And I know this has nothing to do with the book itself, but I hate the artwork on the front covers of these books! It is just terrible. I am not a fan of using a picture from the movie as a book cover, but in this case, I would much prefer a picture of Daniel Radcliff wearing a scarf of bravery rather than these Modigliani-esqe cartoons.
And the thing I disliked the most--The Mandrakes. These are the plants who's roots are little babies that scream and cry. They are used to reverse curses. I feel the whole thing was creepy and I didn't like it one bit. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the author really described exactly how they are used to reverse curses. Anyway, I hated the Mandrakes, and I hope they aren't in the rest of the books. And I think they will scare me more in the movie than the girl in the closet in The Ring scared Catherine and Emily.
There is one thing in the book I'm undecided on whether I liked it or not. And that is Dobby. There were things I liked and things I didn't like about Dobby. At first I liked his self-punishing ways, but after awhile it started to annoy me. I didn't quite understand how he is the one who prevented Harry and Ron from reaching platform 9 and 3/4's. I found the author's explanation somewhat awkward and vague. And I thought it was pretty stupid that the only way to free him was to give him some clothes. So at the end Harry gives him a sock and he's free? Come on! That's just stupid, and doesn't make sense. Shouldn't it be that only his master can free him by giving him clothes? Still, I didn't totally dislike Dobby. I have a feeling he is going to appear in more of the books, I'll have to see if he grows on me more. He is a character that could get a lot stronger now that he is free, I hope the author does that to him.
I am also gaining more of an appreciation for JK Rowling's writing style. I have some criticisms here and there, but there are some aspects to her style I like. As a whole, she is good at creating characters. Snape, Dumbledore, the Weasley twins, the Dursley's, Lockhart and more are good characters. And she has a good way of adding funny, almost intentionally unnoticeable little things to the book. For example, I can't remember the exact scene, but they are in one of their classes. Something happens like someone runs in the classroom or something, and she writes that it happens while "Harry was trying to turn 2 rabbits into slippers". I really like how she just kind of mentions things like that as if it is a perfectly normal thing for Harry to do. It just gives a sense of realness or normalcy to this world she has created. Does that make sense?
Well Em, this time there are more things I disliked than liked. But only by 1. I hope you notice that again most of the things I disliked are pretty insignificant. Especially the cover art. Maybe we shouldn't count that, it has nothing to do with the book. So we will call it even. I did like the book all in all.
33 comments:
Well, knock me over with a feather, I thought you had given up or something. When it comes to reading, I go in waves of having time and not, especially something you aren't totally enamored with, it is hard to make time sometimes.
Well, about the formulaic writing, the answer is yes it changes, but perhaps not until the 4th book. The story (especially the back story) gets more involved in the 3rd and in the 4th, things totally change. Funny about Nancy Drew! They totally were the same book every time. As I've said before, I wasn't totally crazy about the first two books, they were ok, but it took the 3rd to make me really like the series. Rowling also stated that she wrote the books for a child growing up, therefore they get less kid like the further into them you get, and end up young adult novels by the end of the series.
Dobby:
You'll like Dobby a lot more next time you meet him, and Hermione's interest in house elves in general. They show up now and then. Harry didn't hand Dobby the sock, he had to make Mr. Malfoy pick up the sock and throw it at Dobby, it DOES have to be the master (go back and re read that scene).
I don't think you ever hear about mandrakes again, and the movie's depiction of them, they are more root then baby, so I don't think it will freak you out. And no, she doesn't really explain how they work satisfyingly.
I was also unsatisfied with their exit from the tunnel and all that, I felt like Fawkes must have grown 10 feet in size from the cage in Dumbledore's office.
I also HATE the cover art. In fact I was terrified of the actor they would chose for him, as that was my only point of reference and was so relieved to see cute little Daniel Radcliffe.
Kenneth Braughn did a good job, I share some of your hang ups with him (awful Hamlet) but didn't mind his portrayal of Benedick in Much Ado. With a toupee, Kelsey Grammer would have done awesome in that role! Emma Thompson was REALLY funny as Professor Trelawney, by the way.
I love Mr. Weasley too! So does the author, in fact in her original draft of the series (she had the whole thing outlined before writing the first book!) She killed him in the 5th book and when she got to that book, she couldn't do it, and changed her mind. He is cute in his muggle loving ways, and just a good guy.
I never compared Lockhart with Ted Baxter! That is SO FUNNY.
I thought Ginny as the culprit was good. No flops here with me, Maggie shooting Mr. Burns however WAS a total flop. It brought Ron into it more at the end, plus her crush on Harry, it all made sense to me. Percy (while a prat) would never fall for what Ginny did.
