Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

[fenchurch]

Yay! I can finally talk about it! And one thing I can say without spoiling anyone: I think it's the best book of the series -- well-written and well-paced.

Even though I would have loved to know more about what was up with all the various secondary characters, I think the book benefited from just focusing in on Harry, Ron and Hermione. It didn't have the problems of the previous two books (with chapters and chapters that felt extremely skippable and just dragged the story out way too long). I was describing it to lage_nom_ai as being like BtVS Season 7 with 90% fewer Potential Slayers.

For the most part, I got everything I wanted out of the story... I don't feel like I was left hanging on anything and, aside from the epilogue, nothing felt rushed or like JKR was running through a To Do list. I loved how so many of the characters ended up being various shades of grey... Dumbledore was a good guy, but not necessarily good in his methods. Snape was a good guy, but not really a good person. Draco discovered there were things even he thought went too far. Narcissa makes a good choice for good reasons but still isn't a good guy (that was wonderful and somewhat unexpected).

I do think that having so many of the secondary characters off-stage lessened some of the impact of their deaths... I should have felt more when we lost Tonks and Lupin, but Tonks in particular was almost invisible in this book, so it felt like she wasn't really there to begin with. And the introduction at the very end of the series of Dumbledore's family and how important they ended up being to the overall storyline while never really having been mentioned before felt a bit awkward. I guess it's possible JKR had them in mind all along, but the whole backstory came across as having been "added in" retroactively... although there was plenty of room to do so, since we knew almost nothing of Dumbledore's family or background before this.

The big question I have is this: Where did Gryffindor's Sword come from at the end? I mean, I know Neville pulled it out of the Sorting Hat (and wasn't Neville cool upon cool in this book?), but how did it get there after Harry left it with the goblin? Did I miss something?

As for the epilogue... yeah, it was a bit too tidy and sweet, but really... at the end of the day, it's a children's book! And what JKR did with the ending effectively caps off the story and the characters to a point where they don't need to be revisited in the future. She's said she won't be writing any more Harry Potter stories, and with that epilogue it's obvious she meant it. And I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

Comments

[nmissi.livejournal.com]

I'd been wondering that about the sword, too. All I can figure is that poor goblin thinks he's been ripped off by the wizards again.

The deaths of Lupin and Tonks lacked the resonance I'd have liked to see- but I guess the message is that war is hell, people die. And it serves to set Harry up as godfather to another orphan boy. (Who knows? In ten years she might start selling us Teddy Lupin books.)

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

I don't have the book, don't plan on buying it, and I might actually put off reading it until after I've read book 6. (Yes, still on my To Do list.)

But nobody is saying anything about the main frigging event, how the prophecy worked itself out. What happened to Voldy? What happened to Harry? I take it he doesn't die, if it ended sweetly (and Lupin was the one to go). It's just rather interesting to see what fans are saying, but a little frustrating too. :D

Care to spoil me? You can email me if you'd rather.

[tenel.livejournal.com]

missi!

now that i am done, read my posts and let's see if you don't spew. :)

and what is potterdammerung????

[nmissi.livejournal.com]

Hee. Term coined over (I think) on Fandom_Wank for the expected (and now, observed) Deathly Hallows fan mania, and associated events in the book itself. (Fans frothing at the mouth, gibbering in fear and ecstasy, etc. Borrowed from Gotterdammerung, i.e. Twilight of the Gods/Ragnarok.)

Will check posts later, hon. Hafta go take boys to a pokemon tournament and reread in the car. :)

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

Technically, Harry does die... he goes to confront Voldemort knowing full well he'll die, but after he's dead he gets the opportunity to come back. IIRC, there's the implication that his willingness to sacrifice himself ended up giving him (and those of the good guys who were left to fight) extra protection.

Here's where it gets complicated: after the last of the horcruxes was destroyed, Harry went to confront Voldemort, who was using the Elder Wand against the good guys... but it turned out that Harry was the actual rightful owner of the Elder Wand. There was a subplot about how wands choose the owner and that the Elder Wand was passed on strictly by the new owner defeating the old (i.e. taking the wand from the previous owner). Dumbledore had been in possession of it when he died and technically it was Draco who took the wand from him. Then it was buried with Dumbledore and Voldemort had raided the tomb to get the wand, assuming that would make him the rightful owner... but it was really Draco. But Harry had defeated Draco in a fight earlier in Deathly Hallows, taking his regular wand from him... but that also meant that the Elder Wand was now Harry's. So, Harry was able to use the Elder Wand to boost his powers and kill Voldemort... and this time he's really dead, because all the horcruxes were destroyed.

