And so we come to the end. Our exams are finished, all homework is turned in and our trunks have magically packed themselves. Of course this also means we finished the final installment in JK Rowlings Harry Potter series.
There is something about Deathly Hallows that just screams final to me. This is appropriate as it is the final book in the series, but still, the finiteness of Harry's world and story is present on every page of page turner. I had to put off starting Deathly Hallows for a day after I finished Half Blood Prince and had an unnecessarily strong reaction to Dumbledores death - but after taking some time I jumped right into Deathly Hallows and tried not to look back to the happy Harry we saw in the early books.
The on thing that has always struck me about Deathly Hallows is how intertwined everything in the series is. Having read Hallows the least I had a hard time pinpointing what happened, but when talking about all thinks Potter with a few friends I paused and tried to remember if some of the facts about Dumbledore I was spouting out were actually in the books or just something Rowling said in passing. I was happy to find that everything I remembered about Dumbledore, as well as some minuet other facts, all appeared in Deathly Hallows.
This book really reaffirms my love for all Weasleys. I love how George reacts to his missing ear, Bills wedding, Ron and his locket drama, Percy's return and of course Mrs. Weasley's surprise killing of Bellatrix. I remember crying during my first reading of Deathly Hallows as Fred died, and couldn't help myself from shedding a few tears again.
The last thing I really want to mention is Snape. If you were a fan back when the books were first being published I'm sure you took part in the "is Snape good or evil" debate. Not only do we get our answer here, but it's delivered in such a way that all of Snape's actions make sense. I was heartbroken over Snapes memories. His relationship with Lily, his penance and his ability to risk his life to honor the woman he always loved.
There is obviously so much more to say about both Deathly Hallows and the series in general, but I think this is a good note to leave this readalong on.
Did you find anything striking in Deathly Hallows? Questions? Complaints? What about the series in generally? Do you still see yourself as the bookish Ravenclaw, or rule defying Gryffindor? Thanks for all who joined in or just lurked in the shadows!
And Lastly. It's July 31st so a Happy Birthday to our favorite fictional Wizard!
3 comments:
I absolutely loved this series with a fierce passion -- I was so amazed at how touching and heartbreaking it was, and how much depth to all of the characters existed. I'm one of those fans that just wishes JK Rowling would start the series, or something similar to it, back up again... I loved the world she created! I'll be heading to the Harry Potter theme park that just opened at Universal -- I live only 2 and 1/2 hours away, so I can't wait!!
I always felt the loss of Hogwarts here. Knowing I wouldn't be going back there - the familiarity of the lessons, Quidditch. It was all over and I felt it very hard. I really, really missed it. I just wanted to be in the safety of the school with Dumbledore as headmaster.
His death... it was sad but in itself if wasn't, if you know what I mean? He was dying anyway, Snape just gave him a painless death. It's just the loss to the school, the world, Harry that really hurt at the end of the 6th book. I got myself into a big tearful mess too - worse then I thought I'd be.
I always believed Snape was on the side of good. It just didn't make sense for him to turn out bad - it would have felt such a waste of a build up. He was ambiguous....but at the same time so obviously "bad" and mean.
I liked the ending a lot better the second time around reading DH but felt more impatient during the middle hanging around the forest. It felt she was just stretching things out to fit the book around the school year - where Harry ends up battling Voldemort at the end of the school year.
Oh my god! I can't believe I missed this! :( I'm rereading the series again, as of tonight. :)
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