I Feel So Left Out

I desperately, desperately want to love Harry Potter. And not because I have a crush on the character. (I was hot for Sirius Black. Remember what happened to him?) I want to love the books. I want to be immersed in the experience of reading a new one. I want to look forward to the movies.

Yeah, well, we all want lots of things, don't we?

I had a problem with this new book from the beginning. And the problem was that, not being a rabid fan and not finding any of the books very memorable (rather interchangeable, in fact), all the references to previous events that occur in this book and the flitting in and out of characters introduced elsewhere left me feeling "What? What? When did this happen? Am I supposed to know who this is?"

When the identity of the Half-Blood Prince was revealed, I felt that it came absolutely out of nowhere. I didn't think there was any foreshadowing in HP6, as I've heard it called, and I certainly can't remember anything from the other books that would suggest that this particular character wasn't a pureblooded wizard. It seems as if even Rowling felt the build up to the revelation was weak, because she has Hermione do an explanation at the end of the book, much like the explanations detectives give at the end of poorly done mysteries.

About all that snogging--I understand that teenagers like to buddy up with members of the opposite sex, and I believe that some readers feel this sort of thing makes HP6 more realistic. However, from what I understand about writing (and, yes, my understanding may not be all that it should be), everything, absolutely everything, in a book should relate to the story being told or to the theme. The snogging in HP6 is a distraction. It really doesn't have much to do with the story. It has a lot to do with why the book was so long, though.

Clunky plot. Weak characterization. Unbelievable events. Sigh. Not the greatest reading week of my life.

The reviews for this new book are supposed to be somewhat mixed. But the fans are clear about how they feel. I just wish I could join them.