Deathly Hallows
Late as usual, because I like to take my time, I finally finished reading the Deathly Hallows and I’m ready to comment on it.
In general, it was a very good book, in terms of writing and my personal satisfaction, although I do have some serious issues with the epilogue.
It was much better written, and more satisfactory as a story than HBP. Of course, HBP was a crapfest where practically nothing happened until the very end. Deathly Hallows has the necessary amount of backstory, and the rest is action.
The first half of the book is a bit irritating, though. Harry is quite an obsessive person, and his obsessions are weary and frustrating for a reader who was expecting action, decision, and revelations of truth. On the other hand, the story is realistic in this: how do three teenaged, inexperienced wizards, fare up against a large, organized group of adult, skilled wizards? They basically stumble through it all, only just surviving by sheer luck.
However, as Harry discovers more and more truths, and takes the decision to go after the Horcruxes, the plot advances rapidly and I just couldn't put down the book during the last chapters.
I really loved those last chapters of the book. You see, I was a bit afraid of how Rowling could get her characters out of the mess she'd put them in: how were they going to find and destroy the Horcruxes, especially once they lost the sword? How are they ever going to kill Voldemort? And most importantly, I was somehow terrified by the idea that Ron or Hermione would die. So all in all I was relieved at the solution Rowling came up with: it was coherent, it had force, it was original, and it worked.
But the bit about the wands didn't come clear enough. You can more or less understand how wands can pass from one master to another, but then how could the elder wand possibly know its master had changed? This solution was a bit forced, probably because Rowling couldn’t think of anything better.
Of course, the book in general is a bloodbath, where Rowling basically kills of every character whose death will affect Harry without completely destroying him. The death of Lupin and Tonks seemed too forced to me, thrown at the reader out of the blue. A death scene, even if it had been through the eyes of a different narrator than Harry, would have been a good idea.
And Snape? He’s still my favorite character. There’s not much else I can say about him. I always imagined he had been in love with Lily, and I loved the scenes from his past. It was a nice touch, having a little more canonical background on him. Of course, I would have liked to know a bit more about his ideology: I don’t really think he’d have changed sides only out of love for Lily- some of his ideology must have changed too. You do not suffer the torture and humiliation of Voldemort without having a doubt or two, or indeed, changing your mind completely.
(This is something that has always puzzled me: why do the Bad Guys always treat their minions like scum? And why do those minions keep on working for them in spite of that? You must know that the Bad Guy is ruthless, ambitious and selfish, and whatever he has promised, he/she won’t be willing to share power. Why not then, if you’re going to be killed anyway, fight against him/her?)
I also loved the characterization of Dumbledore. I always knew he was much of a Slytherin, and his backstory, and his manipulation of Harry and Snape (he discovered his “weak” point and exploited it in his favor, told him “we’re doing this for Lily” when he was doing it for another reason entirely) confirm this. He’s such a sly, manipulative bastard, I like him more than ever.
As much as I liked the novel, though, it has something that really enraged me and left me a bit disappointed: the epilogue. Basically, because as an epilogue it lacks the emotion of seeing the future of the characters, and more than that, its values reflect on the whole book, the whole series indeed, making it conservative.
There are many things fans would like to see in an epilogue. Personally, I already knew who would end up married with whom, and that they’d probably have children. I was more interested in knowing what Harry and his friends were doing for a living. After all he went through, I don’t think Harry still wished to become an Auror. So what does he do? Is he a Quidditch player? A professional bum, or what? And if he has children, what are they like? The sketchy characters presented in the epilogue couldn’t be separated, in my mind’s eye, from the images of their namesakes, Harry’s parents.
Her choice of epilogue tells us something of Rowling’s intention in the final conclusion of the series. First, the scene itself: the traditional wizarding ritual of escorting your children to the Hogwarts Express- it represents the passing of a generation to the next, and more worryingly, the passing of the same values of the previous generation to the next. I’m talking about the conservative values of the House system.
