NOTE: NO SPOILERS! (Well at least, just a couple of spoilers related to two of the characters - I give a little bit on their characters and what happens to them in the book.)
I've just completed a marathon session of reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (HP7). The book is, in one word, amazing.
I decided I would take my time and read it at leisure, so it took me 15 hours to read 600+ pages, which makes my reading speed 40 pages an hour, or about a minute and and a half per page. In the months leading up to the release of the book, I re-read all the previous books at least once (and the last 3 books at least twice). I also discussed aspects of the series with Klara and discussed various predictions of HP7. I'm glad I did, as it was with a prepared mind that I read this book.
Deathly Hallows is without question the "darkest" book of the series. Whereas there was much lightheartedness in the earlier tomes, this book is the reverse - there is much seriousness puctuated only occasionally by lightheartedness.
The previous 2 books Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince seemed "slow" at the time I read them initially - not much appeared to be happening in spots, and the books seemed to drag. In contrast, the action in Deathly Hallows starts very early and does not stop until the last chapter. It's been a long time since I've wanted to finish a book in one sitting, and I had no problem doing that with this book!
I had heard that JKR said that 2 main characters would die. In fact there are more than two deaths, and depending on how one defines a "main character," the body count is much higher than that. I successfully predicted the death of one of the characters, but I was suprised by the death of others. Some HP fans might be upset by the high body count, but anyone who is familiar with recent history (especially the rise of Nazi Germany - See Coming of the Third Reich and Third Reich In Power 1933 1939 by Richard Evans) can see to what extent ruthless people such as Voldemort and his Death Eaters will go. I can't help but think that JKR's time spent working for Amnesty International must have helped frame Voldemort's rise to power in her stories.
I couldn't help but be amazed by JKR's ability to weave complex but continuous story lines in the series, to throw in new plots and subplots for HP7, and to tie everything up in the conclusion. New materials and new characters appear in this book, and some characters that were present in previous books re-appear, so there is a pleasant combination of old and new.
I was also impressed by the moral and spiritual depth of the book. After reading the previous 6 books, and in discussions with Klara, I couldn't help but wonder how JKR regarded love, courage, death, and the afterlife in this book. I must say that each of these topics is addressed in some measure in the book, but I had hoped to read more of her vision on each of these. (Obviously, I've ignored the fact that this is a book meant for a younger readership!)
HERE BE AMBIGUOUSLY WORDED SPOILERS ===============
Two of the elements I enjoyed the most in the book relate to Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape.
We learn more about Dumbledore in several parts of the book - there was a darker side to Albus than what we knew through the previous 6 books. We learn not only about his fallibility, but of his egotism, his selfishness, his ruthlessness, and his manipulativeness. As a result of this, I was not repelled by Dumbledore's character, but it made him more human and less of the (unreal) kind, gentle, grandfatherly figure from the earlier books.
On the other hand, Severus Snape, who appears to be a villain (and quite nasty in in HP7) redeems himself in Harry's eyes quite late in the book. I had suspected that Snape was not as evil as he appeared, particularly through his actions near the end of HP6, and HP7 fills in gaps in our understanding of Snape's motivation and his internal struggles.
END OF SPOILERS =========================
Perhaps the most important lesson that JKR wishes to teach us is that people are not what they seem, and that people change their philosophies and beliefs over time. Some people, like those mentioned in the spoiler, learn from the error of their ways, but others persist in error or even deepen their error as a result of a desire of power or importance. It's a lesson that should not be lost on us.
I also can't help but feel that JKR have written a series and most particularly this novel, for our times. The rise of Voldemort can be equated to the rise of Al-Qaeda or the early years of Nazism, where a small group of people use intimidation and terror to achieve the goal of instilling fear in the populace, fostering the distrust of their leaders, and culminating in the overthrow of government and seizure of power. This is another lesson for us to learn.
It was an emotional book as well. I cried in many spots, not just when a character died, but when a "point of no return" was reached, for example, when Harry leaves Aunt Petunia's for the last time and their final goodbyes. (This is not really a spoiler since all this really is set up at the end of Book 6.) There are many points like this in the book, and it is all the more poignant when the reader knows that this is happening in the last book of the series. JKR brings an element of finality to the book and the series, not through a single climactic event (although there is one), but through a series of crises scatterered through the book.
This is a great end to a great series. I'm just sad that it's all at an end.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
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