In the course of rereading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix I felt compelled to write something. I've also submitted this as a review to Amazon.com
This is a very difficult book for me to read. While it does advance the story arc and realistically presents the 15-year-olds, the introduction of the political aspects of society too closely parallels the United States in the early 21st Century. The nightmare of the government manipulating the press and education is all too real already. Ms. Rowling does her Swiftian best holding up the mirror while remaining true to the context in which she's writing.
High Inquisitor Umbridge, the microcosm's John Ashcroft, Tom Ridge, and Alberto Gonzales, frightens and appalls me. Classic Aristotelian Pathos. Brilliant engaging of our emotions.
May we learn something from it.
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