My feeling was that CoS is less interesting because it should be a descent into hell narrative, but JKR keeps defusing the tension.
That is, if PS is the story of A Boy Discovers Who He Is and What He Can Do With His Friends (and people to believe him, and teachers, and also a wand), then CoS is structurally the opposite: we strip away Harry's pleasant celebrity, stun his friend, give him an evil talent, even make him think he's going crazy. And then, at the end, he's left without Dumbledore or Hagrid, Ron ends up on the other side of a rockfall, and he's poisoned and afraid. Classic! What does Harry do when there is no-one watching? Who is he when there is nothing but himself?
And if that were the story, then I would have found it fascinating. But that's just the outline; the story keeps jumping over to a concern with Ginny, or defusing the tension around Harry's growing isolation and doubt with homework scenes and quidditch. So I want the two books to stand as parallels, right? Lift the boy out of misery and isolation, and what can he do with friends, and then drop him back down, and see who he is when he has nothing left. But the second book doesn't work that way, even if the outline looks right.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2007-03-29 04:46 pm (UTC)That is, if PS is the story of A Boy Discovers Who He Is and What He Can Do With His Friends (and people to believe him, and teachers, and also a wand), then CoS is structurally the opposite: we strip away Harry's pleasant celebrity, stun his friend, give him an evil talent, even make him think he's going crazy. And then, at the end, he's left without Dumbledore or Hagrid, Ron ends up on the other side of a rockfall, and he's poisoned and afraid. Classic! What does Harry do when there is no-one watching? Who is he when there is nothing but himself?
And if that were the story, then I would have found it fascinating. But that's just the outline; the story keeps jumping over to a concern with Ginny, or defusing the tension around Harry's growing isolation and doubt with homework scenes and quidditch. So I want the two books to stand as parallels, right? Lift the boy out of misery and isolation, and what can he do with friends, and then drop him back down, and see who he is when he has nothing left. But the second book doesn't work that way, even if the outline looks right.