But the last two hundred pages or so are breathtaking in their beauty and perfection. The way Rowling ties together every character arc in such satisfying, yet surprising ways just makes me giddy. The Battle of Hogwarts can't be improved on, in my humble opinion. Especially how Neville runs around attacking Death Eaters with plants in inventive and successful ways. And Mrs. Weasley. I always loved Mrs. Weasley, but she became my hero in this book. She's one of the greatest mothers in literary history. If you know, you know.
I love how the theme of this book is that... you don't have to be perfect to be a hero. And you can be loved even if you have flaws. Which is important, because there are no perfect people. I see so many times these days where people get angry and act all betrayed when they find out someone they've lionized is not perfect. As if anyone ever could be. Sorry, folks, but we live in a fallen world, and not one human being is truly, wholly good in and of themselves. No, not one. Not you, not me, not Harry Potter or Albus Dumbledore or J. K. Rowling. And if you can't accept that, you're dooming yourself to a lifetime of disappointment and rage. Have fun with that.
Anyway. I did it!!! I reread all seven Harry Potter books this year. And I thoroughly enjoyed them :-D I'd say my biggest surprise this time through is how big a fan of Kingsley Shacklebolt I've become. I never really noticed him before, but this time he just kept standing out to me as being particularly full of shiny awesome.
Particularly Good Bits:
"I'd say that it's one short step from 'Wizards first' to 'Purebloods first,' and then to 'Death Eaters,'" replied Kingsley. "We're all human, aren't we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving" (p. 440).
If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-13 for non-gory torture, lots of death, and some scary imagery.
IMO, Rowling's editors got lax with her, either because she got too big for her britches and refused to let them give her any directions, or because they just figured the fans would buy it and rushed it into publishing as soon as she finished it. I think had she had more time to think, she might have changed a few things (such as she's said since that she thinks Hermione and Ron aren't meant for each other; I don't really care about that, but it's worth thinking about).
ReplyDeleteThat being said, yes, this book is long and the first half is a bit of a slog. I think it started getting that way with the Goblet of Fire, since each book subsequently not only got longer, but the writing worsened as well. I think it's book five that has so many incoherent run-on sentences, though she has improved that by the end of the series. And it's a bittersweet ending, though I am still mega ticked about Remus and Tonks. :P
Charity, that is EXACTLY what I think happened. My husband complains about the same thing happening to Tom Clancy. Got super famous and popular, so why bother actually editing them anymore?
DeleteI like Ron and Hermione together. I'm happy it's canon.
I didn't cry over Remus and Tonks this time like I did the first time... or any other deaths, actually. Not even dear Snape. Instead, I kept choking up over the triumphant moments. I think I cried the most when Neville pulled the sword out of the hat. So wonderful.
I read the Harry Potter series for the first and second times this year!! I love these books. Fred Weasley is the best. <33
ReplyDeleteKendra, oh, wow! That is so cool that you read them twice in one year! I LOVE them so much. I'd kind of forgotten how much, as it's been a long time since I read them.
DeleteFred and George are both so cool.
Pretty much love everything about Deathly Hallows, favorite book of the series for me. I've been toying with starting a reread of the series since I started a reread of it last year when I was in the hospital for Covid. But I still need to finish my reread of Lord of the Rings.
ReplyDeleteGeorge, I know a lot of people who love it best of all, so you're not alone there. It's definitely a good series to reread! But not as good as LOTR, so I would finish that one first myself ;-)
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