Why, JK, why?

[lotesse]

I'm at a loss to explain my position towards J.K. Rowling. On the one hand, I've been in love with her books ever since I picked up SS. Of course, I was eleven at the time. But since then my feelings on her have become a lot more complex. I've certainly become more critical of her as a writer, I find gaping holes in her plots, I think that she's certainly butchered more than a few characterizations, and I find some aspects of her universe's morality questionable *cough Slytherins cough*. OotP broke me up inside and I hated hated hated it, because the pain didn't feel like it had any purpose. Everything was just suddenly miserable. And I think that while illogical elements, such as the portraits that everyone's talking about, will be ignored when they're fun, we look a lot harder when a book hurts like that one.

And yet, I still spend ridiculous amounts of time mentally mawking about in the Potterverse. Why?

Most of the authors that I love when I was eleven have faded into the far background of my consciousness, mainly because I grew too critical of their flaws. But JK has managed to keep me around, even though I no longer hold for her the kind of respect that I once did.

I love her characters, yes, but is that enough? I don't think that it is. And after OotP I've lost touch with a lot of them, especially the children. I think that's one of the reasons why OotP jarred me the way that it did. The adults were wonderful, but Harry? Ron? Hermione? Ginny? Cho? I couldn't figure out who the hell they were, and that upset me, especially Hermione, who was always my own before.

I'm certainly not the only one among the Potterfen who is terribly critical of Jo. What do the rest of you think? Why do we stay here if our writer really is so dubious?

Comments

[luciusmalfoy.livejournal.com]

I agree with all you've said, but my problems with JKR can be summed up in four words:

Jill Murphy

(and)

Eva Ibbotson

[lotesse]

kay...confused?

[hyel.livejournal.com]

Eleven? My, your young. Are you allowed to read my LJ?

Anyway, I actually like the contrary elements of Rowling's work, and the fact that she makes it confusing who's good and who's evil, and the directionless angst in OotP was pure fifteenyearoldedness, the way I remember it. Harry's being a twit, but that's in-character, and I don't like perfect heroes anyway, so I don't mind. Although, I have to say, if she doesn't redeem the Slytherin house before the series is over, I'll be disappointed.

[lotesse]

'm eighteen now, but before the three-year summer I wass always the same age as Harry and Company.

[hyel.livejournal.com]

Time does fly. Of course I only heard about Potter after it was translated into Finnish, so that wasn't as soon as they came out... Hum.

[lotesse]

I think that my age is part of my problem with OotP. Fifteen wasn't that long ago for me, and I have a baby sister who's fourteen now. And I was a hell of a lot more mature at fifteen than Harry. Admitted, girl vs. boy thing, but still. The excuse just doesn't hold water in my book. People are people, regardless of age.

[hyel.livejournal.com]

So you dislike it because Harry's a brat? Well, I can see how that can be upsetting; it's just that I had qualms about Harry's character before. One of the things I appreciate in him is that he's not his father - witness how upset he was about the way James and Sirius treated young Snape. On the other hand, his world-view is really black and white. But, like I said - I don't like perfect heroes anyway.

[lotesse]

I dont' really mind his brattiness. Considering the favoritism show him I'd be surprised if he wasn't. It's the other children that are my problem. I mean, Hermione? She's fifteen, in the middle of a war, and she's...completely on top of everything? She can psycho-analyze Cho Chang's love issues? Hermione seemed like she was fifty instead of fifteen. Cho was written (unfairly) as if she were five. Harry can have adolescent issues, but nobody else can?

[hyel.livejournal.com]

I'd probably have to re-read to comment intelligently, but for the sake of argument - I don't think five-year-olds get teen angst... But I suppose it's all in the reading. Sorry you had a bad experience with that particular book.

I've actually never been really crazy about the Potter books - thought them easy, entertaining reading with delighful little details to please the geeky mindset. PoA surprised me by being much better than the first two - the next two... were mainly interesting because of the way one could talk about them, you know? And I want to find out what Rowling will finally do with the moral labyrinths she's been constructing.