You didn't meantion poly juice, I found that to be the coolest part of that book, oh and the parsel tongue stuff was cool. Those were my favorite parts of the book.
The normal touches thrown into the book, Harry uncomfortable with fame, how Ron fits in with his family and with Harry as a best friend (which I don't think that factors too much yet) but, I do like the normal things thrown in with a totally different world and school as we know it. They have the same school concerns, being late, good grades, but their subject matter is completely different. Kinda cool, well, Rob wants to start the office, so off I go....
I'm glad the mandrakes don't show up again. Those creeped me out so much I even had a dream with them in it, but I don't quite remember the dream. I just remember they were there.
I think I thought of the Ted Baxter thing because I was watching that first season of MTM at the same time I was readintg the book. But some of his lines and things he did just made me laugh out loud and think of Ted.
I see your point about Ginny. I guess Percy wouldn't have fallen for it, but it still would have worked better for me if she used him. I feel like Percy is a character that she needs to develop more, and I thought showing some weakness would have worked.
I thought the polyjuice and parceltongue were okay. They didn't really stand out as things I liked or didn't like. They were more like "eh" to me. I guess I did kind of like it when Harmony (that is what I call her) turned herself into a cat. But I wish the author had done more with that than just put her in the hospital wing.
I'm glad she doesn't kill Mr. Weasley in the books. When you mentioned it, I remembered that a friend of mine from my previous job was into Harry Potter. I remember she was reading one of the books and sobbing. She told me one of the characters had been killed. I had totally forgotten about that. I know it's not Mr. Weasley. I wonder who it is?
What did you mean by "Rob wants to start the office"?
Characters start dying in book 4 and at least one dies each book from then on...
Whaa ha ha
(They range in sadness, but I would have to know which book she was reading to find out which she was crying about.)
We had DVR'd the office yesterday evening, and he was ready to watch it. We broke down and got tv again.
I think she was reading the last one. I'm kind of thinking Dumbledore must die. Didn't Richard Harris die fairly soon after they were filming the movies? Did they get another actor to play him? Or did the author just kill him off?
I hope Dobby grows on me. I'll have to reread that scene. I don't remember Lucius being the one that threw him the sock.
It didn't even dawn on me that you meant "The Office". I thought you were saying that rob wanted to start working on your home office, like paint it or something. I've got flu head, I'm not thinking straight.
I stayed home from work yesterday and read about another 200 pages of the 3rd book. So I'm almost finished with that one.
Harris died right after the second one, they got Micheal Gambon to play Dumbledore after that. He does a good job, but no one is Richard Harris. The books were pretty much written before the movies came out, so his death held no sway.
I see. I didn't know who Michael Gambon was, so I went to IMDB. He is in a couple of my favorite movies! Open Range and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Did you see the Life Aquatic? That is one of the best movies ever!
I didn't see the Life Aquatic, but have wanted to. I will see it now for sure.
You have to see the Life Aquatic. I think it is one of Bill Murray's best performances. I really like Wes Anderson movies, he's becoming one of my favorite directors (Rushmore, Royal Tananbaums). The soundtrack is really good too. This brazillian guy does a bunch of David Bowie songs.
I love him too, love Rushmore and the Royal Tennenbaums. That must be why I wanted to see that movie.
I love the third one so much! I think it took a turn for the better and really starts to surprise and shock you! I also loved the fourth. First and second were pretty good.
The 5th one is pretty good, but the 6th blows your mind! Then the 7th is a crazy emotional ride which I must say made me blubbler a few times.
I don't know why I liked the 3rd so much, it just impressed me.
Which one are you on Haley? I thought you just started the 3rd one.
Haley is done with the 4th! She is waiting for Kyle to finish the 5th before she can start it, but I bet she sneaks it from him when he isn't reading.....
I didn't know that Kyle was a Harry Pot Pot! He and Haley are going to finish the series before I finish knitting them a scarf of bravery!
I want a scarf of bravery too!!!!! I started reading the 7th the other weekend at Phisters, and just thinking of the ending made me hate all teachers everywhere, and whoever invented homework.
Sue: I think that the Mandrakes were a setup to show Neville being good at something. That was their main point. And I never really thought about the cover art, but it didn't really impress me on the last few books. Or any of them really for that matter. But I love the cute little illustrations at the top of each chapter. And I am very excited for you guys to read about S.P.E.W.. (House elf related, SO funny).
And I liked the de-gnoming. There was a cute little aside of Harry kicking one in the 7th book, and I thought of you.
