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
5 Comments:
At 11:32 AM,
angi said…
I pretty much agree with you. Cried when Harry was walking toward Voldermort, prepared to die, surrounded by the images of mom, dad, Sirius, Lupin. The deaths didn't get to me a lot (just a bit teary), but I think it's because I expected there to be a lot of them, so I was somewhat prepared.
Felt intense on first read-through, but so far the second read through doesn't feel as intense (probably because I know what's coming).
Happy she found a way to bring everyone back (seriously, even Wood?!). Wished we had seen more of Ginny (she's one of my favorites, after all).
Main disappointment lies with the epilogue; I expected and wanted more, but I suppose no matter how much she'd tell us, I'd want to know more.
Good character development, I thought. Even though Harry was finally stepping-up more, he still made some mistakes along the way. Glad Ron got to destroy that horcrux (he was always the one of the three who contributed the least, poor guy). Also loved that Mrs. Weasley finished off Bellatrix... I hadn't even thought of her when discussing who would have the honors.
I'm sure I could say tons more, but this is enough for now :)
At 6:04 PM,
mennorose said…
Yeah, there are some lingering questions that the epilogue didn't clear up, but I think I'm glad she didn't try to explain the minutae of all the characters' lives after leaving Hogwarts. That always seems a bit silly, even if you really want to know. And this way you are freer to imagine what you want. I'm glad Percy came back too, which I didn't write in the entry.
At 10:45 AM,
Jeffrey Stuart Martin said…
Good point about Ginny. Maybe she needs a spin-off series!
(More generally, I never understood the intense suppression of "underage" magic. Why is it so important that talented, able-bodied teenagers have their magic essentially locked up for most of their lives, then when they happen to be 17, the floodgates are suddenly (I would say, randomly) opened? In the Muggle world, teenagers get part-time jobs, but there is no such thing with wizards.)
I didn't mind the three being out in the woods a lot, but I do think it was a little foolish of them to cut themselves off from outside help, especially in the form of outside information. Notice that they didn't accomplish anything unless other people helped them.
I disagree on VMs death not being Disney-esque. Harry, and other good wizards, had already used unforgivable curses. I think it would have been appropriate, in a literary sense, for him to use the killing curse on this evil, barely human wizard. You make a good point that rending his soul would have been bad for Harry, but compare this to Frodo; he suffered the rest of his life due to his selflessness in carrying the evil ring.
At 5:22 AM,
angi said…
JK Rowling has released more details, such as jobs... I'm happier knowing a few more things. If you want to know, go here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19959323/
At 9:31 PM,
mennorose said…
Well, the only "good" wizard we see using an unforgivable curse (excluding Harry here) is McGonagall, who uses the Imperius Curse for a very benign task that doesn't hurt anybody. I think it's a big stretch to use that to say that it's then ok for the good side to use the killing curse, the worst of the three. It's part of not becoming what you believe is evil. Voldemort is so evil you'd want to do anything to stop him, but at some point, you'd start to become evil yourself. Just because I think there are dangerous criminals on the street does not mean I should (or that it would be good for me or society to) hunt them down and machine gun them.
Sidenote: Had a long discussion with L&R about whether Mrs. Weasly used a killing curse on Bellatrix. I don't think she did because there is no evidence it was considered ok, and because it talks about the curse being aimed at her heart, which has always been made a big deal about, so apparently other curses can kill.
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