Harry
Potter and The Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter 5)
by JK Rowling
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From Jayme Meyers, for
About.com
The
questions are racing through your mind: Does it hold up to all the hype? Does
it give justice to the literary legends that the first books have already
become? Can it be understood if you haven't had the time to wade through the
tree trunk's worth of previous stories? And the verdict is YES!
It's been three years since Harry
Potter and the Goblet of Fire came out with a Howler uproar of praise that
exploded universally around the world. Saturday June 21st marked an important
and strange date in the history of literature. As public libraries slowly lose
funding, and kids regularly flock towards movies and video games, suddenly
millions of children (along with their parents none-the-less)were partying over
the idea of reading?
Harry Potter and The Order of the
Phoenix is the fifth book in the series, and the most anticipated after the
last cliff hanger ending. The fourth book marked a turning point, as Lord
Voldemort (think DarthVader meets Hitler) returned to human form to rebuild his
army and start a second uprise to power, determined to let only pure blood
wizards remain. Compared to the first three books, the fourth was much darker,
more compelling, and only led to the greatness of book five.
Harry, who in the movies is portrayed as a
somewhat obnoxious symbol of goodness, has never been flawless in the books,
and never in all the previous four, has he been so flawed. The Order of the
Phoenix gives us the account of a fifteen-year-old Harry, one who is highly
hormonal, temperamental, and hysterically awkward around girls. He has normal
teenage temper tantrums-in many of which he is blatantly in the wrong. As
Harry's good friend and teacher Hagrid says, "the world isn't split into
good people and Death Eaters." The fact that Harry doesn't always do the
right thing and that there isn't a cartoonish line between the "good
guys" and "bad guys" only makes the books better. Many of the
"good guys" are actually jerks, and Harry, well, he's a lot like us,
which is why millions love rooting for him.
By the way, "Death Eaters"
are followers of Voldemort and The Order of the Phoenix is the name given to
the group of wizards who are attempting to fight against them. The big problem,
though, is that the rest of the world, helped mainly by a propaganda filled
paper and an egotistical government ruler, is convinced Voldemort's claimed
return was simply a publicity stunt by an attention seeking brat
(Harry)-a
product of a school run too freely (Hogwarts). Book Five is reminiscentof
Orwell's 1984 as "Big Brother," this time The Ministry of
Magic, steps in and takes over the school, destroying all real learning with
too many rules and constant censorship.
Though writing a much more intense
book than its predecessors, Rowling doesn't loose her sense of humor. The trio
of Harry, Ron, and Hermione is panned out to create a larger group of friends
resulting in a lot of hysterical new interactions. The usually mild comic
relief twins Fred and George play a much larger role, along with a talking
Ginny (Ron's younger sister who finally got over her mute-inducing crush on Harry),a
slightly more grown up accident prone friend named Neville, and a crazy Luna
"Loony" Lovegood whose strange confidence in her father's Enquirer-style
paper makes the plot all the more wonderful. There are friendly laughs, fights,
and crushes on almost every page in proper teenage fashion. One thing is for
sure, Rowling definitely never forgot what it was like to be fifteen, and
definitely knows how to keep her audience glued to the pages.
So the question remains, can the fifth
book be enjoyed without reading the other four?
The first
few chapters jump from character to character without so much as explaining
their history or relevance. While veteran readers will find this welcoming,
like returning to new friends without missing a beat, a new-comer might be
off-put by the confusion and give up. Rowling does explain the four previous
books and the interweaving relationships of characters, but unlike before where
the old stories were amateurly regurgitated in condensed form on the first few
pages,she does this with more expertise now, slowly stretching the information
beautifully between the new plot. If it was possible for Rowling to become an
even better storyteller, this is just one of themany many signs encased in The
Phoenix.
As for old readers determined to find
a flaw in the plot, a character misrepresented, or any sign that fame and
fortune have lead to a weakening of J.K.'s devotion to the stories, they will
be hard-pressed for evidence. Some have wondered whether the new weighty length
was intended only for bragging rights, but after reading it, those same
skeptics will probably wish it hadn't been edited at all.
At 870
pages, The Order of the Phoenix is not only a respectable length for
adults to carry around, but they will find less and less need to go to the gym.
Harry marked an important turning point for literature in general. Before the
rise of the Potter series, there was no such thing as a Children's Best Sellers
List, which was frantically invented when it was realized the "best seller,"
a few years back, was intended for twelve-year-olds. Not only did Rowling raise
awareness that there is a huge cross-over market, as adults, many without kids,
were suddenly clamoring for the children's section, but it sparked a movement
of many accomplished adult writers trying their hand at writing for the younger
generation, some much more successfully than others.
Master of suspense, Dean Koontz
recently attempted (attempted being the key word) to create a book of fluffy
children's poems which just might have been the most painful work of poetry
created in the last 100 years, even including poetry by eight-year-olds the
book was intended for. Stephen King has announced his plans this year to expand
his writing as well, giving the still eminent R.L. Stine some decent
competition finally.
(Just for the record if there's one
children'swriter Rowling should respect it would be Stine whose
"Goosebumps"series still hold many records in the biz.) Carl Hiaasen,
of Basket Case and Sick Puppy fame, was given the prestigious
2003 Newbery Honor for his first children's book Hoot. A not quite as
successful attempt was made by The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
author Michael Chabon with Summerland, a pre-teen flop.
Why is it that Hiaasen was able to
make this transition away from the land of grown-ups, while Koonz and Chabon
could not? It's simple, and it's exactly the reason why if those ten-year old
Rowling's fans leave their newest Potter book lying around they are sure to
catch their parents sneaking away with it. The fact is what makes a good
"children's book" really shouldn't differ from what makes any book a
success. Sure, they might be missing the curse words and are void of any racy
sex scenes, but Hoot, like The Order of the Phoenix, never talks
down to its readers and instead focuses on creating an engaging story, not just
one that would appeal to this age group or that age group.
As a
side note on the subject of curse words and racy sex scenes, Rowling seemed to
be enjoying herself immensely reminding us puberty is a bitch, whether you are
a wizard struggling to save the world or just a pimply-faced Muggle like the
rest of us. Many of these struggling
teens are cut off in the middle of mentioning certain words and there is a
scene where a row of living portrait paintings all give a character an angry
"hand gesture." Harry also has his first racy encounter with a female
and some fifteen-year-old hormones, but you'll have to read the book to find
out more about that.
So now, days after its anticipated release,
the countdown must start once again, as readers look towards Rowling with
outstretched book-empty palms. When the Harry Potter books first came
out, it was obvious there were going to be only seven volumes, one for each
year Harry went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now a new
countdown should start, not only for the sixth book, but one for Rowling
herself. What is going to happen to this gifted writer once the series has
ended? Will she venture into other realms, finding new magic in different
ideas, characters, or will she always be cast under the spell of her own
success, every review saying "Well, her new work is good, but not as good
as any of the Potter books."
At this point, it's hard to imagine
anything will ever be better.
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