Since I last posted, I've read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows twice, led two small group discussions on the book, corresponded with other fans, and watched televised interviews with J. K. Rowling, but I'm still not sure how to write about the seventh book without giving away any of the secrets. However, today (July 31) is Harry's birthday, so it seems a good time to break my long silence and give the review my best shot.
We've known since Book 5 that Harry must duel Voldemort to the death, so the first thing anyone wants to know about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is, of course, "Who dies?" This deceptively simple question is actually quite tricky (not that I'm going to answer it here), but readers should be prepared for the "bloodbath" Rowling promised just before the book was released. There are many more than the two deaths we were led to expect, but there are also surprising compensations, as befits a novel whose twin themes are loss and redemption.
The final book finds Harry preparing to leave Privet Drive, his Muggle home for sixteen years, on his quest to defeat the evil Lord Voldemort, whose Death Eaters have infiltrated the Ministry of Magic and begun a new reign of terror. Although the Order of the Phoenix have rallied around the "Chosen One," Harry is increasingly isolated as the supports he has depended upon are kicked out from under him, one by one. Friends are lost, weapons are broken, and even memories become suspect when a new biography of Dumbledore (penned by the vitriolic Rita Skeeter) shakes Harry's faith in his mentor's wisdom and benevolence. Ron and Hermione urge him to focus on finding and destroying the Horcruxes (while these cursed objects exist, Voldemort cannot be killed), but Harry is distracted by his search for the truth about Dumbledore ... and about himself. How can Harry kill Voldemort without becoming the thing he's fighting against? Can he defend his life without losing his soul?
Despite the ominous prophecy that shadows the hero's every move, Rowling uses her characteristic wit, energy, and lively imagination to make Deathly Hallows as enjoyable as it is dark. She masterfully interweaves a new and compelling plotline with outstanding mysteries from the previous books and deftly reconvenes her dizzying cast of characters. It is particularly gratifying to see the young wizards and witches (not to mention their professors, who are positively awe-inspiring) use every spell and scrap of magical knowledge they've learned at Hogwarts in a gloriously chaotic final examination.
All in all, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an exciting and satisfying ending to a groundbreaking series, and it's hard to imagine a more fitting graduation ceremony.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I am reading the book to my two oldest children and just had to read ahead. (I am a hypocrite. I made them go to bed and spend half the night reading myself.)
Although the book is masterful and an excellent conclusion to the series, I do have one little quibble. In the final battle scence, one of the characters uses profanity. A "good guy" curses at a "bad guy" while energetically entering the battle. This is the sort of thing that invariably brings cheers from a movie audience when it occurs on screen. I hate to fault Rowling because so much of what she writes is so, so good, but I was disappointed to see her using such a cheap trick.
Thanks for your comment, Kathleen. I was also surprised to see a couple of moments in which the "good guy" resorts to banal profanity. I suppose one could argue that the characters are justifiably furious and the words they use are as bad as what they describe, but I share your disappointment. I remembered these scenes vividly (gleefully, in fact), but I'd forgotten the precise language that was used, which suggests that the profanity wasn't necessary to get the point across.
Post a Comment