Okay, if you haven’t finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, this isn’t the page for you?it’s going to be full of spoilers. Head over to this page for a review that won’t spoil things for you.
However, if you have finished it, well done. Have some chocolate?it does help. Pull up a chair and let’s talk?
I don’t know what you were expecting, but as always, JKR has managed to confound everyone who tried to guess what was going to happen. And so many loose ends and questions that had been bothering us for ages nicely (and emotionally) tied up.
I’d only just managed to take on the concept of horcruxes so adding the Hallows really blew my mind (not too difficult to do at that early hour on a Saturday). I was very grateful to the Harry Potter Lexicon for working out all the known horcruxes for me and giving a nice clear cheat sheet (actually, I spent a lot of time going there to check out names and places we’d heard before that I was rather fuzzy on). How many of you got them all? I’d had a bet on with someone for ages that Harry was a horcrux, and an unintentional one, so did feel rather smug for that.
Despite having to promise to stay silent on the book’s events, I didn’t manage to remain free of clues. My other half was treated every few chapters to me coming in sadly for a hug and I did sit with tears streaming down my face on a number of occasions?the first being the memorial in Godric’s Hollow (slaps self in head again for not making the connection with Gryffindor), then the blasted woman made me cry for Dobby of all people (it was the clothes that did it) and finally and possibly most profoundly for Fred.
My happy dance around the kitchen provoked a raised eyebrow?one day I’ll be able to explain that it was due to Neville being partly the answer to the prophecy after all (sue me, I do like the idea of the whole series being about the wrong character?).
And how potent a force was love in this final book? Love for your family (stronger even than fear of a Dark Lord), love for your friends, love for your enemies, love for yourself and the sheer power of a selfless love. Important lessons to learn, but presented so deftly. Redemption is possible for all. Learning to trust yourself and know what’s best for you?many of the younger readers are of an age when this may be one of the most important things they’ll come to know. If you’re cruel to someone, the consequences can be more than you imagine. And how strong we can all be when our backs are against the wall, and, probably more importantly, when we stand together.
And boy, you really don’t want to provoke the Weasleys!
For me, there could have been a bit less wandering pointlessly in the wilderness, but I guess Harry had to make that inward journey. And too many revelations were made ‘out of the real world’ (for a better way of putting it), for example Dumbledore explaining all to Harry after he ‘dies’ and learning about Snape and Lily from his mind. I’m also not a big fan of the epilogue?a little too saccharine an end after the huge events of the last few chapters.
But overall, it had everything we could have hoped for and more. Excitement, adventure, romance? A wonderful ending to the tale. But what are we going to do now? Only five months to the film of The Golden Compass, I guess.
Let us know what you think.
