火盃的考驗

Now THAT'S a book! The groove that J.K. Rowling starts to find in HP 3 is fully realized in 4. Partly it's that the kids (and therefore the readers) are getting older so she can delve into more adult, complex themes and situations, and partly it's that I think she's really finding her voice. We finally got our very own HP's, I am happy to report, and it's so funny to look at them all side by side b/c of the HUGE leap in size between 3 and 4. Then they get a little tricky b/c while 4 and 5 look to be about the same length, the font in Order of the Phoenix is much smaller, hence a longer book. I just started that one and it honestly feels longer already. More of a book book and less of a fun afternoon's diversion. But I like these books as they get both darker and longer.

But to focus on Goblet of Fire specifically for a moment...again, not that I think I can bring anything new to the table in discussing these books. Nevertheless, I'll throw a few ideas out there just for your reading pleasure. One thing that struck me, as I mentioned before, was the increasing maturity and complexity of situations and themes. Clearly having someone die is a huge deal and I found that whole series of events really moving this time around. I may have last time as well, but I don't remember. In a way, though, some of the more complex issues feel jarring next to the goofy concepts she originally created. Calling non-magical people "Muggles," for instance. It's just a stupid word and yes, it sounds funny and makes kids laugh, but sometimes it's hard to take all these people seriously. "Mud-bloods" on the other hand is vicious and definitely drives the point home. I just wonder if she was to do it over again if some of those terms or ideas would change a bit. Yes, we'd all like to revisit what we did/wrote when we were less sure of ourselves and our voices and ideas, but of course we can't and neither can she. And what do I know? She claims she always knew what would happen to Harry, so maybe for her "Muggle" is the ideal word.

Since, as usual, I find it impossible to discuss the books without referencing the films, let me just say that although I hated Dobby in the movie (2?) and was glad to see him mostly cut from subsequent screen incarnations, I really loved him in this one. The dialogue is actually quite funny and Hermione's whole S.P.E.W. thing just cracks me up. Yes, I know a lot of people hate it and find it annoying and whatever, but I love it. Of course she would have a cause like that. That's who she is! And poor Winky. They're weird creatures (and OH how I love Kreacher in the next one!) and I can't decide whether I am with Hermione or everyone else on their "plight." Either way, I like that they exist; they provide a bit of moral ambiguity in a world that is mostly cleanly divided between good and evil. You might wonder about people, but for the most part they end up squarely one or the other. Other than Snape - another great piece of moral ambiguity whose complexity grows from book to book.

I also continue to marvel at Rowling's ability to write about the teenage mind. Ron and Harry's fight is spot on, as are Hermione's various reactions to it. And oh these poor boys having to ask the girls to the feast. I wish I had known when I was in middle school how truly hard it was for boys to talk to girls like that. Although I probably wouldn't have cared, being the good self-involved teenger that I was.

I still want to go to Hogwarts.

n  “It is my belief... that the truth is generally preferable to lies.”n

Re-read - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire steps up from the previous ones very well, it's the darkest book I've ever read since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Who knows ? Harry Potter grows up and becomes a boy who has to take the responsibility on his shoulders, he never wants to be selected, he never wants glory and prestige, yet the world turns against him anyway.

I love that this book isn't a children's book anymore, in my opinion, it becomes hastily intense and has more dimensions than J.K. Rowling had ever intended. She did a great job when she wrote this book, I could see her intention for the book to be a mature one and she made the right decision for doing that. I'm so pround of her and so she becomes my favorire author EVER !

n  “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” n

n  “It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.” n

Not only this book is full of adventures, but it hides some messages for you to discover. Isn't it the best way to teach our children via books ? Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has everything I've asked for since the first time I read. Until now, the book is like a gem and I think of it as my treasure because it's so precious my eyes hurt to look at.



Many things happen in this book such as a tragedy and deprecation, but it's the way our lives go on, right ? So I embraced this book like a teddy bear and told myself that perhaps something really bad would happen, but it's just mishaps and it would pass like a rainy day.

n  “Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory.”n

#TeamKrumione


More at http://goo.gl/kNcx2n

Time to review Goblet of Fire. OR Should I say...

