College Article 12: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The Hollow Ending:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
* star out of 5
(F)
Fantasy/Fiction
784 pgs.
*originally written in Aug. 07*
The seventh and last book of the ‘Harry Potter’ series has finally arrived. After ten years of following Harry and our favorite characters we have come to the end of his story. While many are satisfied by the end (albeit sad at the series ending), this reviewer has to be honest in saying that she wasn’t satisfied. This reviewer was very disappointed.
What was expected was something among the scale of ‘Order of the Phoenix’ x10: a dark, detailed story with a brutal, final battle, yet with the heart that filled the first five. But there wasn’t - the last truly satisfying ‘HP’ book for this reviewer was Book 5 - the last two felt rushed and just didn’t deliver what all the others had with such ease…
In this final book the story revolves around Harry trying to find the Horcuxes of Voldemort, the way Dumbledore instructed him to before he died (by now everyone should know Dumbledore was killed) and his eventual final battle with Voldemort.
The story itself is well-written in the sense that it is original in its creation (unlike the mediocrity that is ‘Eragon’ ). But that doesn’t excuse all that is wrong with this book, all that makes it so much less in quality than the first five:
- Plot-holes: aka a writer’s worst enemy. When there are many readers that are confused about what you (the writer) have written (ex: including the “Deathly Hallows” fairytale when it really doesn’t contribute anything essential to the story), that’s usually the first clue you did not plan the story out clearly or thoroughly. It is that kind of lack of planning/drafting that gives the book a rushed feeling. When that happens the “heart” of the book (the most important thing a writer can give their story) is virtually nonexistent.
- Deconstructing Characters: characters that many fans have respected and loved throughout the series, that have each developed their own personality and complexities (very rare in fantasies), have now in the last book been reduced to two-dimensional stereotypes. Many of these characters are either out-of-character (“OOC”) or have had their value as a character (they have been made to seem important to the main plot in the other books) diminished to a mere “cameo appearance”. It’s not the fact that some of these characters are killed off that irritates this reviewer, as much as it’s the pitiable treatment the writer has bestowed upon these characters. She obviously took time and effort to develop them, yet ultimately loses interest in them - it shows in this book.
- Too Much Damn Camping: As much as it is clear the characters were “on the run” and trying not to get caught, it slowed the pace and plot down to an agonizing crawl that took this reviewer completely out of the story and made impatience flare. This reviewer is familiar with reading “tedious” pages of traveling and camping (‘Lord of the Rings’ being a big one but still a favorite). But Rowling cannot pull it off the way Tolkien did, doesn’t have the finesse he did in keeping the reader interested. This brings another major point of disenchantment up - the “Death” motif is being stretched too far.
- “Death” Motif: one would think death had already been expanded on in practically every other book before this one - a main character died in almost all of them. Yes, this was to “show how ruthless Voldemort is” and “how war is” but the way it is carried out by Rowling lacks the eloquence better writers had when writing about death (Tolkien, Pullman, Rice, Le Guin). Thus it becomes, for the lack of a better phrase, overkill. The reader is no longer feeling grief and sadness as much as they are feeling numbness and indifference. It doesn’t produce as much emotion as it should in the end - it is hollow.
If Rowling will be remembered for anything it is of the originality instilled in the ‘Harry Potter’ series/world when originality in fantasy is sorely lacking nowadays. The series is very much worth reading, even if it deserved a far better ending than the one it got.
Bottom Line: It may be a second-rate ending to an excellent series, but in the end, there’s always Harry Potter fanfiction.