[evilbearhunter.livejournal.com]

I thought Neville pulling the sword out of the Hat showed that 1) he was a true Gryffindor and 2) the sword did rightfully belong to Gryffindor, because he had the power to make it do stuff like that.

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks for explaining it! (Anything about Sirius coming back?)

[bubonicplague.livejournal.com]

It really was the best of the series, wasn't it? Tight writing, very few plot holes, recurrences of previous themes and characters, answers to questions I thought would never be resolved and, despite a slight drag in the middle, excellent pacing. I adored the large amount of backstory (I'm a huge sucker for backstory) and my favorite characters blew me away.

Really I only have minor nitpicks at this point (well, one major one, but Rowling's slight tendency toward anti-feminism in her writing is hardly confined to this book.) The epilogue was...well, bad, but it cracks me up. All around it was excellent, and it was the only book that actually made me cry multiple times. Way to go, JKR!

[shakatany.livejournal.com]

If you really want to be spoiled go to http://community.livejournal.com/spoil_me_dh/325575.html#cutid1

Shakatany

[rosiewook.livejournal.com]

I felt the same way about Remus and Dora. Theirs was the storyline that aggravated me the most. Because we were only getting glimpses of them, it took me a while to be shocked by their deaths.

Surprisingly for me, since I've never been fanatical about the characters, Fred's death just about killed me. Big ol' crocodile tears.

I, too, would've liked a longer epilogue. It was sweet to see Harry sending off his son to Hogwarts. But maybe a going-away dinner with everyone so we could catch up? Who took care of Teddy? What about George? Did he become a multi-millionaire who did his twin proud? I'm assuming Victoire is Bill and Fleur's daughter?

The stuff for fanfic, I suppose.

For all of those quibbles, I thought the story was brilliant. Very different from its predecessors, but necessary and engrossing.

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[missmurchison.livejournal.com]

My guess is the epilogue really was written years ago, and that's why it seemed out of place at the end of that dark story.

I believe the sorting hat had the power to call the sword, no matter where it was, as long as a true Gryffindor needed it. So, yay! for Neville.

I also felt like some characters were shortchanged, but that's inevitable with such a large cast, even in a book this long. At least Snape got his due, without turning him into a saint.

[wildrider.livejournal.com]

Well, Harry was able to pull the sword from the hat the first time - as a True Gryffindor. Just like Neville. No matter what the Goblins say, that sword belongs to Godric Gryffindor, and any true Gryffindor will be able to pull it from the hat when needed.

My only niggling annoyance wasn't Dumbledore's family, but the sudden appearance of "the Trace." I just re-read OotP and HBP, and in both of them it was clear the only reason the Ministry could detect underage magic in Harry's case was because he lived in a Muggle household - that's why he got a warning when Dobby used the Hover Charm. There's a clear exchange of dialogue in HBP saying that they can't trace underage magic in wizarding households, and expect the parents to handle their children in those cases.

Big sadness for Fred, though.

[sabrinanymph.livejournal.com]

It seems to me that the magic of the sword may be that it really does belong to Gryffindor. It can't be bargained with or sold - it's Gryffindor's. It kind of makes you wonder about the tiara, the goblet and so forth. I mean, they had to be destroyed because they were horcruxes... And probably they're generally less useful than the sword.

which actually makes me remember that when I realized that the Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron had been lovers and the Grey Lady was Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter!! Silly side storyline that I just loved.

[lyr]

Yeah, I had the same question about the sword. Maybe the sorting hat can summon it from anywhere.

And I think I should have felt Lupin's death more, given how much I liked him, but it just didn't have quite the impact it might have had.

[redeem147.livejournal.com]

Oh, good. I thought I missed something with the sword.

[pmgoose.livejournal.com]

That's what I was going to say. :)

[pmgoose.livejournal.com]

I agree with you about the epilogue. Yeah, I think Victoire must be Bill and Fleur's daughter.

I found the book as a whole beautifully written. She did a good job of faking us out and making us think she was going to kill Harry off . . . but I'm glad she brought him back. That was cool.