The best book in this entire series.

  

I have to admit, until this book, I was still trying to wrap my head around the phenomenon that was Harry Potter. Is this a good series? Oh yes absolutely, but is it: I am going to name my dog Sirius, my child Harry, going to get a tattoo of 56 different HP quotes, write an entire page of the book on a wall inside my house good?

  

This book was the turning point for me. This book developed and cemented my love for Harry. A main character that, until now, I had no emotional attachment to. Their personalities flourished under JK Rowling's otherworldly ability to write about teenage angst and embarrassment.

For the entirety of this book, I was a teen again. I remembered every awkward stage I ever had. I remembered what it felt like to wish you were noticed, while thinking you'd rather die than do be the center of attention. I remembered the ultimate bliss, chaos and disaster that it was to grow up.

Harry, Ron and Hermione are officially little grown people in my eyes. And I not only grew to love them as friends, but respect them as mini adults, which made me extremely emotional. I have always wanted to be a mother, and reading this series for the first time as an adult made me think: Wow, is this what I am going to feel when I see my children turn into teenagers? Confused, but proud?

  

I don't even think I need to get into how fantastic the world building in this book is, how imaginative and utterly insane these characters are. How many layers and levels there are to them. I remember mentioning this on my review for Azkaban, we could spend literal hours debating every single character and we would never reach an agreement.

(*cough* snape *cough* - he's not that bad if you're read this as an adult, you guys are just too attached to the hatred you had for him as a child to let go. you just missed a lot of things about his duality and his capability for love and courage because you were 7 and you had no ability to read between the lines)

  

As for the writing itself, this was the most action packed, exciting, hilarious book in the series so far. It is better than Azkaban for sure, and I barely noticed how long it was.

So yeah, Goblet of Fire is why I can now confidently say:

> You want to spend one thousand dollars on a Harry Potter inspired Christmas tree? I mean, why wouldn't you?

You just bought a 850 dollar Hogwarts Lego set? Understandable.

Do you have the sorting hat tattooed on your forehead? I mean, we all get silly sometimes.

Do you own more Harry Potter merch pieces than you own underwear? Of course you do.

n   So here I am, anointing Goblet of Fire the PEAK of the Harry Potter series. n

Sports Star Shocker. Leading Triwizard Champions abducted by Arch-villain! "There's no respect for fair play in the sporting arena these days!" - Hogwart's Herald

JKR pulled out all the stops and weaved together a real multi-layered winner.

But, wait, some of the minor characters have a word or two to say, they always do, never getting enough time on page to express themselves properly.

Beware! Dangerous and possibly indiscreet comments ahead - Read at your own Risk!

The Triwizard Tournament has ended.

The Blast-Ended Skrewt (Speaking to the Sphinx after everyone has gone home) "Hey babe, how about you and I shoot on down to Hogsmeade and get wasted on shots?"

The Sphinx: (Looking prim) "I'll let you know, I'm a good girl."

The Blast-Ended Skrewt (Rolling out his sucker) "Get a load of this little puppy. You'd be surprised how flexible it is."

The Sphinx (Rolls her eyes) "Well, Okay then ... By the way, do you like riddles?"

The Blast-Ended Skrewt (Shrugs his shoulder plates) "What's a riddle?"

The Sphinx (Sighs) (Soto voce) "Not another one... Where oh where am I gonna find a real man?"

Buckbeak (Pops his head around the corner of the hedge maze) "Yoohoo!"

And there it is! Oh, there were a couple of minor hiccups but what the hell - easy to ignore given how good everything else was. Now it's time to get started on The Order of the Phoenix.

Strongly Recommended: A solid enjoyable, 5 'Sports Rule at School,' stars.

Reread this in March 2023 with the fine folk over at Nightmares and Dreamscapes.

This series has taken a damn TURN!

Watch my video review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEqu8...

The author of this series is extremely transphobic, so if you want to buy a copy of this book, please buy it used so that no money goes to support the author. If you have the money, here’s a link to support black trans people: https://twitter.com/BlackTransFunds. This organization works to get trans people help with gender affirming care and other important necessities. Just scroll down their Twitter page and you’ll see plenty of ways you can directly donate to help support trans people.

