Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling · 25 July 2007
Even though many of the blogs I regularly read have already posted their reviews of Harry Potter, I decided to review it too.
As Ken over on NethSpace points out, the book deserves a nod based solely on the cultural phenomena it created. He’s already addressed the incredible pressure that this must have put on J.K. Rowling to deliver a work that lived up to the hype, so I won’t readdress it here.
I considered writing an entirely spoiler free review, but ultimately felt that in order to speak about the book more than superficially, I would have to discuss a few things. Spoilers are on the light side, but they are here nonetheless. There are also necessarily spoilers for the previous books, as I make references to the past plot.
At the end of Book 6 (The Half Blood Prince) Dumbledore charges Harry with a mission: find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes. Rowling begins Book 7 (The Deathly Hallows)) with no less of a daunting mission: wrap up a series that has left little mysteries sprinkled throughout its six-book history and satisfy her fans’ rabid curiosity for how these mysteries will turn out.
She begins to do so by drawing on tradition. We greet Harry in the familiar setting of the Dursley’s home, as he is packing in preparation of leaving. Harry is just days away from his 17th birthday, at which point the protective charm over the Dursley’s home will be broken and everyone living there will be in danger. The key difference in this departure is that instead of being escorted safely to Hogwarts to start a new term, Harry is being whisked away to a safe house where he will be protected by one of the members of the Order of the Phoenix. As Harry takes leave of the Dursley family, he (and the reader) say the first of many goodbyes.
The book can be divided into three major segments. The first segment is Harry’s preparation for the quest to find and destroy the Horcruxes, the second is the actual process of the quest, and the third is the final showdown. Though Harry is outside his normal setting of Hogwarts, this is a very similar formula to the one that we’ve become accustomed to in the previous six books. The key difference is that instead of the “quest” of the book being set against the cheery backdrop of school, this book is set against the grim backdrop of war. Instead of Harry being surrounded by supportive friends and teachers, he is basically alone. His sense of isolation is highlighted each time Harry is unable to bring anyone new into his confidence, reminding several people that Dumbledore has instructed him that only Ron and Hermione may be told the truth of his mission.
Rowling’s choice to isolate Harry struck me as a parallel to old stories in which great warriors rode out to the wilderness and prepared themselves for battle via ritual fasting and self-reflection. While this could have led to a boring interlude in the book, it didn’t. Rowling ensured that Harry had just enough contact with the outer world in order to keep the plot advancing, while still giving Harry the space he needed to examine his character. I believe it was this trying isolation that gave Harry the insight needed to make a major decision about which path he would follow in the ultimate goal of defeating Voldemort.
The book felt a bit like the series finale of a popular TV Show. Many, if not all, of the characters of note from the previous books made appearances. As they popped in, or were mentioned in passing, I couldn’t help getting the “Let’s see what so-and-so is up to now!” feeling. In some cases (Dolores Umbridge) this worked nicely with the plot. In other cases (Stan Shunpike) I felt it was a somewhat cumbersome attempt to get everyone into the story. In one notable case (Percy Weasly) I felt that Rowling missed the mark and didn’t provide the proper background for the end of his character development. I think in this case, the pressure to provide a conclusive ending and to address all the characters that fans have come to love may have influenced her decision to structure the book as she did.
After all, we have no reason to believe there will ever be another book set in the Potterverse, so we’re not only saying goodbye to the characters that die in the book, we’re saying goodbye to the ones that live too. Despite Rowling’s attempting to give the reader a final glimpse of everyone before the exited the story forever, there were many questions left unanswered at the end of the book.
Rowling does, however, address all the big questions. The showdown between Harry and Voldemort is conclusive, and we get a very detailed and satisfying answer to the question of whether Snape is good or evil . (For the record, my sister predicted Snape’s story spot on, including all his motivations and one of the key scenes that should have tipped the reader off).
The epilogue must have been very challenging to write. After the final showdown, I was left with so many questions, namely, “What happens now?” The entire focus of the series has been the inevitable battle between Harry and Voldemort. Now that it’s over, the wizarding world needs to adjust to the outcome. After providing a definitive ending to the final battle, Rowling leaves the aftermath basically untouched. I thought that the combination of a conclusive ending with a non-conclusive new beginning was just the right combination for a series of this magnitude. It allows each reader to imagine for themselves what will happen next in the Potterverse. I know I’ll enjoy the speculation.
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Chris · 25 July 2007, 20:11
I was happy that she left the ending open for speculation as well. I think it was best left where she ended it.
I was happy with the book. It wrapped up nicely for me and the big questions I needed answered were answered. Totally forgot about Percy, but I agree with you…she did miss the mark with him. Just sort of popped out of nowhere and it was like “oh, ok…now that everything’s ok again…”
Kudos to your sister, my thoughts on him were right, but I hadn’t yet figured out all the details.
Ah, I’m sad it’s over…but I’m satisfied.
Nymeth · 26 July 2007, 07:22
I had wondered before why Dumbledore insisted that Harry didn’t tell his mission to anyone but Ron and Hermione. It sounded has though things would have been MUCH easier with the help of the whole Order. But reading the book, I came to the same conclusions as you. If he hadn’t been mostly alone, he wouldn’t have had the chance to grow, to mature, to make decisive choices on his own. The isolation was necessary, and she handled it very well.
I liked how the ending left the reader longing for more, desperate to know what else had happened. I think that’s part of the magic – wanting to know more, but realizing you have to say goodbye to this world.
She did say, however, that she’d write a sort of Encyclopaedia in the future, for charity, that would include information that was on her notes about the character, but that had never made it to the actual novels. I look forward to that!
Kim · 26 July 2007, 19:37
Chris – I was very satisfied with the ending as well. And I’m sad too, but Rowling did leave the door open for another set of books about the next generation of Hogwarts kids. Perhaps in a decade or so (when she’s has some time to sleep, lol) she’ll think about revisiting things.
Nymeth – The encyclopedia could be interesting. I’ve read a lot of series, but never the associated “reference materials” for them. If it comes out, that could be a new experience for me :)
Jen · 26 July 2007, 21:27
Mwahahahaha…. I am so vindicated! I even got Reglus (R.A.B.) right! I couldn’t resist gloating considering I had to spend 6 hours with you after finishing the book and not mention a single thing.
I think you’re right. There will eventually be a second series about the next generation. I think she’ll deal with the fall out in that series. It would have seemed to anticlimatic in this book.
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