Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows
Expect one or several more detailed posts later in the week, but for now, here are some reactions to a first reading. There are of course spoilers
I've been expecting to hate this book for quite awhile now. None of the rumors that I heard, before I actively started avoiding them, weren't doing much to make me feel better about what was coming. I'm happy to say that most of what I was afraid of failed to appear. I actually thought the book was quite good, maybe (though I haven't made a final judgment on this one yet) Rowling's best work.
Of course part of that is how much the story relied on backstory, which as those who read my recent post on HBP know is a huge thing for me. But this book didn't seem to get as bogged down in the backstory as HBP did. There was more forward motion. I thought the characterization was excellent with people growing and changing, but not in bizarrely unnatural ways. I was also pleased that the evolution of Ginny into a super-special girl was apparently halted with Harry realizing feelings for her last year. She was special in this book because she meant a lot to Harry, and because she acted in a completely Gryffindorish manner at school, not because of her fabulous bat-bogey hexes or other extraordinary power. She was also still a child, the only one of the Weasley children who is not of age, and she was kept as safe and as far from the fighting as they (including Harry) were able to keep her. It was nice to finally meet characters we'd only heard of before, I'm particularly thinking of Neville's grandmother here. And to see at least a few people from an entirely new perspective (most notably Dudley).
The story itself was good, not fabulous and not without flaws, but good. It's finally full and open war, and people are dying from almost the first page. I like that the first real loss for Harry is Hedwig, though it was almost unbearably sad. The losses keep coming throughout the book, and it was good that they weren't all people that Harry was close to. For the first time, it really seemed like a world at war. I'm a bit disappointed that Snape's life debt did not come into play at all in his reasons for turning and remaining spy (and especially, protector of Harry Potter), but I actually quite liked the Snape was in love with Lily story. The subtext must have been there before, there were certainly no shortage of shippers, but I never saw it. But it worked for me. It worked really well. And I have to say, that at least some of what Snape gave to Harry was pure kindness on his part. He could have shown Harry enough to make him understand his choice without giving him all of those memories. I'm certain of that.
There were a few things I'm not entirely thrilled with. I felt as if we missed something in the Malfoy storyline. I'm not sure what exactly, it just doesn't feel quite complete somehow. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the Hallows even now. In many ways, they felt like extra weight and complication with very little pay-off. But seriously the thing that I most wanted and did not get, was a house for Dumbledore. I know a lot of people automatically assume he's a Gryffindor or maybe a Ravenclaw, but I've never thought so. He was a secretive, conniving, manipulative old man all of which seems much more Slytherin to me than anything. It also seems rather silly that she wouldn't say. There was so much about Dumbledore's school days, that I expected his house to be mentioned at some point. I'm also not overfond of about 99% of the Epilogue. Can't give a lot of reason other than the fact that I would have liked for us to have been left free to guess where they were in 19 years, rather than to be led by the hand. I suppose we weren't given careers and such for anyone other than Neville, and the pairings were to be expected. Still, the epilogue does ensure that we at least know that none of the mentioned parents are teachers at the school. It also gives us numbers and names of children. The 1% that I did like was when Harry was talking to Albus Severus (what a name) about Snape. That was a good thing.
So, what did I get right. Well, I was on the fence about the Harry as a Horcrux thing. Still not sure how I feel about it. I was almost entirely right about Snape. That feels really good. Except it does mean that he died, very sad. I was sort of right on Draco. I still think he mostly fell into the category of needing saving. His attempts to get into Harry's way were at most ineffectual, and Harry does indeed save him (his life anyway) twice and it could be argued that it was Narcissa's love for her son that saved them all (allowing Harry to choose the moment that he reveals that he is alive). Gotta say, I'm a little weirded out at the idea of a balding Malfoy, though. And I was mostly right about Dumbledore (though I hadn't guessed that whatever caused the hand was slowly killing him. And I was right about McGonagall, of course if I hadn't been I'd be outside slowly tearing hte book apart page by page and burning it. Well, that's all for now. More later.
