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diff --git a/literature/singularoddities-review-escape.rst b/literature/singularoddities-review-escape.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a4f2c42 --- /dev/null +++ b/literature/singularoddities-review-escape.rst @@ -0,0 +1,186 @@ +Review of “Escape” and “Mr and Mrs Percy Weasley” +################################################# + +:date: 2017-12-14 +:category: literature +:tags: review, harryPotter, blogComment + +(Update later: this review was written in December 2017, when +the latter story was somewhere around chapter 24; it would be +probably too self-centric to think, that the author read my +review, but the fact is that the later chapters of the story +seem to address some of my objections.) + +There is a biblical verse from Galatians 3:3: “Are you so +foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected +by the flesh?” What I mean is that “Escape_” and “`Mr and Mrs +Percy Weasley`_” started as one of the best fanfictions I found +anywhere. Obviously, from person who writes fanfiction around +the classical literature (namely “Pride and Prejudice”), I expect +better literary quality than your average fifteen-year inserting +herself as the fourth member of The Golden Trio on the run for +horcruxes. Unfortunately, with the contiuation of both stories, +it seems to me that the author lapsed more and more into some of +the worst stereotypes in the genre. + +First of all, before saying anything else, I really liked Mr and +Mrs-to-be Percy Weasley themselves. It is really delight to read +their story (and of course, it doesn’t hurt they slip for weekend +in Prague, where I am from :)). I really liked they both knew +they are dancing around some elephants in the room, but they so +much wanted to work together, they were willing to trust each +other even against the evidence, which would cause distrust. +I really liked Percy discovering joys of the Muggle world (and +I really hope he will eventually buy that set of the sixteenth +century goblets for Audrey, now when he can explain her how come +they are so well preserved). + +I was less enchanted by Harry & Hermione. Even ignoring the +problems with the Harmony ship [#]_ (about which later), they +both seemed to me so perfect, so Mary/Marty Sue (of course, Mary +Sue must be half-Muggle otherwise the author and reader couldn’t +identify with her easily enough), that I lost most interest in +them. Except, of course, Hermione being a cat is the only saving +grace for her persona. + +This being a Harmony story, it seems that every alternative +universe shipping inevitably leads to bashing persons which are +really likeable in the books, most usually Ron Weasley. It seemed +in the beginning of “Escape”, that this author managed to avoid +the trait, but it goes downhill pretty fast, and in the end Mrs +Weasley, Arthur, and of course Ron are sworn enemies of the good +guys and gals. And it is happily overlooked that many relational +troubles which blow to their face in the end are caused by the +unexplicable relational idiocy of Harry & Hermione. Why in the +world, they haven’t contacted Ron, their supposedly best friend, +immediately after they got means of communications (mirrors) from +the Weasley twins? I like the Weasley twins in the story, but why +couldn‘t be Ron included as well? Couldn’t the twins smuggle one +mirror to the castle? And still they haven’t bothered to send him +a mirror when they met Ginny, Neville, and Luna in Hogsmead? Of +course, the only reason seems to be that the author may indulge +more in the Ron-bashing (there is no way the Ron from books was +not fed up with Lavender after few weeks of snogging; and +actually, he broke up with her because he looked for more in +books, not necessarily because of Hermione; that is more the +movie Ron again). + +Harry and Hermione spent five years (or at least summers) in the +Weasley household. And suddenly the Weasley parents don’t deserve +a joint visit from Harry & Hermione before the slandering +interviews are published? If Molly Weasley as we know her from +books would slam the door in their face, I would immediately ship +her to St. Mungo, because some serious disease must be affecting +her brain. That is not Molly we know from the books. And I just +cannot make myself believe that Weasleys’ would be that +prejudiced against Muggles. Ignorant, of course, but not +unwilling to be explained. + +When they are repeatedly accused they gave up on the wizarding +world and went Muggle all the way, Harry & Hermione never face +these accussations by explaining what’s going on, by explaining +that they actually finished their magical education already, they +don’t even boast how many N.E.W.T.s they got, they just blow up. +They behave like rebellious stupid teenagers, who they actually +are, demanding trust from everybody, explaining to nobody, and +then they are supported in this stupidity by supposedly mature +and wise Grangers. We’ll get to this more later. + +Because