Times read as of October 2024: 5

If you don’t like this book and your reasoning for not liking this book has nothing to do with the author, then I don’t trust you. Goblet of Fire is my absolute favorite book of all time. It’s the perfect blend of magic, action, humor, and tragedy. My favorite character, Gabrielle, is also introduced in this book (although most people don’t even remember who she is).

I think the main reason why I love this one so much is because of the Triwizard Tournament. I’ve realized recently that I love any sort of competitive game or tasks in fantasy books. They’re always so fun to read about. The tasks in this book are so clever and well done. There’s so many fun fantasy creatures in each task, but even though they’re entertaining to read, the tasks have a deeper meaning to them since they also reveal each character’s true personality. During the tasks, you find out about how Cedric is truly an intelligent underdog who puts other people first and you find out how Harry is a brave, compassionate hero who keeps fighting even when the odds are against him. It’s wonderful.

One thing that always catches me off guard about this book is how much stuff they left out of the movie. The Goblet of Fire movie is phenomenal, but it didn’t included Winky, Sirius risking his life to watch over Harry, Ludo Bagman, and the whole explanation for how Barty Crouch Jr. escaped from Azkaban. If they ever remake the Harry Potter movies, they should split this one up into two parts so that all of the details can be included in the remake.

There are a few problematic things in this book. I believe that you can love a problematic book but you can (and should) call out the problematic elements of those books, so here goes:
-The section at the Dursley’s at the start of the book is fatphobic. The previous books had some fatphobia as well, but this one gets particularly bad. Dudley is obviously a terrible character, but that’s not an excuse for the way that his weight is described and treated.
-The whole situation with the house elves is awful. The house elves want to be slaves and they don’t want to be paid for their work. They act like it’s the end of the world if they can’t work for free. Hermione is the only one who stands up for the house elves but she is not treated well for standing up for what’s right. It always rubs me the wrong way.
-Winky’s alcoholism is treated like a joke. The seriousness of alcoholism is not properly addressed like it should be.

