|
|
Reviews For O Mine Enemy
“O Mine Enemy” is officially in my top two favorite HP fanfics, all because it had a well-thought out plot, slow and believable character development, and all characters felt like they were in character! (The best part in my opinion). Thanks so much for completing your story, this is something I’ll come back to reread a good few times. :)
Author's Response: Thank you! Me too - it was a long process, but so worth it! :)
OME is a wonderful story, in the full sense of the word. This is a story about magic not outside of people, but inside them. Therefore, it seems to me that its epigraph refers not only to Harry, but also to Snape – to Snape even more, because he really is one of those who once «fell», but is able to arise. And I would like to point out some impressive parallels. For example, how Dumbledore and Harry's attitude towards Snape changes over time. «Disgust had somehow turned to tolerance, which turned to a grudging respect, which turned to admiration, which turned to a form of paternal affection that Albus had felt for very few individuals in his long life». «The contempt that had driven their arguments in previous years had given way to a grudging respect… and maybe it wasn’t even quite so grudging anymore». (And what will happen next, we also remember!) The meeting with Snape affected Dumbledore, and the one with Harry, in turn, affected Snape himself: «Albus had always claimed to believe in redemption, but he wasn’t certain he had truly understood the concept until he had met Severus». «I have never truly accepted the concept of choice. One is so often what one was born to be. Or so I thought. Dumbledore insisted otherwise, even Kneader on occasion, but I could not see it. Until you». For me, OME is a story not only about moral rebirth, but also about how a person becomes himself, a kind of novel of formation (or “becoming”? I mean, I'm not sure of an appropriate English term). As Remus said: «Yet you are your own person. You can be proud of what your parents gave you, but you have no obligation to be anyone but yourself». And here is the irony of fate! Snape said about Sirius: «He would have respected your differences in time, seen you as more than your father’s son». Sirius, alas, had little time. But in the finale of the story, this discovery was destined to be made by Snape himself: «You’re not merely Potter anymore, and not only… his son. Hers, yes, but not only hers either. You’re… more.” He gestured with agitated hands. “You’re… you’re you». Over the years, I have often reread this story with great pleasure, although I have lost hope that it will ever be finished. And when I found out that there were new chapters, it was a huge gift! After all, although 2020 was a very sad year for all of us because of the epidemic, but thanks to the OME, I can still find good words for this year. I send from the other side of the globe (from Russia) my heartfelt thanks to the author for this beautiful story. (In which there is no unrealistically fluffy Snape, no Harry "I-hate-you-oh-wait-I-love-you"!) And, of course, I will patiently hope for a sequel. Because now, thanks to OME, I know that we must never lose hope! Thank you very, very much! Author's Response: Wow, thank you so much for the long review and the kind words! I love that you were able to see those parallels within OME, and I also love that you were able to relate that verse to Snape too. One of the things I enjoyed about writing OME is that it is on its surface a story about Harry, but really it's more Snape's story. He's the character that fell the furthest and has more to overcome. He's the character that undergoes the most growth and needs/experiences actual redemption. There just something fun about seeing it through Harry's eyes. :) That little tidbit that Snape tells Harry about Sirius being able to overcome his assumptions and see him for himself, if given enough time, was one of my favorite bits to write, because whether he meant to or not, he really was talking about himself. I do in many ways see Snape's character as Harry's second chance at having a Sirius in his life. Finally Harry can have someone to fill that role that Sirius was supposed to fill but was never quite able to do so. Thank you again for the long and thoughtful review, and I'm so glad that I provided some reading material during that difficult year! Love and blessings from the USA!