next we have to deal with the persona of Albus Dumbledore +as described in the stories. I am the last one to declare +Professor Dumbledore to be perfect. There are obvious problems in +his behavior. Some of them mentioned by JKR in the books +themselves (excessive secrecty, insufficient information and +training), some are not. For example, there is a situation where +absolutely everything depends on Harry learning Occlumency +properly, and his teacher is not adult enough to get over Harry’s +father bullying him when they were teenagers. So, there are no +results of such teaching. What does Dumbledore do to remedy the +situation? Nothing, just waits until somebody gets killed and +Harry can blame himself for it. What’s wrong with him? [#]_ +I believe that both Professors Dumbledore and Snape are +reponsible for the death of Sirius Black (perhaps they should be +even criminally responsible for neglect) more than anybody else +on The Light Side (the biggest share of guilt goes to +Mrs Lestrange, of course). + +Having said that, I just cringe when I see how Singularoddities +deals poorly with description of flawed personalities. How it is +difficult to describe somebody who honestly fights for The Right +Thing™ his whole life, he is willing sacrifice absolutely +everything for the fight, and yet sometimes he forgets he is not +permitted to demand same sacrifices from others (“The only person +who can die for my ideals is me.” Karl Popper), or perhaps even +how sometimes he fights more to eradicate Evil than to promote +Goodness and Love. The author is not able to keep the hero +balanced, so although he/she starts well, more the story +progresses more it is black-and-white, and more and more it is +hard to distinguish Albus Dumbledore from Tom Riddle. And because +it is not enough, we have to have very light Snape (see above, +nobody questions his part in the death of Sirius), and very very +dark Weasley family (older part). It somehow looks like all +authority persons from the book are deemed bad, and somehow bad +persons are now good? Like … + +I know what it feels like! When I was trying to understand what +is the worldview behind those two stories, I started to think +about the Stage Three from M. Scott Peck’s `The Road Less +Traveled`_ (nicely summarized in video by my former pastor `Dave +Schmelzer`_). The stories are all about rebellion against the +authorities. It is all about an inversion, negation of +traditional values without actual wisdom, which for me is in +synthesis of the real personality, authenticity and true values. +All those who were positive authorities in the HP canon +(Dumbledore, Weasleys) are suddenly bad, and not only bad there +is almost nothing positive mentioned about them. All those who +were marginalised, in submission, or outright morally suspicious +(Grangers, Professors McGonagall, Snape; it is interesting that +Professor Flitwick is nowhere to be found) are suddenly main +heroes. Also, the main purpose of adults (especially Grangers) is +to validate youngsters’ (Harry & Hermione, Fred & George) in +their ideas, not to bring much of their own, and certainly not to +bring balance and wisdom. Whole story sounds very much like +a college student ranting against his parents. + +That also includes Percy, but here I have to take exception from +the rule: his persona is written really well, I really suspect +that he made some huge mistakes (even Kingsley suggests that he +was originally meant exactly as Weasleys were afraid he was +— a spy on Weasleys and Harry), but he is really an interesting +person. Well done. + +I like both of these stories (probably more “Mr and Mrs Percy +Weasley”, but obviously the second take is better than the first +attempt), they are probably the best AU stories of the Harry +Potter universe I have read so far (if it has not been obvious +already, I prefer canon-based stories), but all the good things +on these stories, makes me even more frustrated with things which +could be so much better. Oh well. + +.. [#] supporting Harry/Harmione pairing + +.. [#] Also, a nitpick: what the hell is wrong with you to leave + one year old boy overnight outside in the English November? + Are you too coward to admit to Petunia her sister died under + your command, so you are not able to press a buzzer? Or + perhaps the grooming (I am not sure I believe that one) was + just Plan B, in case the horcrux was not eliminated by Harry + dying from exposure? + + Just for fun: I have found monthly weather report for UK for + October 1981 and `November 1981`_ + +.. _Escape: + https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11916243/ + +.. _`Mr and Mrs Percy Weasley`: + https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12373273/ + +.. _`The Road Less Traveled`: + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#The_Road_Less_Traveled + +.. _`Dave Schmelzer`: + https://youtu.be/bHyqDGAiEpA + +.. _`November 1981`: + https://digital.nmla.metoffice.gov.uk/IO_707667cb-2339-4454-bc5a-c20f638bbd92/ |