Some of my favorite moments/quotes/scenes:
-“If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
-"Asleep was the way Harry liked the Dursleys best; it wasn't as though they were any help to him awake."
-"As for informing the headmasters, Harry had no idea where Dumbledore went during the summer holidays. He amused himself for a moment, picturing Dumbledore, with his long silver beard, full-length wizard's robes, and pointed hat, stretched out on a beach somewhere, rubbing suntan lotion onto his long crooked nose."
-"Harry had received two letters from Sirius since he had been back at Privet Drive. Both had been delivered, not by owls (as was usual with wizards), but by large, brightly colored tropical birds. Hedwig had not approved of these flashy intruders; she had been most reluctant to allow them to drink from her water tray before flying off again."
-" Your sincerely, Molly Weasley
P.S. I do hope we've put enough stamps on.
...
He held up the envelope in which Mrs. Weasley's letter had come, and Harry had to fight down a laugh. Every bit was covered in stamps except for a square inch on the front, into which Mrs. Weasley had squeezed the Dursleys' address in minute writing.
'Sge did put enough stamps on, then,' said Harry, trying to sound as though Mrs. Weasley's was a mistake anyone could make."
-...what appeared to be a small, gray, feathery tennis ball collided with the side of his head. Harry massaged the spot furiously, looking up to see what had hit him, and saw a minute owl, small enough to fit into the palm of his hand, whizzing excitedly around the room like a loose firework... Harry stared at the word 'Pig,' then looked up at the tiny owl now zooming around the light fixture on the ceiling."
-"Lound bangings and scrapings were coming from behind the Dursleys' boarded-up fireplace, which had a fake coal fire plugged in front of it... Voices could be heard from inside the blocked fireplace... 'They - they've tried to get here by Floo powder,' said Harry, fighting a mad desire to laugh. 'They can travel by fire - only you've blocked the fireplace.' ... Ron's voice now joined the others'. 'What are we doing here? Has something gone wrong?'
'Oh no, Ron,' came Fred's voice, very sarcastically. 'No, this is exactly where we wanted to end up.'
'Yeah, we're having the time of our lives here,' said George, whose voice sounded muffled, as though he was squashed against the wall."
-"'Harry said good-bye to you,' he said. 'Didn't you hear him?'
'It doesn't matter,' Harry muttered to Mrs. Weasley. 'Honestly, I don't care.'
Mr. Weasley did not remove his hand from Harry's shoulder.
'You aren't going to see your nephew till next summer,' he said to Uncle Vernon in mild indignation. 'Surely you're going to say good-bye?'"
-"Dudley was no longer standing behind his parents. He was kneeling beside the coffee table, and he was gagging and sputtering on a foot-long, purple, slimy thing that was protruding from his mouth. One bewildered second later, Harry realized that the foot-long thing was Dudley's tongue - and that a brightly colored toffee wrapper lay on the floor before him."
-"This had to be Charlie, who worked with dragons in Romania. Charlie was built like the twins, shorter and stockier than Percy and Ron, who were both long and lanky. He had a broad, good-natured face, which was weather-beaten and so freckly that he looked almost tanned; his arms were muscular, and one of them had a large, shiny burn on it."
-"Bill came as something of a surprise. Harry knew that he worked for the wizarding bank, Gringotts, and that Bill had been Head Boy at Hogwarts; Harry had always imagined Bill to be an older version of Percy; fussy about rule-breaking and fond of bossing everyone around. However, Bill was - there was no other word for it - cool. He was tall, with long hair that he had tied back in a ponytail. He was wearing an earring with what looked like a fang dangling from it. Bill's clothes would not have looked out of place at a rock concert, except that Harry recognized his boots to be made, not of leather, but of dragon hide."
-"'Er - why are you calling that owl Pig?' Harry asked Ron.
'Because he's being stupid,' said Ginny. 'Its proper name is Pigwidgeon.'
'Yeah, and that's not a stupid name at all,' said Ron sarcastically. 'Ginny named him,' he explained to Harry. 'She reckons it's sweet. And I tried to change it, but it was too late, he won't answer to anything else. So now he's Pig.'"
-"'Where's Crookshanks?' Harry asked Hermione now.
'Out in the garden, I expect,' she said. 'He likes chasing gnomes. He's never seen any before.'"
-"Just don't get him onto the subject of his boss. According to Mr. Crouch... as I was saying to Mr. Crouch... Mr. Crouch is of the opinion... Mr. Crouch was telling me... They'll be anouncing their engagement any day now."
-"Crookshanks came pelting out of the garden, bottle-brush tail held high in the air, chasing what looked like a muddy potato on legs. Harry recognized it instanstly as a gnome. Barely ten inches high, its horny little feet pattered very fast as it sprinted across the yard and dived headlong into one of the Wellington boots that lay scattered around the door. Harry could hear the gnome giggling madly as Crookshanks inserted a paw into the boot, trying to reach it."