Author's Response: Thank you so much! That means the world! :)
You have a brilliant capacity for keeping your readers on the edge of their seats with the inner workings of your Ravenclaw mind. I did not see the twists and turns of the plot coming and more than once thought a beloved character was going to die (Ron! Remus! Even Snape!). My only intuition that turned out to be right was that Other Harry was true. Your story clearly had forethought and intricacy without the labyrinthine chaos of too many unrelated subplots. I am impressed with how later chapters explained earlier chapters’ mysteries, like the sugar plum and mouldy cabbage vision, the ‘unusual creatures’ code (twice!), Ron’s Dual Curse, Voldemort’s schemes regarding relocation from Grimmauld Place… Some of the events were harrowing to read, yet I couldn’t put it down and plowed through it in three days (I will need to revisit the last third of your ‘book’ as I was hooked and no doubt skimmed through it so quickly that I missed many details). It took me several chapters to realise that you were American - which is very well done, seeing as our culture and language use are so deeply engrained it is difficult to isolate regionally used phrases. Things like, we’d probably say ‘like death warmed up’ rather than ‘death warmed over’, and ‘throwing a fit’ rather than ‘conniption’. But you got many details right, such as ‘primary school’ rather than ‘elementary’ and ‘nappies’ rather than ‘diaper’. Probably one of the biggest cultural differences I seemed to have noticed is that British-influenced cultures are far more self-deprecating than their American counterparts, and you handle this fairly well. You create believable characters with personality who don’t function purely as plot devices. Particular Kneader and Hunter. The image of Harry having a casual chat with a snake is heartwarming and I’m thankful he gets an outlet to process some things that he doesn’t want to speak to anyone else about, and Hunter is perceptive and amusing and offers good advice. I am also really glad you didn’t isolate only the relationship between Snape and Harry but included plenty of other vital characters, as well as fun details of the magical world, including Hogwarts. A number of times I laughed out loud at a funny description or a particularly in-character remark. Your development of the theory of the mental arts, particularly occlumency, is impressive and sound enough to satisfy my curiosity. And you offer very logical explanations for phenomenon such as why Snape always flinches at the mention of Voldemort. Finally, the crowning jewel of your ‘book’: reconciliation and redemption and love winning over selfish ambition and evil. You don’t shy away with dealing with hard, hard things. Grief, loss, guilt, bitterness, hatred, resentment, abuse, fear… We all experience these to some degree or other and it can be a strangely healing experience to work through some of them through a work of fiction. As I read the end of Deathly Hallows, I ached that Snape lived such a miserable life of his own choosing. His was a life of bitterness and secrecy and attempted absolution of past wrongs through penance, and I badly wanted him to know forgiveness and love and a second chance at life. But also I could not see how that could ever play out in a realistic way. You achieve the impossible through the measured pace and the circumstances of your ‘book’. What a testament to the power of loving one’s enemies. And thank you, thank you for not killing any major characters. I’m a sucker for happy endings and couldn’t bear to lose them again after what happened in the canon books. Thanks for reading the ramblings of an opinionated Gryffindor. I am grateful for the hours you’ve invested in this work and for picking it up after a ten year hiatus. This is a story I will revisit. I am sorry to hear of the loss of your friend through COVID, and pray that God would comfort and strengthen you all. Author's Response: Wow, thank you so much for the kind words and long review!! It means so much to me that OME meant that much to you. You know, it can be difficult to gauge how somebody else will view your own story, especially knowing that you can't please everyone, so I generally just write what I myself would like to read, then hope for the best. ;) Especially since OME is my first story (so therefore my first attempt at ending a multi-chapter story), I am so happy to hear that you finished the story feeling satisfied! Thank you for the Britishisms! I try my best, but sometimes I get wrapped up in telling the story that I forget to check myself for sounding too American, ha. And then other phrases I simply don't know unless someone tells me. I made up my mind early on that I wasn't going to bother with spelling, but I do try to correct the slang and vocabulary when it is brought to my attention. So I really, REALLY appreciate it when people give me concrete examples to go back and fix - thanks for that! (I'm kind of burnt out on writing at the moment, so for now I made a note of your notes for when I go back to revise after my break.) ;) Harry should have had a pet snake in the books! Just saying. If I could talk to a certain type of animal, I'd be getting one as a pet, stat! And he certainly could have used a little friend to talk to sometimes. I'm glad you liked Hunter and Kneader. :) AND that you appreciated the scope of the story in the emotions and themes it dealt with. It also made me so sad that Snape didn't experience love or redemption in the books, but he truly was a miserable soul...I'm pretty sure he didn't even want it in the end. I'm glad I could write him a different ending. (And yes, I'm a sucker for happy endings too. Honestly, we see enough sadness and depression in the world around us, if I'm reading and writing fanfiction, it's because I want things to work out happily in the end.) Ravenclaws and Gryffindors unite!! Just think of all we could do. ;) Thank you again so much for the review, and I appreciate your prayers, and I hope that you enjoy OME again on a re-read. :)
Author's Response: Thank you so so much!!
Author's Response: Thank you for the review! I'm so so glad you liked it that much and are interested in the sequel! :) :)
Author's Response: I'm so excited you're excited for the sequel! :) It makes my day that you stayed with the story until the end. Thank you for the review!!
It has been a long time and I forget how to request alerts or Pm. I admit that I thought the final chapter was going to be Kneader's POV. I think we need to see Snape able to say and to know he loves Harry. Author's Response: Thank you!! It was a long and amazing journey, for sure! When I post the sequel, I'll definitely post it here and on FF. Most likely on AO3 too, even though I didn't post there until the end of OME. I figure if it's being read by at least one person on each site, then why not? ;) Definitely, I want to get to the point where Snape can say out loud that he loves Harry. I'm hoping it will feel natural enough by sometime during OME2 for him to get there. :) |
|
Powered by eFiction 3.5 |