I wish the actor who played Ted Baxter was really young and still alive to play Gilderoy Lockhart. That would be the best thing in the entire world.
Ah,B I just loved your last comment so much!
School sucks but doesn't last forever. Make sure you give yourself a little time to read something you like such as book 7 once a day or you'll get burned out.
Good point about Neville, I knew that at the time of reading, but didn't cross my mind to tell Sue, but I am sure she has picked up on it herself anyway. They did have one other purpose, drawing out being able to revive the stunned people, they couldn't tell their tale till the end.
I also like the chapter pics. I was going to mention that when I commented on the cover art, but forgot and then figured it really would be clam chowder if I did it (a blogland clam chowder).
I also loved SPEW, is that book 4? And I LOVE the politics of book 5, they are very entertaining.
I need to rent the movies from the library, I have only seen OOTP once and really liked it, and only a few of the others twice. Maybe I'll do that today.
Haha about Harry kicking the gnome in 7 and you thinking of Sue.
We shall all lament the loss of Ted Knight and his inability to play Gilderoy.
You are right about the Neville/Mandrake thing. I didn't remember it at the time I posted the blog. And I do like Neville. So I guess there is some redeeming part of the whole Mandrake thing. I still hate them and they creep me out.
I like the chapter art too, but hate the cover art.
I lament the loss of Ted Knight everyday. Speaking of dead actors that would have made a good Lockhart, how about John Ritter?
John Ritter would have been awesome! I think he may have been alive when that film was shot. They were pretty strict about hiring only British actors, so he probably never had a chance.
John Ritter died in 2003, and Johnny Cash died the next day! That week sucked! So they only went with British actors? That's lame! Cause I've been trying to picture who would be a good Prof. Lupin, and I came up with Eric Stolz. I guess that's out! Stolz would have made a good Lockhart too I think. He's one of my favorite actors.
Are you almost done with the book?
I'm pretty sure everyone is British. I know for a fact that Rowling refused to even audition any American kids for Harry Potter's (and the rest of the kids) roles. Not that she was the casting agent, but that was one of her stipulations- which I think, was a smart decision, I don't have a lot of faith in child actors nailing an accent. Adults are another matter, but I can't think of any actors in the movies that aren't British.
The guy who plays Lupin (I looked him up after your last comment and have forgotten his name already) just didn't look anything like him in my head, so I had a hard time with him even though he did a fine job. It's probably just my hangup. I noticed though when I read the rest of the books after the movie came out that when I read, I still picture the characters in my head that I came up with originally before there even were movies. Even the ones I like, so it isn't disastrous for me.
I checked it out at the library yesterday and plan on watching it tonight. I haven't seen it since the theater, so I am looking forward to watching it again, since I have bad mouthed it so much on these threads.
You have said a couple of times that they slaughter one of your favorite parts of the book. Is it Hogsmeade village? Seems like they could do it really cool, or a really bad job.
No, but I can't say until I know what part you are at.
Hogsmeade is quite brushed over.
I'm almost finished with it. I kicked butt for a couple of days and read about 300 pages, and I've been trying to read some everynight. I'm sure I'll finish it over the weekend.
They brush over Hogsmeade? That's lame. (I guess you know what one of my likes is!) The last big thing that happened is Griffyndor won the Quiddich cup, I think the very last thing I read was their final day of tests. Yeah, that's right! That one professor told Harry he was going to die by midnight or something like that.
Ok, well, my favorite part is coming up, so I can't really say, "the big scene" was done quite well, but it is just a small part (series of details) they did not do, and it ruined it for me. After you find out what, you will probably think it's totally inconsequential, but it made a BIG difference to me.
Sorry to be so cryptic, but the ending of this book is CRAZY and I am not going to spoil any of it.
To be honest, I loved Hogsmeade too, but when you see certain things on screen, you realize it's stuff better left to the imagination. They do a good job with bringing to life most of the stuff and effects, but my imagination is simply a lot better. The shops at Hogsmeade is a very good example of this.
Yes, the imagination is much better than what movies can do. Movies are getting better with special effects etc.
Your comment makes me look forward to reading the ending. I've found it kind of strange that Sirius Black isn't in the book more. I wouldn't have really thought of it, but I knew that Gary Oldman played him in the movie. And I keep thinking what a waste of a great actor! If the movie is anything like the book, then he only has about 5 minutes of screen time so far and I'm almost finished!
You know who else would have made a great Lockhart? Johnny Depp.
Haha, Johnny Depp, kind of Willy Wonka-ish, yeah I can see it.
