Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: first read
So my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows arrived on Saturday afternoon. I read until about 1 AM, then got up at about 6 the next morning and kept reading until I was finished. I couldn't read it critically in the least; this was fan-girl territory from the git-go, and I enjoyed the hell out of it.
Things I loved:
--The Dursleys' departure for protection. I especially was gratified by Dudley and Petunia's behavior.
--The seven Harry imposters.
--Kreacher's entire plotline.
--Tonks and Lupin happy with each other (of which we definitely didn't get to see enough).
--Hermione trying to impersonate Bellatrix . . . badly.
--Harry saving a whole bunch of people in the Ministry as an incidental benefit of botching the Ministry break-in.
--The trip to back to Harry's hometown.
--All the revelations about Dumbledore's past (he wasn't always the good, white wizard!), Snape's past (and What He Did for Love), and Lily's past (and how she tried to include Petunia).
--Luna's father being just as cracked as we expected, but loving his daughter enough to do just about anything to save her.
--Luna, continuing to rock.
--Ron getting his moment in the spotlight.
--All of chapter 34 (which is where I lost it and just cried) . . . and 35.
--Neville coming into his own power and becoming the hero we knew he would be (and the Herbology professor, too).
--McGonagall during the fight for Hogwarts, bloody, her hair streaming behind her, leading the charge of a herd of galloping desks. I love this character and I loved this image!
--Professor Trelawney lobbing crystal balls at the enemy.
--Mrs. Weasley's Ripley moment.
--Aberforth!
--The return of the Room of Requirement Hiding Closet.
--King's Cross Station
--Snape, while not becoming a hero, showing that he was capable of incredible strength of character.
--Draco Malfoy acknowledging Harry in the epilogue in just the way he did.
--The fact that so many elements from prior books played an important part in the conclusion of this book.
Things that made me sad:
--Hedwig's death
--Mad-eye Moody's death
--Not getting to see more of Tonks and Lupin happy together (not getting to see more of them at all)
--Tonks and Lupin's deaths
--Harry burying Dobby
--Fred's death
Things I didn't like (not much, frankly):
--The whole episode at Gringotts. Don't know why, but it made me really impatient.
--The fact that the deaths of Mad-Eye, Lupin and Tonks all happened off screen. I understand why Rowley made such a choice: POV issues, space and time. But how I would have loved to see Mad-Eye fighting to the death! He was such a wonderful, fierce character.
--The wandering around for months went on a little longer than I liked.
--The magical fire in the Room of Requirement. It's something we never heard about before the scene in which it appeared. It felt like a deus ex machina to me. Now, Rowling set up earlier in the book that we'd be seeing kinds of magic we'd never seen before, but this one just felt a little too convenient for me.
Time well spent, I think. I'm probably going to read it again, but I may take my time about it. I've got so many other things to read (including my required reading for Kenya). Overall, I'm quite satisfied. Now I find myself wondering what (if any) books will again create the kind of cultural event that the Potter books have. It's been a wonderful thing to watch and be a part of.
Other stuff I want to journal about soon: the new job, The Prestige which I received as a birthday gift and which I've only just watched, the room switcheroo, and new music I've discovered. It'll all come at some point during my copious spare time....
Things I loved:
--The Dursleys' departure for protection. I especially was gratified by Dudley and Petunia's behavior.
--The seven Harry imposters.
--Kreacher's entire plotline.
--Tonks and Lupin happy with each other (of which we definitely didn't get to see enough).
--Hermione trying to impersonate Bellatrix . . . badly.
--Harry saving a whole bunch of people in the Ministry as an incidental benefit of botching the Ministry break-in.
--The trip to back to Harry's hometown.
--All the revelations about Dumbledore's past (he wasn't always the good, white wizard!), Snape's past (and What He Did for Love), and Lily's past (and how she tried to include Petunia).
--Luna's father being just as cracked as we expected, but loving his daughter enough to do just about anything to save her.
--Luna, continuing to rock.
--Ron getting his moment in the spotlight.
--All of chapter 34 (which is where I lost it and just cried) . . . and 35.
--Neville coming into his own power and becoming the hero we knew he would be (and the Herbology professor, too).
--McGonagall during the fight for Hogwarts, bloody, her hair streaming behind her, leading the charge of a herd of galloping desks. I love this character and I loved this image!
--Professor Trelawney lobbing crystal balls at the enemy.
--Mrs. Weasley's Ripley moment.
--Aberforth!
--The return of the Room of Requirement Hiding Closet.
--King's Cross Station
--Snape, while not becoming a hero, showing that he was capable of incredible strength of character.
--Draco Malfoy acknowledging Harry in the epilogue in just the way he did.
--The fact that so many elements from prior books played an important part in the conclusion of this book.
Things that made me sad:
--Hedwig's death
--Mad-eye Moody's death
--Not getting to see more of Tonks and Lupin happy together (not getting to see more of them at all)
--Tonks and Lupin's deaths
--Harry burying Dobby
--Fred's death
Things I didn't like (not much, frankly):
--The whole episode at Gringotts. Don't know why, but it made me really impatient.
--The fact that the deaths of Mad-Eye, Lupin and Tonks all happened off screen. I understand why Rowley made such a choice: POV issues, space and time. But how I would have loved to see Mad-Eye fighting to the death! He was such a wonderful, fierce character.
--The wandering around for months went on a little longer than I liked.
--The magical fire in the Room of Requirement. It's something we never heard about before the scene in which it appeared. It felt like a deus ex machina to me. Now, Rowling set up earlier in the book that we'd be seeing kinds of magic we'd never seen before, but this one just felt a little too convenient for me.
Time well spent, I think. I'm probably going to read it again, but I may take my time about it. I've got so many other things to read (including my required reading for Kenya). Overall, I'm quite satisfied. Now I find myself wondering what (if any) books will again create the kind of cultural event that the Potter books have. It's been a wonderful thing to watch and be a part of.
Other stuff I want to journal about soon: the new job, The Prestige which I received as a birthday gift and which I've only just watched, the room switcheroo, and new music I've discovered. It'll all come at some point during my copious spare time....