Sunday, July 22, 2007

The Deathly Hallows

I finished HP and the Deathly Hallows at 3am this morning but I was too tired to post anything before grabbing some Zs. I was very happy with the book overall and you can read more details (and spoilers) in the comments...

posted by Unknown at 9:04 AM

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1 comment:

  1. Unknown7/22/07, 11:01 AM

    CAUTION: SPOILER ALERT
    Read only if you have read Deathly Hallows
    or do not plan to
    or don't care if you know who dies...

    I spent the whole book expecting a tragic ending so the happy one (even before the epilogue) rather shocked me a bit. I really expected one of the trio to die (and I don't count Harry's visit to King's Cross with Dumbledore as dying) so I was on the edge of my chaise a few times for Ron and Hermione.

    I'm glad that Snape turned out to be friend (not foe) but it would've been nice for him to have some screen time with Harry other than his dying breath. I also found the lack of reaction by the Order members to Harry's revelations to Voldy about Snape a bit of an oversight. I thought at least someone would say, "Harry, what are you talking about? You're mad!" I guess they were just too happy Voldy was vanquished to care about Snape. After knowing he was on the side of light all along, I wondered why he couldn't have found some way of working with McGonagall and I felt bad for the Heads' ejection of him from the castle. Though a bat animagus was quite fitting and even humorous.

    Wasn't Neville awesome in DH? I have to say the scene when the trio enter the Room of Requirement with Neville has to be one of the best. Hope had not yet died at Hogwarts. And didn't we all know the final battle would have to happen there? But how did Neville get the sword?

    I found all the wand theory to be confusing at times (maybe due to lack of sleep) but I liked it. I also liked that Harry got his old wand back at the end. It's interesting that Draco's wand was compatible with Harry (or am I reading too much into that? maybe it was just that he defeated him and took the wand and that made it compatible?)

    Awhile ago I read a comment by Jo that she made before the release of Book 5 where she was afraid fans were getting a bit too fond of Draco (book 6 was a bit hard on him). It makes me wonder if she was influenced by that while writing DH. While I admit to being a Draco fan anyway, I found him rather sympathetic and sad. To have Harry save him in the Room of Hidden Things was quite surprising though not in the sense of Harry's personality. I just didn't expect Draco (or any of the Malfoys really) to survive to the end.

    Again Dobby played an important role and, while his appearance in the book was short, it was highly pivotal for Harry. I liked how they dressed him in lots of clothes before burying him. Where did Ron get replacement shoes? I'm assuming Bill.

    Did you notice that no one destroyed more than one Horcrux? (Diary=Harry, Ring=Albus, Locket=Ron, Cup=Hermione, Diadem=Crabbe?, Nagini=Neville, Harry=Voldemort) Did you like that Harry was a Horcrux? I liked that he was one but it was unintentional. I wished that Jo had told us if Harry was still a Parselmouth after his visit to King's Cross. Maybe he lost that ability when the part of Voldemort in him was destroyed.

    This book was almost as much Dumbledore's story as it was Harry's. I've never been a huge fan of Dumbledore so I resonated with Harry's frustration with being left with so little to go on and the discovery of Dumbledore's questionable past. For Harry to find out he was a tool--a sacrifice, really--and to still forgive, made him a true savior.

    Other things I liked:
    * Dudley shaking Harry's hand, now that was unexpected and a nice bit of closure
    * Hermionie's magic bag and that Harry had to Summon things out of it just to find them
    * Saying "Voldemort" could be tracked
    * Kreacher's transformation after a bit of TLC
    * Flushing themselves down the toilet to enter the Ministry (nice bit of symbolism)
    * Harry stunning Umbridge (I want to know what happened to her in the end)
    * Harry burying Mad-Eye's eye after retrieving it from the Ministry
    * Potterwatch and the graffiti at the Potters' house in Godric's Hollow
    * Hermione being "too nice" as Bellatrix
    * Voldemort giving away Hogwarts as the location of the diadem Horcrux
    * Percy finally seeing the light
    * Lupin and Tonks' baby being a Metamorphmagus
    * That Harry's sacrifice protected his friends

    I'm sure I'm missing lots. I'll just have to re-read it, maybe this time a bit more slowly.

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