Friday, September 6, 2019

#YearOfHarryPotter: Order of the Phoenix, Chapters 36-38

Last week, I finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with Chapter 36 ("The Only One He Ever Feared"), Chapter 37 ("The Lost Prophecy"), and Chapter 38 ("The Second War Begins.")

As is always the case with this series, my favorite part of these final chapters is Harry's debriefing with Dumbledore about the events of the school year. There is something so comforting about finally hearing Dumbledore's take on things, even when he has clearly made some big mistakes, as he did during Harry's fifth year.

There is also a great sense of relief as Dumbledore resumes his rightful place at Hogwarts. One of the most distressing parts of this book is the role of the Ministry at Hogwarts, and though Sirius had to die for it to happen, there is a sense of vindication in seeing the Ministry realize its error.

I have always said that this book is my favorite of the series, and I think that's because of the sheer number of plotlines going on, and because of all the important details that are revealed after so much being kept from the reader for so many books. This time around, though, I'm not sure I liked this book as much as Goblet of Fire. It still ranks higher than books one and two, and I definitely enjoyed it, but I think I was more engrossed in re-reading book four, possibly because I had only ever read it once.

In any case, I'm really looking forward to Half-Blood Prince, which I remember being totally shocking to me on my first reading, and which I don't think I've ever re-read.

No comments:

Post a Comment