Joining the real world again

*Spoiler Alert concerning Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*

I went and bought a copy of HP and the Deathly Hallows Saturday afternoon and finished it about an hour ago.
I must say it was the most frustrating, gripping and satisfying book yet. A mostly fitting end to a well loved series.

Frustrating? For Harry and his friends. They couldn’t get a break almost the entire time. They had so many excruciatingly close calls. Oooooo, I was ticked at Harry’s stupidity in saying Voldemort’s name.

Gripping? Think of hearing Hermione scream under the Cruciatus curse and Ron banging the dungeon walls knowing she might be dying and there was nothing he could do.
Think of Harry realizing he must die, a man marked, accepting his fate, not even saying good-bye to those he loved. That trudge toward Voldemort was the seemingly longest most emotion invoking passage I’ve read in a long time. Yup, I was bawling.

Satisfying? Some may think of the twist in the story as being a rip off. A cheap way to keep Potter alive. Maybe it is. I didn’t quite understand it enough to make that call.(must re-read some things) :) I would have been sad but fine with his death, I thought it might be necessary. But I’m satisfied nontheless.
There was no question I wanted Ron and Hermione to both pull through and I was thrilled they did.

And as for Snape. I never really doubted where his loyalties would fall. I didn’t know why they were so deeply embedded however and was very glad Rowling answered that. He was perhaps to me the greatest hero of all. Acting the villain, knowing that the truth might never come to light.

I feel the epilogue was unecessary. I would much rather Rowling have left that out, opening up the possibility of spin offs based on certain characters.

All in all though, I am not disappointed with how the series has ended. Thank you J.K. Rowling for 7 fantastic reads!

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July 23, 2007 | Filed Under Random

Comments

18 Responses to “Joining the real world again”

SingForHim94 @ Real Life on July 23rd, 2007 8:18 pm

So, did Harry actually die? I don’t read the books, I just want to know the ending. Is that bad?
summershine on July 23rd, 2007 8:45 pm

LOL! No, that’s not bad. And since you asked the answer is:
sort of. He is kind of in limbo or something for a bit (one of the parts I need to re-read), but he ultimately returns and lives.
Bob on July 24th, 2007 12:38 am

I’ve seen such mixed reviews. It’s funny how people are reacting so differently to this book.

Nice blog!
kailani on July 25th, 2007 4:17 am

I think I may be the only person on this planet who hasn’t read a single Harry Potter book!
Rodney on July 25th, 2007 10:52 am

Not a bad review, summershine. But I’d like to add my own thoughts.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!!!

I’ll start by saying I liked the book a lot. In fact, I loved almost every aspect of it. But I wasn’t completely satisfied.

My biggest beef was that I wanted to see more of Ginny. She didn’t strike me as the type of girl who would just roll over and let “her man” tell her she couldn’t participate. I was all pumped in HBP when Harry and Ginny hooked up, because I’ve always been attracted to strong women and Ginny exemplifies that attraction. But she not only lost her strength in DH, but she barely played a part, at all. Unforgivable, Rowling. You could have spent on Ginny some of the space that was wasted in the preparations for Fleur and Bill’s wedding.

Then, I would have liked to “see” more of the battle. How do the death eaters react to the mandrakes? Who is heroic (other than Neville)? How do all the secondary characters contribute, using their own strengths?

Then there’s the epilogue. I second another poster’s comment from a different site who called it a “wet fart.” Why don’t we get to grieve over Fred with the Weasleys? Is Snape exonerated publicly? How do Harry and Ginny finally connect, for good? What happens to the Malfoys? Do all the Death Eaters get rounded up? Who is in charge of that? How does the ministry get built back up? Who is involved in that? What type of careers are the characters going to get into?

So many unanswered questions…
summershine on July 25th, 2007 11:14 am

I do agree that many questions remain. Perhaps Rowling felt readers would enjoy it more were it left to the imagination. Perhaps she plans to address some of these questions in a spin off.
In spite of the questions left unanswered I felt it was a satisfying end to the immediate conflict involving Voldemort.
I do agree heartily with you about Ginny. She was such a promising character that I felt should have been involved on a much higher level in the last book. It was disappointing not to see her in action or see many interactions beyond getting snogged, between her, Harry and the other main characters. :)
Brandie on July 25th, 2007 1:43 pm

I really agree with most of what you said!
When Ron walked away from the other 2, I was sooo mad! I couldn’t believe it. I actually closed the book and told dh I wouldn’t read it - of course that lasted all of, oh, 30 seconds maybe LOL
I was also disappointed that Harry didn’t attempt to say good-bye to his friends, but I think he almost had to not do that - for fear they would talk him out of it, want to come with him, or try to think of crazy other ways to handle it all, kwim?
I knew Snape was not bad through the whole series! My sis and I were talking about it a few weeks ago. She disagreed with me and was surprised at his memories in this book!
I was surprised Harry lived though. I was fully prepared for him to die, although my guess is knowing so many kids were reading the books, it was nice to avoid his death.

