My thoughts on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
(Yes, there are spoilers, for those who care...)
Well, after waiting and waiting (quite impatiently, I must add), I finally got to read the last of the Harry Potter series. I spent about an 8-hour stretch reading it on Saturday when it came out, finishing about 10:30 p.m. On the whole I'm quite pleased with it.
What I liked - It was a good journey, despite some stretches of tedium for Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I thought the characters developed well. One thing I think is very good about Rowling's writing is that, despite creating a traditional epic Good vs. Evil battle, her characters are just as real as real people. That is to say, they are not entirely good, or entirely bad (with the possible exception of Voldemort). For instance, Snape, while on the "good side" is a basically unlikable person, and Harry's father (and friends), whom Harry reveres, have been revealed to have been, while intelligent and clever, what Ron would call "gits" in their youths. The Malfoys, on the other hand, while on the "bad side" are still cast as humans who, in the end, care more about each other (their family) than gaining the Dark Lord's favor. Dumbledore himself is revealed in the book to have failings. Even Harry, in his rise to adulthood and victory, is not perfect. I had a fairly extended discussion with some of my family about Harry's using the cruciatus curse in book 7. While I was as taken aback by it as they were, it did seem in character, as he's tried it several times, and it seems one of his main character flaws is being unable or unwilling to control his anger. (E.g. lashing out at friends who have nothing to do with his problems, a lá OOTP.)
I was also pleased to see Snape redeemed in some fashion. Not that he's particularly huggable, but I had a hard time facing that I'd been trying to convince myself for 5 1/2 books that he was trying to help destroy Voldemort and then he's really not. While I wouldn't say he's necesarrily a role model, he did probably have the hardest job in the Order, and had to work harder than the others to control his natural leanings toward dark magic.
Also, I was very glad that Neville got an important job.
Finally, I liked that Harry finished off Voldemort without using the killing curse, but in a non-Disneyfied way. (By Disneyfied, I mean how in most Disney movies, the bad guy somehow conveniently gets himself killed without involving the good guy.)
What I didn't like - Not a lot, on first reading, anyway. It was sad that Lupin and Tonks died, and Dobby, but it would have felt very saccharine and fake to me had their been this massive rebellion and no one died, or lots of people died, but conveniently, no one the reader is attached to.
The one thing I really felt I missed was Ginny. After thinking about it, it made literary sense to keep the "quest" to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who'd been together for the whole series, and logically Ginny couldn't have come along because she would have had the trace on her....but she's also very important to Harry and quite logically had some inside knowledge after being possessed by Voldemort. It was kind of disappointing to see so little of her.
In the end - I found it a good book, with some good laughs all the way through. (When I was 2/3 or maybe 3/4 of the way through, I laughed out loud at something, and Jeff, also reading, commented that it was encouraging that there were still things to laugh at that far along.) It was also very emotional - I cried when I realized that Harry had to die and couldn't figure any way he would be able to "resurrect" himself without seeming stupid (which, amazingly, it didn't) - that was also right after I read Lupin was dead, so it was pretty intense. Funny how I never cry at movies, but a really engaging book can make me cry....but I digress. All in all, I found it a satisfying end to the series. Now I'm on my second time through, so I can read less hurriedly!
Ah, yes,
Favorite quotes - "...he can move faster than Severus Snape confronted with shampoo..."
"He's nuttier than a heap of squirrel poo."
(Yes, there are spoilers, for those who care...)
Well, after waiting and waiting (quite impatiently, I must add), I finally got to read the last of the Harry Potter series. I spent about an 8-hour stretch reading it on Saturday when it came out, finishing about 10:30 p.m. On the whole I'm quite pleased with it.
What I liked - It was a good journey, despite some stretches of tedium for Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I thought the characters developed well. One thing I think is very good about Rowling's writing is that, despite creating a traditional epic Good vs. Evil battle, her characters are just as real as real people. That is to say, they are not entirely good, or entirely bad (with the possible exception of Voldemort). For instance, Snape, while on the "good side" is a basically unlikable person, and Harry's father (and friends), whom Harry reveres, have been revealed to have been, while intelligent and clever, what Ron would call "gits" in their youths. The Malfoys, on the other hand, while on the "bad side" are still cast as humans who, in the end, care more about each other (their family) than gaining the Dark Lord's favor. Dumbledore himself is revealed in the book to have failings. Even Harry, in his rise to adulthood and victory, is not perfect. I had a fairly extended discussion with some of my family about Harry's using the cruciatus curse in book 7. While I was as taken aback by it as they were, it did seem in character, as he's tried it several times, and it seems one of his main character flaws is being unable or unwilling to control his anger. (E.g. lashing out at friends who have nothing to do with his problems, a lá OOTP.)
I was also pleased to see Snape redeemed in some fashion. Not that he's particularly huggable, but I had a hard time facing that I'd been trying to convince myself for 5 1/2 books that he was trying to help destroy Voldemort and then he's really not. While I wouldn't say he's necesarrily a role model, he did probably have the hardest job in the Order, and had to work harder than the others to control his natural leanings toward dark magic.
Also, I was very glad that Neville got an important job.
Finally, I liked that Harry finished off Voldemort without using the killing curse, but in a non-Disneyfied way. (By Disneyfied, I mean how in most Disney movies, the bad guy somehow conveniently gets himself killed without involving the good guy.)
What I didn't like - Not a lot, on first reading, anyway. It was sad that Lupin and Tonks died, and Dobby, but it would have felt very saccharine and fake to me had their been this massive rebellion and no one died, or lots of people died, but conveniently, no one the reader is attached to.
The one thing I really felt I missed was Ginny. After thinking about it, it made literary sense to keep the "quest" to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who'd been together for the whole series, and logically Ginny couldn't have come along because she would have had the trace on her....but she's also very important to Harry and quite logically had some inside knowledge after being possessed by Voldemort. It was kind of disappointing to see so little of her.
In the end - I found it a good book, with some good laughs all the way through. (When I was 2/3 or maybe 3/4 of the way through, I laughed out loud at something, and Jeff, also reading, commented that it was encouraging that there were still things to laugh at that far along.) It was also very emotional - I cried when I realized that Harry had to die and couldn't figure any way he would be able to "resurrect" himself without seeming stupid (which, amazingly, it didn't) - that was also right after I read Lupin was dead, so it was pretty intense. Funny how I never cry at movies, but a really engaging book can make me cry....but I digress. All in all, I found it a satisfying end to the series. Now I'm on my second time through, so I can read less hurriedly!
Ah, yes,
Favorite quotes - "...he can move faster than Severus Snape confronted with shampoo..."
"He's nuttier than a heap of squirrel poo."
Labels: book review
posted by mennorose @ 3:28 PM
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