Almost.
by AC - permalink
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows finally went on sale Saturday, and I'm nerd enough to admit that by Sunday evening I'd finished it. A book review here would be pointless, as this will be the most heavily commented-on novel so far this millennium. But I'll give it the highest praise I think a book so highly anticipated, by myself no less than anyone else, can receive: it works.
SPOILERS START HERE! -- you've been warned
It's a worthwhile end to the saga. And after seven novels, it is a saga, easily transcending childrens' lit, and earning a place in the fantasy pantheon. All the stray plot lines are neatly tied up, and all of our beloved characters' arcs are given satisfying finishes, assuming they survived what can only be described as a bloodbath. By my count, no fewer than ten regular characters are killed off in Deathly Hallows, more than the other six books combined. At a certain point it just became numbing, and I started to question whether the finale could be worth losing so many characters.
SECOND SPOILER WARNING -- stop now, you fool!
Fortunately, it was, though how we got there was a little too calculated for me. I loved Harry's final stand-off with Voldemort, and the inexorable duel between them was awesome, brief though it had to be. But it seems like Harry got off on a technicality, and one that doesn't follow the logic of six books worth of Potter lore. If the Elder Wand really belonged to Harry, then every time anyone successfully disarmed anyone, a wand changed ownership. Harry's wand would have rightfully been Lupin's since year three, for example.
It can be argued that this logic only applies to the Elder Wand, but if that's so, there's no precedent for it, and it isn't expressly laid out anywhere in the book. Still, it's the only explanation that makes sense, and I'm willing to accept it because I love the series so much.
Moving past my quibbles, I'm fucking thrilled at how fully Neville came into his own as the leader of the underground at Hogwarts. My favorite moment was when he pulled Gryffindor's sword out of the Sorting Hat. After all, no matter where the sword is (or which goblin has his hands on it), "Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the hat," and Neville spent his first few years at school worrying that he didn't deserve to be in Gryffindor house at all.
It was also awesome to finally get the Hog's Head barman, who we all suspected to be Aberforth Dumbledore, in on the action. And finally, I was right about Snape. I know a lot of other people have suspected this as well, but I'll say it again. I knew he was a double agent, not a triple agent! He killed Dumbledore at the end of Half-Blood Prince on Dumbledore's orders, and spared Harry's life again and again because he was on Harry's side all along. We didn't know it was because of his love for Lily, and not just his remorse for the Potters' fate, but of course we never believed that completely anyway.
As for the epilogue, I don't have much of a problem with it. As I read Deathly Hallows, I checked in a couple of times with Tasha and Genevieve's liveblogging at the A.V. Club, and neither of them were happy with it. But honestly, I was hoping for something of the sort. If Rowling is sincere about not writing any more novels in the Potter universe, I wanted some sort of look into the main characters' future, and contrite as it may be, she gave it to us. Personally, I thought Harry would end up as a teacher at Hogwarts, if not headmaster, but at least we know Neville is still there, teaching herbology, and he's probably head of Gryffindor house, assuming McGonagall is still headmistress.
I could ramble on forever, but there's no point, really. If you've read this far, you've read the entire series for yourself, and you can draw your own conclusions. But I'm glad that we still have the last two movies to look forward to. Three, in my case, as I won't see Order of the Phoenix until I pick it up on DVD. The movies are only cinematic reimaginings of the books, of course, but that doesn't make them any less valid. As a Tolkien fan who also loves the Rings films, I know how to appreciate both. In a few years, I'll have seven Harry Potter books sitting next to seven Harry Potter DVDs, and I'll be content.
by AC - permalink
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows finally went on sale Saturday, and I'm nerd enough to admit that by Sunday evening I'd finished it. A book review here would be pointless, as this will be the most heavily commented-on novel so far this millennium. But I'll give it the highest praise I think a book so highly anticipated, by myself no less than anyone else, can receive: it works.
SPOILERS START HERE! -- you've been warned
It's a worthwhile end to the saga. And after seven novels, it is a saga, easily transcending childrens' lit, and earning a place in the fantasy pantheon. All the stray plot lines are neatly tied up, and all of our beloved characters' arcs are given satisfying finishes, assuming they survived what can only be described as a bloodbath. By my count, no fewer than ten regular characters are killed off in Deathly Hallows, more than the other six books combined. At a certain point it just became numbing, and I started to question whether the finale could be worth losing so many characters.
SECOND SPOILER WARNING -- stop now, you fool!
Fortunately, it was, though how we got there was a little too calculated for me. I loved Harry's final stand-off with Voldemort, and the inexorable duel between them was awesome, brief though it had to be. But it seems like Harry got off on a technicality, and one that doesn't follow the logic of six books worth of Potter lore. If the Elder Wand really belonged to Harry, then every time anyone successfully disarmed anyone, a wand changed ownership. Harry's wand would have rightfully been Lupin's since year three, for example.
It can be argued that this logic only applies to the Elder Wand, but if that's so, there's no precedent for it, and it isn't expressly laid out anywhere in the book. Still, it's the only explanation that makes sense, and I'm willing to accept it because I love the series so much.
Moving past my quibbles, I'm fucking thrilled at how fully Neville came into his own as the leader of the underground at Hogwarts. My favorite moment was when he pulled Gryffindor's sword out of the Sorting Hat. After all, no matter where the sword is (or which goblin has his hands on it), "Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the hat," and Neville spent his first few years at school worrying that he didn't deserve to be in Gryffindor house at all.
It was also awesome to finally get the Hog's Head barman, who we all suspected to be Aberforth Dumbledore, in on the action. And finally, I was right about Snape. I know a lot of other people have suspected this as well, but I'll say it again. I knew he was a double agent, not a triple agent! He killed Dumbledore at the end of Half-Blood Prince on Dumbledore's orders, and spared Harry's life again and again because he was on Harry's side all along. We didn't know it was because of his love for Lily, and not just his remorse for the Potters' fate, but of course we never believed that completely anyway.
As for the epilogue, I don't have much of a problem with it. As I read Deathly Hallows, I checked in a couple of times with Tasha and Genevieve's liveblogging at the A.V. Club, and neither of them were happy with it. But honestly, I was hoping for something of the sort. If Rowling is sincere about not writing any more novels in the Potter universe, I wanted some sort of look into the main characters' future, and contrite as it may be, she gave it to us. Personally, I thought Harry would end up as a teacher at Hogwarts, if not headmaster, but at least we know Neville is still there, teaching herbology, and he's probably head of Gryffindor house, assuming McGonagall is still headmistress.
I could ramble on forever, but there's no point, really. If you've read this far, you've read the entire series for yourself, and you can draw your own conclusions. But I'm glad that we still have the last two movies to look forward to. Three, in my case, as I won't see Order of the Phoenix until I pick it up on DVD. The movies are only cinematic reimaginings of the books, of course, but that doesn't make them any less valid. As a Tolkien fan who also loves the Rings films, I know how to appreciate both. In a few years, I'll have seven Harry Potter books sitting next to seven Harry Potter DVDs, and I'll be content.
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