-"...Bill and Charlie both had their wands out, and were making two battered old tables fly high above the lawn, smashing into each other, each attempting to knock the other's out of the air. Fred and George were cheering, Ginny was laughing, and Hermione was hovering near the hedge, apparently torn between amusement and anxiety."
-"In the middle of the table, Mrs. Weasley was arguing with Bill about his earring, which seemed to be a recent acquisition.
'...with a horrible great fang on it. Really, Bill, what do they say at the bank?'
'Mum, no one at the bank gives a damn how I dress as long as I bring home plenty of treasure,' said Bill patiently.
'And your hair's getting silly, dear,' said Mrs. Weasley, fingering her wand lovingly. 'I wish you'd let me give it a trim...'"
-"...someone might slip dragon dung in it again, eh, Perce?' said Fred.
'That was a sample of fertilizer from Norway!' said Percy, going very red in the face. 'It was nothing personal!'
'It was,' Fred whispered to Harry as they got up from the table. 'We sent it.'"
-'I said - Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will... You beat Harry Potter! '"
-"Harry bent down, ducked under the tent flap, and felt his jaw drop. He had walked into what looked like an old-fashioned three-room flat, complete with bathroom and kitchen. Oddly enough, it was furnished in exactly the same sort of style as Mrs. Figg's house: There were crocheted covers on the mismatched chairs and a strong smell of cats."
-"They had walked into a patch of tents that were all covered with a thick growth of shamrocks, so that it looked as though small, oddly shaped hillocks had sprouted out of the earth."
-"It was Seamus Finnigan, their fellow Gryffindor fourth year. He was sitting in front of his own shamrock-covered tent, with a sandy-haired woman who had to be his mother, and his best friend, Dean Thomas, also of Gryffindor."
-"The tents here had not been bedecked with plant life, but each and every one of them had the same poster attatched to it, a poster of a very surly face with heavy black eyebrows. The picutre was, of course, moving, but all it did was blink and scowl."
-"'Muggle women wear them, Archie, not the men, they wear these ,' said the Ministry wizard, and he brandished the pinstriped trousers.
'I'm not putting them on,' said old Archie in indignation. 'I like a healthy breeze 'round my privates, thanks.'"
-"Oliver Wood, the old captain of Harry's House Quidditch team, who had just left Hogwarts, dragged Harry over to his parents' tent to introduce him, and told him excitedly that he had just been signed to Puddlemere United reserve team."
-"Bill had a penfriend at a school in Brazil..."
-"'We'll bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, three Knuts,' said Fred as he and George quickly pooled all their money, 'that Ireland wins - but Viktor Krum gets the Snitch.'"
-"Salesmen were Apparating every few feet, carrying trays and pushing carts full of extraordinary merchandise. There were luminous rosettes - green for Ireland, red for Bulgaria - which were squealing the names of the players, pointed green hats bedecked with dancing shamrocks, Bulgarian scarves adorned with lions that really roared, flags from both countries that played their national anthems as they were waved; there weer tiny models of Firebolts that really flew, and collectible figures of famous players, which strolled across the palm of your hand, preening themselves."
-"...Ron yelled happily, stuffing a fistful of gold coins into Harry's hand, 'for the Omnioculars! Now you've got to buy me a Christmas present, ha!'"
-"Hassan Mostafa had landed right in front of the dancing vela, and was acting very oddly indeed. He was flexing his muscles and smoothing his mustache excitedly."
-"'You can speak English!' said Fudge, sounding outraged. 'And you've been letting me mime everything all day!'
'Vell, it vos very funny,' said the Bulgarian minister, shrugging."
-"'No, you're not!' yelled his friend. 'You're a dishwasher at the Leaky Cauldron... but I'm a vampire hunter, I've killed about ninety so far-'
A third young wizard, whose pimples were visible even by the dim, silvery light of the vela, now cut in, 'I'm about to become the youngest ever Minister of Magic, I am.'
Harry snorted with laughter. He recognized the pimply wizard: His name was Stan Shunpike, and he was in fact a conductor on the triple-decker Knight Bus. He turned to tell Ron this, but Ron's face had gone oddly slack, and next second Ron was yelling, 'Did I tell you I've invented a broomstick that'll reach Jupiter?'"
-"'Do us a favor, Perce,' said Bill, yawning, 'and shut up.'"
-"'Yeah, well, Dad collects plugs, doesn't he?' said Fred quietly as Mrs. Weasley left the room. 'Birds of a feather...'"
-"'Yeah, you know what, Percy?' said George seriously. 'I reckon he'll know your name soon.'"
-"'But Hogwarts is hidden,' said Hermione in surprise. 'Everyone knows that... well, everyone who's read Hogwarts, A History, anyway.'
'Just you, then,' said Ron. 'So go on - how d-you hide a place like Hogwarts?'