The epilogue … to many people to keep track of frankly ( I kept getting confused on who was who and what child belonged to what) and felt sort of like fluff at the end of the series - you know the whole they get married and live happily ever after blah blah blah stuff. I think JK did it though to eliminate any more stories coming out. She was adamant that this would be the last book in the series and so I think this was her way of saying the books are done. Harry lived. He got married. He had kids. And life in the witching and muggle world goes on as normal ….

Just my 2 cents though =)
Sharda on July 25th, 2007 4:57 pm

My 2c on the widely criticized epilogue: It was cheesy but I think the whole point was for the final line from Harry to Albus Severus- underlining Harry’s new found respect and admiration for Snape and a fairy-tale moral: you can be in Slytherin house and be a decent person.
Oh- and of course to quell book 8 rumours!!! :o(
Robin on July 25th, 2007 11:27 pm

Ive read it just now……..

How does Harry actually come back? He may be a horcrux, but as we’ve been told……you cant come back from the dead unless youve had a horcrux made from a piece of your soul……and Harry has never made a horcrux of himself.
Robin on July 25th, 2007 11:28 pm

oh yeah, and she left the epilouge on a great note to make tons and tons of harry potter cartoons, and im sure there will be some in the future. ill dread the day it happens too. J.k is an astounding writer, and has done wonders for the world of childrens learning and reading, just as her (and our) character Harry has done wonders for the magical world.
summershine on July 26th, 2007 8:15 am

When Harry went to die, he already had two of the deathly hallows. Then he opened the snitch and that gave him the last one. According to the legend, the owner of those three was the master of death. They didn’t keep him from dying but when he “died” he had the choice to return.
And are you serious about Harry cartoons?!?! Oh gosh I hope they don’t do that.
gatortrades on July 26th, 2007 9:12 am

Harry didn’t cheat death by having all three of the Hallows. He dropped the Resurrection Stone before he stepped into the clearing to face Voldemort. At that point he only had the wand and the cloak. (Though apparently he was master of death during his walk through the woods, and maybe that also had something to do with the dementors leaving him alone.)

The reason he didn’t die (or technically he had the choice to stay alive) is that Voldemort used some of Harry’s blood to bring himself back to a physical form at the end of Book 4. This bound part of Harry’s soul onto Voldemort’s, just as part of Voldemort’s was on Harry’s from the night his parents died. When Harry marched willingly to his death, the part of Voldemort’s soul on him was destroyed, but since Harry still had part of his soul alive in Voldemort, he didn’t have to be dead.

I had to re-read the conversation with Dumbledore twice to understand. Sorry if that was not clear. But I completely agree that the epilogue was a little underdeveloped. It should have been in much more detail so we can get a clear picture of how his world turned out. All in all, a great series of books that I want my kids to read someday.
summershine on July 26th, 2007 9:54 am

I wondered as I wrote that if I was remembering correctly. I forgot he dropped the stone. Still need to re-read.
Your explanation clears things up about why he didn’t die wonderfully!
River on July 26th, 2007 2:34 pm

I thought the book was fantastic, and the entire series as well. I cried my eyes out…as much for the death of certain characters as for the conclusion of the series.
Rowling has always irritated me with a few minor points. If ever a character is surprised or shocked, he/she will invariably spill Butterbeer down their chest, or fall off their chair in shock. This seems a bit cartoonish…not in keeping with the tone of the story. And if the characters are annoyed or angry, they make their remarks through “gritted teeth.” Does anyone really do that?
Why is a big deal made by Harry, Ron and Hermione that NOBODY has ever seen through the invisibility cloak? Mad-Eye has always been able to see through it.
summershine on July 26th, 2007 3:35 pm

You raise an interesting question about Mad-eye Moody and the cloak. Here is a response to someone asking that same question over at theleakylounge.com:

This is just my opinion, and it also goes back to question of how anyone could “win” the unbeatable Elder Wand, but the stories about what the Hallows can do are just that - stories. Lots of legends have sprung up around these mythical items, attributing more power to them than they really had. The Cloak doesn’t make you invisible to everything, the stone doesn’t truly bring people back from the dead, and the wand can be beaten.
pepper on August 8th, 2007 11:55 am

One thing is still unclear to me…. when did Draco win the wand from Dumbledore and how is it that Harry is the true master of the wand?

Otherwise I simply LOVED the book - the part revealing Snape’s memories was FANTASTIC
summershine on August 8th, 2007 1:16 pm

Draco became master of the wand when he used expelliarmus to get it out of Dumbledore’s hands in book five.
And in book six, Harry used Expelliarmus to take it from Draco.
There may have been some other switches in between there but I know it mostly worked that way.

And I agree, seeing Snape’s memories unfold was an amazing feeling.
maria on August 9th, 2007 4:16 am

draco owned the wand when he disarmed DD in half blood prince,chap LIGHTENING STRUCK TOWER n harry won it in part seven similarly by disarming draco.

u need to reread the books I SUJJEST!

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