She left us wondering.
July the 16th...the world was thirsty for answers. The largest presale booking of history...a reading at a castle at Edinburgh...smuggling at Canadian godowns...all because there were so many questions.
Why Sirius Black died. Why the Death Eaters escaped Azkaban. How Voldemort would finally meet his doom. And after ploughing through 600 pages of the latest instalment of this mega-popular series, ‘The Half-Blood Prince’, I can’t say I have all the answers.
But very evidently, JKR has gained tremendously since the dragged fiasco of the Order of the Phoenix. This story is a few hundred pages shorter (also, a few hundred rupees more expensive) and certainly crisper. Luckily for me, I didn't have to pay since I'd borrowed it from a friend. Otherwise, no chance!;)
An enthralling change is the innovative beginning chapters No Dursley and Dudders. Instead, we have Cornelius Fudge briefing the UK Prime Minister as the worlds of the Muggles and magicals are increasingly becoming intertwined. Right after, the scene shifts to a rendezvous of death eaters, followed immediately by Dumbledore’s appearance at 4, Privet Drive. Dumbledore even says –“let us pursue that flighty temptress called adventure!” Aadaab arz hai! Thus, the pace is set quite deftly. If only it were always so.
Soon enough, our trio of Harry, Hermione and Ron are back at Hogwarts. But the story gets too tangled up in love affairs and drags tremendously at such points. Harry gets a new girlfriend (Cho’s rejection is unexplained), Ron and Hermione latch onto love interests just to make each other jealous, and at every corner of the castle, lips are glued. Ugh! Yes, several expected couplings take place, though the Ron-Hermione angle still refuses to be totally bridged. All in all, the romances of the book definitely come across as overdone and forced, subtracting amply from the main narrative.
Oh yes, I forgot to tell you about the main thread! Dumbledore regularly takes Harry into the scenarios surrounding Voldemort’s birth and vignettes from his childhood and youth via Pensieves. These glimpses of Voldy’s past are extremely engrossing and are a definitely a pro of the book. Through these visions, DD and Harry deduce how Voldemort can finally be annihilated- by destroying ‘Horcruxes’ or fragments of Voldy’s soul stored in various cursed objects. If this was supposed to be the main development of the book, well then it has succeeded. What’s even better is the tying up of loose threads from the Chamber of Secrets- Aragog and Riddle’s diary are back in prominence.
But then, there are other subplots and developments, too. I don’t want to mull over the romances (one ugh is enough) but Hp6 sees the villainification of Draco Malfoy and a long-term Hogwarts teacher (guess-guess!), along with the reentry of a retired one- Horace Slughorn. To add to this, the mysterious attempts on Dumbledore’s life and the identity of The Half Blood Prince confuse both Harry and the reader thoroughly. Even Hogwarts regains some of its lost enigma with renewed emphasis on the secrets with which its walls seem to resonate. New spells, potions, new magic- a delight! However, the trademark dose of Quidditch is rather disappointing.
In terms of characters, many small-fries suddenly become big-daddies and preexisting ones acquire layer over layer to their persona. Keeping in mind the plethora of characters, thankfully the only new additions are firstly, a well etched Slughorn and second, a new Minister. Tonks, Remus, Bellatrix, Narcissa Malfoy, Fleur, Bill Luna and Madame Rosmerta gain a lot of limelight this time around. One wishes Hagrid and Neville had larger roles assigned. Harry does not face Voldemort this time, which is a tad disappointing.
However, all flaws are forgiven and all pros forgotten as the book hurtles unstoppably to a riveting climax in the last 150 pages. Despite DD’s words in chapter 3, true adventure only begins when the duo venture into a cursed lake filled with rotting Inferi to retrieve a Horcrux. Immediately on return to Hogwarts, before you can gasp, a loved and cherished character perishes at the hands of a not-so adored, but still respected character. The identity of the Half blood Prince is defined in a mere paragraph and the death is devastating. It brought me to tears. Hats off, JKR. Sirius’s death didn’t even tickle. But this…a dripping hanky. Perhaps it gave the book more meaning too.
And this is despite the fact that my nosy brother spilt the beans before I touched Page 1! If this is your story, don't worry. Even if you know what happens, Rowling's detailed writing will deliver a knock-out punch.
With this demise, JKR has established a trend of long, often painfully arduous and uneventful buildups, followed by a lightning-quick and thrilling climax in which someone dear dies.
Harry Potter with all its deaths, dark magic, adult relationships and gloom is clearly no longer a children’s book. A toddler enthralled by the Philosopher’s Stone or its 3 successors will not be able to handle this, and I strongly recommend under 13 to wait a couple of years (more) Worse, JKR hasn’t given any sort of introduction to those reading Hp for the first time.
All in all I wouldn’t say this book is anything near perfect.But it is definitely an enrapturing read- though at times dragging and demanding a click of the editor’s scissors. It’s definitely a notch above the OoftP and JKR seems to have learnt from her mistakes. But is it worth the price? Yes. Hey come on! It isn’t easy to craft 600 pages of drama flowing with characters and events, without losing momentum somewhere. It’s easy to complain, though.
In totality, through her penultimate novel, Rowling has made a few things very clear…and several things unclear Though the identity of the eponymous Half Blood Prince is inevitably revealed, we have a new Mr. X in the form of ‘RAB’ to keep the world guessing. Though we now know that Voldemort’s secret to near- immortality is his Horcruxes, we are yet to discover what all seven are. Though it’s evident that Harry’s biggest support systems are no more, we do not know how he will take on Voldemort in such bleak circumstances. And most importantly, its unclear how JKR will squash her magnum opus into anything less than a 1000 pages!
Go to any Potter site or that of JKR, and the message boards are bubbling over with theories. The identity of RAB, which side Snape is on, the horcruxes…it’s the fodder of global gossip. Which all goes to prove one thing. JKR still has the gift. She can make us wriggle at Luna’s commentary, squirm at the kissing, shiver with the Death Eaters, weep with character’s deaths, and then proceed to passionately discuss what is after all, a cluster of pages. Though not her best, the Half Blood Prince is a must-read, a fitting prelude to what will be THE showdown of all time. Now the whole world awaits the ultimate adventure in the ultimate installment. And JKR, I suggest you have a swig of Felix Felicis, the luck potion, coz once Book 7 hits the racks, cash registers and telephones will ring like never before. And I’ll be here with my chisel ready to hack away at one of the world’s most skilled writers (in vain).
Till then JKR, till we can completely digest what has transpired in the HBP, you can chant Expect Patronum and expect the most patrons you’ll ever see at a bookshop in the Muggle World.
