7.30.2007


FYI READERS: The writing between the "++++++++++++++++" indicates SPOILERS! EVERYTHING ELSE is safe for ya!

Believe it or not I was not in line for Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, I did not attend 1 "Potter Party" nor preorder my book on Amazon.com to ensure a Saturday delivery. I nonchalantly reserved a copy on the Tuesday before, and didn't pick up the book until about 3pm in the afternoon. That was about as rational as my actions were, as once I got the book home it was an exercise in obsession in insanity.

31 Hours later (counting 6 hours of sleep I needed from 6am to 12pm), and I was finished with the final chapter in the 7 year story of Harry and the wizarding world he inhabited. Did I cry? Heck yeah I did! Several times throughout the book and the last 4 chapters were interrupted by my tears. And I'll tell you right now - it has a happy ending!! It confirmed things that could only make me happier! But all of this joy was somehow overshadowed that this would be the last time I would read something new about Hogwarts and Snape and Harry and the Weasleys.

How do you scare a Potter fan? More harrowing than the spoilers indicating that Harry dies (which for many of us was a necessary evil for those of us that believed that Harry was a horcrux and must be killed to end Voldemort and his ultimate evil) was the spoiler going around that Ron dies to save Hermione from some horrific torture by Voldemort. Hermione and Ron not being able to end up together in the end was enough to make my stomach turn. This story turned out to be unbelievably false, but nonetheless this is the one I held on to the most because it seemed that someone major of the 3 would have to die, and Ron was most likely as his skills were the least developed.


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There is so much to be said about this book and so much I don't want to say too much about, so let's just get right into it.

==ROCK on Lady Rowling==
+The book's structure is a virtual tour of the prior books and Harry's adventures; starting at Privet Drive, The Burrough, Grimmauld Place, The Ministry of Magic, Gringrotts and Hog's head Tavern are revisited. Of course Hogwarts and The Forbidden Forest are the locale starts at the end (as it should be). Seeing new places like Malfoy Manor, the Lovegood's estate and Godric's Hollow (and what a dramatic visit that is!) are just icing on the cake.

+My boy Snape is rarely seen or heard from firsthand until "The Prince's Tale" (Ch. 33) and this is where we learn the real deal about Severus, what motivates him and why he is more like Harry than the reader could ever have realized. My favorite chapter by far.

+Neville Longbottom is finally able to separate himself from the shadow of Harry in a spectacular fashion and become a hero in his own rite. Congrats to Neville!

+The tying up of loose ends is done quite nicely, with the further revelation that some names (like the "evil wizard Grindelvald") mentioned in passing are more important than could ever be forseen.

+Uber-kudos to Rowling's chapter "King's Cross" (Ch.35) which contains a crying mass that is never identified. Children may be a bit confused by this chapter but I'm glad that Rowling gave the older fan something to ponder and be proud of. The astute reader knows that this is Voldemort's small bit of humanity, the only shred that is still left of the pure evil that Voldemort has become. Dumbledore iterates that there is no hope left for him...and only in the final Chapter (Ch. 36 "The Flaw in the Plan") is this confirmed.

+My favorite part in the book? Harry calling Voldemort "TOM" - the ultimate slap in the face for the all-powerful Dark Lord.

==JEERS for JK==
+Percy's reconciliation and return to the Weasley family is rushed and honestly, barely needed.

+The EPILOGUE? Totally uncalled for. Have Harry give Ginny a hug and a smooch at the end of the last chapter and I think the future would've sealed itself.

+Did Harry really have to lose Hedwig too? Rowling really wanted to drive home that the most important people and things in Harry's life will be destroyed, save for the friends around him that mutate into his family.

==It just HAD to Happen to Harry==
+I'm still a little peeved at Dumbledore. I know that his guesses are almost always right, but even Snape was a little put-off with Dumbledore's final plans. Chapter "King's Cross" may have tied up loose ends and helped Dumbledore's character in the eyes of some fans, but I think I'll remain bitter.

+Quite a lot of deaths took place, the most jarring to me being Fred Weasley. I'm not a twin, but my father is and so the phenomena of twins has always intrigued me. I hope that George is able to use his great humor to get through his brother's death.

+and Dammit!! I (and my sister) WAS RIGHT!!! Harry was a horcrux. You gotta love the confirmation of a theory.
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It has been 8 days since I finished the very final Harry Potter book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and yet the PPD (Post Potter Depression) still lingers. Surely it’s just a book, a fictional story about some silly wizard boy, but the world that JK Rowling created captivated me beyond comprehension of most “muggles.” This was a series that could be enjoyed by child and adult alike, read on a very cursory level or depths plumbed for a higher understand and theme. For generations to come I can see myself pulling out the 7-book set and starting all over again and seeing new details I never caught before. I look forward to these times because in the end that is what will make this series timeless and relative to me.

Till next time Kittlings.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm still trying to figure out why she killed off those that she did. Like what's the point in taking out Tonks, Lupin, Moody and Fred? Shouldn't there be a bigger reason, other than, someone's got to go? And the whole Harry gets to be a godfather thing isn't enough for me.

You pointed out so many things about the story I missed, because I flew through the thing so fast!!! Thanks for the repeat, I needed it!