Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7)

by J.K. Rowling

[clementine]

The entire time I read Deathly Hallows, I was painfully aware that this was my first time reading the series and being older than the trio during their final year of adventure. So odd, since the first time I read each book they were older than me by quite a bit, and the last time I read through the series I was the same age as Harry is in DH.

Anyway, now that that little sentimental sidenote is out of the way, here is what I think of DH in a nutshell: good, but not perfect. Of course, JKR had so much to live up to with this one. I do not envy her the position of having to write the highly-anticipated, highly speculated about final book of a wildly popular seven-book series. Seriously, imagine the pressure! I don't think she ever could have written a book that would satisfy everybody.

So, I will get the things I especially disliked out of the way first.

First and foremost, all the camping. It does get more bearable the more I read the book (and this is my third time now), but it's still a lot of goddamn camping. Seriously. I had the same issue with the movie, although at least with the movie you can zone out a bit and appreciate all the breathtaking scenery before you have to get back to death and betrayal and whatnot. But, really. Too much camping. 1/6 of the book is dedicated to camping, and it's not like the camping is PAINFULLY BORING, but it's also not EXCEPTIONALLY EXCITING, and I feel that the final book in what is essentially an adventure fantasy series should probably be PRETTY FUCKING EXCITING.

And, of course, the epilogue. I found myself warming to a bit this time around, mostly because these past few weeks of reading the series have made me incredibly emotionally attached to everyone and I was like "YES I JUST WANT RON AND HERMIONE TO BE HAPPY FOREVER ;_;", but I still stand by the idea that it should have been left out. I get that Jo wanted to leave us on a note of finality, and that she wanted to reinforce that love won over evil and that Voldemort was truly defeated. But, Christ, it's just so sappy.

Okay, so, those two (not entirely minor) grievances aside, DH is pretty damn brilliant. Once they stop with all the camping, the pacing is spot-on, with a lot of action and scary/sad events punctuated by lighter or more expository sections (Harry's questioning of Ollivander, Aberforth's story, Snape's memories, King's Cross). Everything is wrapped up so well, with Jo throwing curveball after curveball at us and tying things together thematically (the fact that Harry is saved by his mother's life at the beginning of his life and by another mother's love for her own son at what he thinks is the end of his life, and how this ties into Voldemort's perceptions and misperceptions of the world).

I also thought it hit all the right notes emotionally. There were some great triumphs, many bittersweet moments, and some that were devastating. (Fred! Lupin! Tonks! I will never forgive Jo for these. I can even accept Dumbledore. But Fred? Two young, new parents? AHHH.) I loved how Ron and Hermione's relationship was shown, with Ron being much more tender towards her right from the offset, and the culmination tying back to SPEW, a conflict which spanned the course of four books. Ugh, whatever, I ship them so much.

One thing I absolutely loved was the look at Dumbledore's darker side, which helped make him seem more human and less like the impossibly perfect trope he had been made out to be earlier. Of course, he does redeem himself with his explanation in King's Cross, so it's not like our perceptions of him are radically changed, but having that bit of contextualization really enriched the story, I think. That's one of the things that I think was truly lacking from the movie.

I am sure most of my ratings are tainted by my strong emotional attachment to and nostalgia towards this series, but, whatever, I love it and am a hardcore fan 4 lyfe.