I've been expecting to hate this book for quite awhile now. None of the rumors that I heard, before I actively started avoiding them, weren't doing much to make me feel better about what was coming. I'm happy to say that most of what I was afraid of failed to appear. I actually thought the book was quite good, maybe (though I haven't made a final judgment on this one yet) Rowling's best work.
Of course part of that is how much the story relied on backstory, which as those who read my recent post on HBP know is a huge thing for me. But this book didn't seem to get as bogged down in the backstory as HBP did. There was more forward motion. I thought the characterization was excellent with people growing and changing, but not in bizarrely unnatural ways. I was also pleased that the evolution of Ginny into a super-special girl was apparently halted with Harry realizing feelings for her last year. She was special in this book because she meant a lot to Harry, and because she acted in a completely Gryffindorish manner at school, not because of her fabulous bat-bogey hexes or other extraordinary power. She was also still a child, the only one of the Weasley children who is not of age, and she was kept as safe and as far from the fighting as they (including Harry) were able to keep her. It was nice to finally meet characters we'd only heard of before, I'm particularly thinking of Neville's grandmother here. And to see at least a few people from an entirely new perspective (most notably Dudley).
The story itself was good, not fabulous and not without flaws, but good. It's finally full and open war, and people are dying from almost the first page. I like that the first real loss for Harry is Hedwig, though it was almost unbearably sad. The losses keep coming throughout the book, and it was good that they weren't all people that Harry was close to. For the first time, it really seemed like a world at war. I'm a bit disappointed that Snape's life debt did not come into play at all in his reasons for turning and remaining spy (and especially, protector of Harry Potter), but I actually quite liked the Snape was in love with Lily story. The subtext must have been there before, there were certainly no shortage of shippers, but I never saw it. But it worked for me. It worked really well. And I have to say, that at least some of what Snape gave to Harry was pure kindness on his part. He could have shown Harry enough to make him understand his choice without giving him all of those memories. I'm certain of that.
There were a few things I'm not entirely thrilled with. I felt as if we missed something in the Malfoy storyline. I'm not sure what exactly, it just doesn't feel quite complete somehow. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the Hallows even now. In many ways, they felt like extra weight and complication with very little pay-off. But seriously the thing that I most wanted and did not get, was a house for Dumbledore. I know a lot of people automatically assume he's a Gryffindor or maybe a Ravenclaw, but I've never thought so. He was a secretive, conniving, manipulative old man all of which seems much more Slytherin to me than anything. It also seems rather silly that she wouldn't say. There was so much about Dumbledore's school days, that I expected his house to be mentioned at some point. I'm also not overfond of about 99% of the Epilogue. Can't give a lot of reason other than the fact that I would have liked for us to have been left free to guess where they were in 19 years, rather than to be led by the hand. I suppose we weren't given careers and such for anyone other than Neville, and the pairings were to be expected. Still, the epilogue does ensure that we at least know that none of the mentioned parents are teachers at the school. It also gives us numbers and names of children. The 1% that I did like was when Harry was talking to Albus Severus (what a name) about Snape. That was a good thing.
So, what did I get right. Well, I was on the fence about the Harry as a Horcrux thing. Still not sure how I feel about it. I was almost entirely right about Snape. That feels really good. Except it does mean that he died, very sad. I was sort of right on Draco. I still think he mostly fell into the category of needing saving. His attempts to get into Harry's way were at most ineffectual, and Harry does indeed save him (his life anyway) twice and it could be argued that it was Narcissa's love for her son that saved them all (allowing Harry to choose the moment that he reveals that he is alive). Gotta say, I'm a little weirded out at the idea of a balding Malfoy, though. And I was mostly right about Dumbledore (though I hadn't guessed that whatever caused the hand was slowly killing him. And I was right about McGonagall, of course if I hadn't been I'd be outside slowly tearing hte book apart page by page and burning it. Well, that's all for now. More later.