HP7
Wow. I just finished it. I'm going to be tired now at work today...
The parts that gave me the most vivid images were the flashbacks--Dumbledore's adolescence, Snapes's unrequited love--all of them were amazing. I love and understand Dumbledore and Snape so much more (and I spent most of the book chanting "Snape is good" "Snape is good" whenever there was mention of him doing something "evil"). Dumbledore, in his long quest for immortality, was poignantly flawed and actually made mistakes. It was a good departure from the wiser-than-god sage character formula: Dumbledore's plans don't always succeed, but he is an excellent judge of character; his reticence to disclose his past to Harry causes Harry unnecessary pain, but Dumbledore's guilt and suffering over what he has lost enable him to help Harry become the instrument of Voldemort's destruction. This leads me to Harry himself, and how pleasantly surprised I was at the final denouement between Voldemort and Harry, which was a twist I did not expect (perhaps I haven't expected much from J.K. Rowling, and she redeemed herself in my eyes). I'm kind of torn between liking and disliking the epilogue; I thought the last chapter was sufficient to bring the story to a close, but I also liked seeing the characters "grown up" (for I've been rooting for Harry/Ginny and Hermione/Ron since the beginning). There seemed to be some things left open (ie: the ring left in the forest), perhaps for another book to be written later? [This one to be called "Harry Potter and the RETURN of the Deathly Hallows"]
The parts that gave me the most vivid images were the flashbacks--Dumbledore's adolescence, Snapes's unrequited love--all of them were amazing. I love and understand Dumbledore and Snape so much more (and I spent most of the book chanting "Snape is good" "Snape is good" whenever there was mention of him doing something "evil"). Dumbledore, in his long quest for immortality, was poignantly flawed and actually made mistakes. It was a good departure from the wiser-than-god sage character formula: Dumbledore's plans don't always succeed, but he is an excellent judge of character; his reticence to disclose his past to Harry causes Harry unnecessary pain, but Dumbledore's guilt and suffering over what he has lost enable him to help Harry become the instrument of Voldemort's destruction. This leads me to Harry himself, and how pleasantly surprised I was at the final denouement between Voldemort and Harry, which was a twist I did not expect (perhaps I haven't expected much from J.K. Rowling, and she redeemed herself in my eyes). I'm kind of torn between liking and disliking the epilogue; I thought the last chapter was sufficient to bring the story to a close, but I also liked seeing the characters "grown up" (for I've been rooting for Harry/Ginny and Hermione/Ron since the beginning). There seemed to be some things left open (ie: the ring left in the forest), perhaps for another book to be written later? [This one to be called "Harry Potter and the RETURN of the Deathly Hallows"]