By the Way, Helena Bonham Carter plays Bellatrix LeStrange (Rowling's character names are one of my favorite aspects of her writing.) Anyway, she plays a bit more of a part in later books, but she is so perfect and fantastic. But, you probably don't even know who that is.
Gary Oldman has a very important role in the movie, but not a lot of screen time. You know he plays a good madman though. In the movie, in all of the "Have you seen this wizard" posters his picture is just screaming (silently) non stop, it's great.
Since we were talking about the movies on here so much, I thought here was appropriate to state my observations on the two movies I watched. (Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban).
CoS
-Moaning Myrtle was even more annoying in the movie then the book
-The actual Chamber of Secrets was REALLY cool. I liked the set design.
-Kenneth Branagh did a good job as Lockhart. He acted very true to the book character except for his robe colors. I watched some of the extras and they said they couldn't use those colors because it didn't flow with the color schemes. I noticed in the dueling scene he wore a glove on his wand hand and I laughed.
-Snape has the best costume of anyone.
-Cutest scene in any HP movie: When Hermione is un-petrified and comes into the great hall and Ron and Harry are eating, you are looking at the house tables in profile and Ron sticks his head back and sees her and smiles, and then Harry does the same thing behind him and also grins. They look so cute! I forgot how cute they were when they were younger.
PoA
-Was not as bad the second time. I think I already knew I would be disappointed, so I wasn't.
-They messed with some stuff and left a lot out, but I suppose they had to. I still don't think it would have taken more then a couple of minutes to explain the 4 friends were the actual makers of the Marauder's map, come on! That was such a tremendous plot hole. I also don't think (correct me if I'm wrong) that they explained that James was Prongs and was Harry's patronus.
-they kept offering chocolate when affected by a dementor but never explained why or what they were offering.
-Radcliff is going through some voice changes in this film and some of his lines made me giggle.
High cheesiness:
-the scene in the boys dorm where they are eating candy and then romp around. The most un-natural, staged "boys being boys" ever on film.
-the freeze screen at the very end with Harry on the Firebolt. *shudder*.
Best scene:
-When Sirius is holding on to Lupin while he is transforming (trying to keep him from transforming? I guess.) Lupin does a final burst and Oldman flies like 20 feet. I just found that very funny.
-Snape protects the children during the werewolf scene for a second. Nice guy after all?
All in all, I like the movies, but don't really anticipate their releases, in fact sometimes it takes me a year or so to get around to seeing it. I think they do a good job for the most part, but don't recommend them to anyone that has not read the books.
I forgot to mention Tom the keeper of The Leaky Cauldron. He was HILARIOUS.
Ok, one more thing and then I am done (I can't believe I forgot this one):
While in the Chamber of Secrets running from the basilisk, Harry eats it SO HARD. I had to rewind it about 4 times.
Is Ralph Fiennes British?
I finished the Prisoner of Azkaban Friday night. Liked it alot. I'm excited to read # 4 after I finish Persuasion. I also hate the cover art. I'm glad I'm not the only one. Kyle read the 6th one in about 3 or 4 days! We have them all on tape and it really helps him move quickly. The guy who reads them has a very dynamic voice and does a great job. Kyle listens on his headphones while following along in the book. He was sick all weekend so he just chilled on the couch and read. Kyle's in the lead of the Harry Pot Pots. Who would have guessed!
Wow! Go Kyle! The sixth book is pretty cool and intense. I bet he liked it. We didn't even know Kyle was a Harry Pot Pot for a long while, and then we find out he is leading the charge.
I listened to the fifth book on cd and they were well done. I liked the guy that did them. Following along while he listens to it, that is a good idea. I always just hear of people doing one or the other. Genius.
Tell him that his Aunt Emily told him he better keep his lips sealed.
He loved the sixth book and he's being good about not spilling the beans. He just said something about it will blow you away. He has actually been a Harry Pot Pot since 2nd Grade. He decided he wanted to read Harry Potter when all the other kids were reading short, easy books. He was so adorable getting through the first couple. It took him so long to get through a page. But he showed a lot of determination. I wondered about comprehension so I would ask him questions once in a while. He totally was getting it and loved them. He steadily plugged along over the next couple of years until he got bogged down about halfway through the 5th. He kindof gave up and didn't pick it up for about a year. After all the talk and new interest of Harry Potter in our house recently, he decided to try again. I had bought all of the books on tape on Amazon, used a while ago and suggested that he follow along with them and get #5 finished. He enjoyed it, finished quickly and as I said, he did #6 in just a few days. Today when he left for school he said, "Mom, will you order the tapes for #7 today?"
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