When you think about it, the House system of Hogwarts is too impractical, even dangerous. In theory, you get Sorted with people with the same affinities / characteristics as you do, so you can improve on those characteristics with the help of people like you. But, as the book itself proves, people are not defined by a single, simple characteristic as the House they belong to: Dumbledore is as cunning, ambitious and cold-hearted as a Slytherin, perhaps even more than the average Slytherin; Snape is acknowledged as being “one of the bravest men” Harry knew, in spite of belonging to Slytherin; Hermione is more intelligent and bookish than any Ravenclaw, and she’s in Gryffindor, etc.
Wouldn’t it be more constructive to make Houses out of people with different characteristics? That way, impulsive people would learn to be prudent, cunning people would learn that it’s worth it to be loyal to those who love you, and the traits of potential Dark Wizards would be evened up with “nobler” traits. In short, you’d learn from different people, and all you characteristics and abilities would be reinforced, not just those of the House you’re Sorted into. As an ironic, parodic list said, “Why put all the Evil Wizards together in a single House so they can conspire against you?” The divide of those in Slytherin from the rest of the school is TOTALLY EVIDENT when all Slytherins decide not to fight in the battle of Hogwarts. EVERYBODY SAW IT. So why don’t they do anything about it?
See, that’s just what gets to me. After all that happened, after all the people intermingle in the tables after the battle of Hogwarts, everything just goes back to the way it was before. No-one questions how and why Voldemort came to power, and what they can do to prevent it from happening again.
And after NINETEEN LONG YEARS, the House system still continues to divide Wizarding society. Slytherins are still considered the bad ones, the protagonists, even though they have reached a mutual truce with the Malfoys, instill in their children the sense of competitiveness and dislike for Malfoy’s son. Nothing important has changed, it seems. The old order is re-established, with no-one to question it again. Voldemort was going to change Hogwarts! It was a dictatorship-like change, of course, but at least it was a change, a questioning of the system.
And urgh, the last words are horribly, idiotically bland. “All is well”. The trademark phrase of conservatives everywhere. Of course all is not well. It never is.
I’m not saying the books should have been anarchist or socialist or whatever. All I’m saying is, the book would have been much, much better if the epilogue had not been included.
(At least we can write fanfic in which Harry’s son, named after two proud Slytherins -we’ve learned that Dumbledore was really a Slytherin at heart, haven’t we?- ends up in that House.)
In general, it was a very good book, in terms of writing and my personal satisfaction, although I do have some serious issues with the epilogue.
It was much better written, and more satisfactory as a story than HBP. Of course, HBP was a crapfest where practically nothing happened until the very end. Deathly Hallows has the necessary amount of backstory, and the rest is action.
The first half of the book is a bit irritating, though. Harry is quite an obsessive person, and his obsessions are weary and frustrating for a reader who was expecting action, decision, and revelations of truth. On the other hand, the story is realistic in this: how do three teenaged, inexperienced wizards, fare up against a large, organized group of adult, skilled wizards? They basically stumble through it all, only just surviving by sheer luck.
However, as Harry discovers more and more truths, and takes the decision to go after the Horcruxes, the plot advances rapidly and I just couldn't put down the book during the last chapters.
I really loved those last chapters of the book. You see, I was a bit afraid of how Rowling could get her characters out of the mess she'd put them in: how were they going to find and destroy the Horcruxes, especially once they lost the sword? How are they ever going to kill Voldemort? And most importantly, I was somehow terrified by the idea that Ron or Hermione would die. So all in all I was relieved at the solution Rowling came up with: it was coherent, it had force, it was original, and it worked.
But the bit about the wands didn't come clear enough. You can more or less understand how wands can pass from one master to another, but then how could the elder wand possibly know its master had changed? This solution was a bit forced, probably because Rowling couldn’t think of anything better.
Of course, the book in general is a bloodbath, where Rowling basically kills of every character whose death will affect Harry without completely destroying him. The death of Lupin and Tonks seemed too forced to me, thrown at the reader out of the blue. A death scene, even if it had been through the eyes of a different narrator than Harry, would have been a good idea.
And Snape? He’s still my favorite character. There’s not much else I can say about him. I always imagined he had been in love with Lily, and I loved the scenes from his past. It was a nice touch, having a little more canonical background on him. Of course, I would have liked to know a bit more about his ideology: I don’t really think he’d have changed sides only out of love for Lily- some of his ideology must have changed too. You do not suffer the torture and humiliation of Voldemort without having a doubt or two, or indeed, changing your mind completely.