'It's bewitched,' said Hermione. 'If a Muggle looks at it, all they see is a moldering old ruin with a sign over the entrance saying DANGER, DO NOT ENTER, UNSAFE.'"
-"A large, red, water-filled balloon had dropped from out of the ceiling onto Ron's head and exploded. Drenched and sputtering, Ron staggered sideways into Harry, just as a second water bomb dropped - narrowly missing Hermione, it burst at Harry's feet, sending a wave of cold water over his sneakers into his socks. People all around them shrieked and started pushing one another in their efforts to get ouf of the line of fire. Harry looked up and saw, floating twenty feet above them, Peeves the Poltergeist... Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and head of Gryffindor House, had come dashing out of the Great Hall; she skidded on the wet floor and grabbed Hermione around the neck to stop herself from falling."
-"If Harry, Ron, and Hermione were wet, it was nothing to how these first years looked. They appeared to have swum across the lake rather than sailed."
-"...he caught Colin Creevey's eye, gave a double thumbs-up, and mouthed, I fell in the lake! He looked positively delighted about it."
-" For Hufflepuff, hard workers were
Most worthy of admission "
-"'Colin, I fell in!' he said shrilly, throwing himself into an empty seat. 'It was brilliant! And something in the water grabbed me and pushed me back in the boat!'
'Cool!' said Colin, just as excitedly. 'It was probably the giant squid, Dennis!'
'Wow!' said Dennis, as though nobody in their wildest dreams could hope for more than being thrown into a storm-tossed, fathoms-deep lake, and pushed out of it again by a giant sea monster."
-"...he was distracted by Professor Sprout showing the class the ugliest plants Harry had ever seen. Indeed, they looked less like plants than thick, black, giant slugs, protruding vertically out of the soil. Each was squirming slightly and had a number of large, shiny swellings upon it, which appeared to be full of liquid.
'Bubotubers,' Professor Sprout told them briskly. 'They need squeezing. You will collect the pus-'"
...Squeezing to bubotubers was disgusting, but oddly satisfying. As each swelling was popped, a large amount of thick yellowish-green liquid burst forth, which smelled strongly of petrol...
'This'll keep Madam Pomfrey happy,' said Professor Sprout, stoppering the last bottle with a cork. 'An excellent remedy for the more stubborn forms of acne, bubotuber pus. Should stop students resorting to desperate measures to rid themselves of pimples.'
'Like poor Eloise Midgen,' said Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff, in a hushed voice. 'She tried to curse hers off.'
'Silly girl,' said Professor Sprout, shaking her head. 'But Madam Pomfrey fixed her nose back on in the end.'"
-"'I was saying that Saturn was surely in a position of power in the heavens at the moment of your birth... Your dark hair... your mean stature... tragic losses so young in life... I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born in midwinter?'
'No,' said Harry, 'I was born in July.'"
-"'It is Uranus, my dear,' said Professor Trelawney, peering down at the chart.
'Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?' said Ron."
-"'You know your mother, Malfoy?' said Harry... 'that expression she's got, like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?'"
-"Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret..."
-"'Imagine if Moody turned Snape into a horned toad,' said Ron, his eyes misting over, 'and bounced him all around his dungeon...'"
-"It's S-P-E-W. Stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare."
-"Moody began to beckon students forward in turn and put the Imperius Curse upon them. Harry watched as, one by one, his classmates did the most extraordinary things under its influence. Dean Thomas hopped three times around the room, singing the national anthem. Lavender Brown imitated a squirrel. Neville performed a series of quite astonishing gymnastics he would certainly not have been capable of in his normal state."
-"...during which Neville had accidentally transplanted his own ears onto a cactus."
-"Something large, much larger than a broomstick - or, indeed, a hundred broomsticks - was hurtling across the deep blue sky toward the castlye, growing larger all the time... As the gigantic black shape skimmed over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest and the lights shining from the castle windows hit it, they saw a gigantic, power-blue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, soaring toward them, pulled through the air by a dozen winged horses all palominos, and each the size of an elephant."
-"Will you please inform zis 'Agrid zat ze 'orses drink only single-malt whiskey?"
-"The students from Beauxbatons had chosen seats at the Ravenclaw table."
-"Viktor Krum and his fellow Durmstrang students had settled themselves at the Slytherin table."
-"'Bouillabaisse,' said Hermione.
'Bless you,' said Ron.
'It's French,' said Hermione."
-And many more that I can't fit in my review because of the character limit!

(A) 86% | Extraordinary
Notes: After a steady build, the series hits its stride. Deep and layered, it goes down smooth, never seeming overly complex.

My favorite Harry Potter book!!!