I love the title of the first chapter
Here we go... after spending four hours in the queue, I got my copy, put in my iPod (it was a good thing, as drunken Muggles on the 14 bus were shouting out spoilers from the back of the book!) and went home. Finished on Saturday at some point...
And my reaction...
The Deathly Hallows. My favourite of the series. This has been JK Rowling at her finest. I feel so satisfied after this book.
I was pleasantly, and then ecstatically, surprised. The darkness! The death! The backstory of Dumbledore and Grindelwald and Snape and Lily and Petunia and I loved it, loved it.
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Some of the moments that stood out for me:
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Aunt Muriel’s comments. Everyone has a family member just like her.
The Lovegoods’ house.
McGonagall leading a charge of enchanted furniture at the final battle.
Harry telling off Lupin.
Luna’s friendship with Mr. Ollivander. She’s such a star.
The Malfoys. First off, can I say GO NARCISSA?? At the end, telling a bald-faced lie to Lord Voldemort that Harry is dead. That was made of awesome. As for the rest… they were just so Malfoy. Somehow it’s always the morally bankrupt that survive these things. I adored how Draco refused to identify Harry, Ron and Hermione outright when they were taken captive. And we got to see the inside of Malfoy Manor and its awesome dungeons.
Dumbledore and Grindelwald (and the fact that Grindelwald was still alive, and in prison). Was not expecting that and the subtext, the implication, the young Dumbledore who was into the Dark Arts and taking over the world… way cool. I always had a feeling Dumbles had a tragic past and I’m glad we got to see it.
The Harry/Voldemort dynamic. I really felt throughout the story that Harry had stopped hating Voldemort, and started pitying him. He was a problem to be taken care of, a human being who had gone too far, but there was not that sense of good vs. evil, black and white, that we saw early in the series. Voldemort felt somehow more human in this (I think this was just the narrative JKR used). Harry also felt more calculating, more Voldemort-ish, and not to mention throwing those Unforgivables like nobody’s business. I mean, the Cruciatus Curse just because someone spit at his teacher? Dude!
Voldemort’s inner circle. Of course, I love any glimpse we get of Voldemort up-close, but it was great that we got to see some key moments from Voldemort’s perspective, and we got to see the workings of the Death Eaters, and there were some Voldie/Bella moments that made me squee. Nagini got her glory too, and I was happy for her, except for what she did to...
SNAPE. To me, he is the true hero of this series. The complexity and the turmoil and the love he held at the end… Snape’s last words (to Harry) completely undid me. I spent the entire next chapter in a haze of tears.
Hermione. What a girl! The Obliviating of her parents was seriously hard-core, and throughout this book she was so on top of the game. It was also cute how her little beaded handbag from the wedding held their stash of war supplies. She is a witch to be reckoned with.
Trio-ness. The dynamic was fabulous and their teamwork remains the foundation of the story (and Harry’s strength within it).
Kreacher! Who’d have thought it? It was adorable how he led the house-elves in a militant revolt with cutlery against the Dark Lord. Hmm…
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Stuff I wasn't so keen on (a much shorter list):
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That Ron didn’t die. I just don’t like Ron, I can’t help it. I felt his death was foreshadowed in just about every book, and then for it not to happen was a bit of a downer.
The Epilogue. I know that a vast number of fandom-ers are going to hate this, and for the same reasons I did, so there’s no point in going into why. I might just take some scissors and cut it out of my ‘well-read’ copy of the book (not my collector's one, of course).
Ginny. I wanted more character development from her, as I think she has lots of potential as a feisty and interesting person, but we only saw her from a distance, and only as Harry’s vague love interest.
Voldemort’s death. It felt anti-climactic and clichéd to me, but I also realise that I read too much fanfiction, and therefore have read waaaay too many versions of the ‘Battle of Hogwarts’ to be at all enthralled by the canon. Not JKR’s fault, more mine.
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I’m still processing it all. I feel there is something important in here, way beyond the end of an amazing series, way beyond even the sense of history and literature and human creativity, but that will take me awhile to identify.
In a side note, the massive launch at Waterstone’s on Piccadilly was WAY FUN, and as my friend and I were dressed up as Bellatrix and Narcissa (respectively) we caught a lot of attention for the Dark Side. Also they were handing out free Innocent smoothies, which made my night. I might post photos soon.