(This is something that has always puzzled me: why do the Bad Guys always treat their minions like scum? And why do those minions keep on working for them in spite of that? You must know that the Bad Guy is ruthless, ambitious and selfish, and whatever he has promised, he/she won’t be willing to share power. Why not then, if you’re going to be killed anyway, fight against him/her?)
I also loved the characterization of Dumbledore. I always knew he was much of a Slytherin, and his backstory, and his manipulation of Harry and Snape (he discovered his “weak” point and exploited it in his favor, told him “we’re doing this for Lily” when he was doing it for another reason entirely) confirm this. He’s such a sly, manipulative bastard, I like him more than ever.
As much as I liked the novel, though, it has something that really enraged me and left me a bit disappointed: the epilogue. Basically, because as an epilogue it lacks the emotion of seeing the future of the characters, and more than that, its values reflect on the whole book, the whole series indeed, making it conservative.
There are many things fans would like to see in an epilogue. Personally, I already knew who would end up married with whom, and that they’d probably have children. I was more interested in knowing what Harry and his friends were doing for a living. After all he went through, I don’t think Harry still wished to become an Auror. So what does he do? Is he a Quidditch player? A professional bum, or what? And if he has children, what are they like? The sketchy characters presented in the epilogue couldn’t be separated, in my mind’s eye, from the images of their namesakes, Harry’s parents.
Her choice of epilogue tells us something of Rowling’s intention in the final conclusion of the series. First, the scene itself: the traditional wizarding ritual of escorting your children to the Hogwarts Express- it represents the passing of a generation to the next, and more worryingly, the passing of the same values of the previous generation to the next. I’m talking about the conservative values of the House system.
When you think about it, the House system of Hogwarts is too impractical, even dangerous. In theory, you get Sorted with people with the same affinities / characteristics as you do, so you can improve on those characteristics with the help of people like you. But, as the book itself proves, people are not defined by a single, simple characteristic as the House they belong to: Dumbledore is as cunning, ambitious and cold-hearted as a Slytherin, perhaps even more than the average Slytherin; Snape is acknowledged as being “one of the bravest men” Harry knew, in spite of belonging to Slytherin; Hermione is more intelligent and bookish than any Ravenclaw, and she’s in Gryffindor, etc.
Wouldn’t it be more constructive to make Houses out of people with different characteristics? That way, impulsive people would learn to be prudent, cunning people would learn that it’s worth it to be loyal to those who love you, and the traits of potential Dark Wizards would be evened up with “nobler” traits. In short, you’d learn from different people, and all you characteristics and abilities would be reinforced, not just those of the House you’re Sorted into. As an ironic, parodic list said, “Why put all the Evil Wizards together in a single House so they can conspire against you?” The divide of those in Slytherin from the rest of the school is TOTALLY EVIDENT when all Slytherins decide not to fight in the battle of Hogwarts. EVERYBODY SAW IT. So why don’t they do anything about it?
See, that’s just what gets to me. After all that happened, after all the people intermingle in the tables after the battle of Hogwarts, everything just goes back to the way it was before. No-one questions how and why Voldemort came to power, and what they can do to prevent it from happening again.
And after NINETEEN LONG YEARS, the House system still continues to divide Wizarding society. Slytherins are still considered the bad ones, the protagonists, even though they have reached a mutual truce with the Malfoys, instill in their children the sense of competitiveness and dislike for Malfoy’s son. Nothing important has changed, it seems. The old order is re-established, with no-one to question it again. Voldemort was going to change Hogwarts! It was a dictatorship-like change, of course, but at least it was a change, a questioning of the system.
And urgh, the last words are horribly, idiotically bland. “All is well”. The trademark phrase of conservatives everywhere. Of course all is not well. It never is.
I’m not saying the books should have been anarchist or socialist or whatever. All I’m saying is, the book would have been much, much better if the epilogue had not been included.
(At least we can write fanfic in which Harry’s son, named after two proud Slytherins -we’ve learned that Dumbledore was really a Slytherin at heart, haven’t we?- ends up in that House.)