Cover to Cover: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
Hello, and welcome to this meeting of the Book Stacks Book Club: Cover to Cover. Today we are discussing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling. I’ve given you folks three weeks to get through this tome. Did you make it? I actually had finished the book by the Sunday after it came out. It only took me that long because I had other things to do around the house. I haven’t inhaled a book like that in a while. It…er…smelled good.
I’m sure that by now you know that this book is the last of a seven book series. Do not despair, however! The word on the street is that Ms. Rowling is planning to write a Harry Potter Encyclopedia, as she has all sorts of notes that did not make it into the series. (No, she will not be starting tomorrow. She’d like to spend a little time with her family I should think. Shocking fact though that may be.)
It’s been a long and wild ride since Harry first woke up in his cupboard in book 1. Characters have grown up, some have passed on, and the world has slowly become a darker place. Harry and his friends don’t even go back to school this year.
Okay. Spoiler alert. Proceed at your own risk.
Well, what did *you* think of the book? As is now customary, I would like to begin the discussion with the following question:
1. Did you like the book?
I loved the book. I loved the fact that Snape has been in love with Lily all of this time. I think that the film will cut the long tent travels short. The battle near the end was glorious. Everyone pouring into the room of requirement to join in the fight. Kreacher leading the House Elves into battle. Harry choosing to die for his friends. Neville showing himself to be a true Gryffindor.
I want to go back and re-read the whole series now.
2. Who was your favorite character apart from Harry?
Neville. I’ve been waiting for him to show his true colors this whole time. Apparently all it took was for he, Ginnie, and Luna to be left in charge of the D.A. Wow! Go Neville! (and Neville’s Grandmother.)
3. What part of the book do you want to appear in the film exactly as written?
I must have the scene with Neville facing Voldemort. In pulling the sword out of the burning hat and facing his opponent, Neville shows himself to be a true Gryffindor.
4. Do you see any influences in this book? (from other books, etc.)
Well…the part where Harry goes off to die is a bit…messianic. I’m sure that The Lord of the Rings was in there somewhere, but only because it seems to appear in nearly everything these days.
5. What, if anything, surprised you about this book?
The most surprising thing for me occurred near the very beginning of the book. Dudley Dursley actually had a civil conversation with Harry. He thanked Harry for saving his life and said that he didn’t think that Harry was a waste of space. Not that Vernon and Petunia agreed with him. And that made it all the more surprising. Dudley was thinking for himself. Good show Big D!
Okay, it’s your turn. What did you think?
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The book which we will be discussing next time is Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper. It’s book one in the Dark is Rising series. The film of book 2 is coming out soon, so let’s get prepared. We will be discussing it on August 24, 2007. Please join us for the discussion. (Oh, and I am always accepting suggestions for future selections for Cover to Cover, so feel free to comment your suggestion now. Just remember that if I choose your book you will be expected to participate.)
Cover to Cover, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J. K. Rowling, Over Sea, Under Stone, Susan Cooper, Dark is Rising
August 10th, 2007 at 5:33 pm
SPOILERS ALERT
I think I may actually be the only person alive who was really disappointed in Hallows. I went into the alst book knowing that there would be massive amounts of death–it is a book about war after all. However, I think that most of the deaths in the book were anti-climactic and unnecessary. It was almost as if she wrote them just because she knew there had to be deaths–if that makes any sense at all. Take the deaths of Remus and Tonks for example. I didn’t even realize that they had died at first. I had to go back and reread it when Harry was mourning them. I thought this was particularly annoying because Remus is such an important character in Harry’s life. It’s sad to me that he is reduced to an after-thought of Fred’s death. I just think the book would have been much more effective if she had chosen who to kill a bit more carefully. She had the perfect opportunity to kill Hermione during the torture scene. It would have been tragic and heartbreaking, but also breathtakingly beautiful. I also think that Percy should have been the Weasley to die instead of Fred (or even in addition to him). It would have given him the chance to truly redeem himself to his family if he could have died for one of them.
Another big issue I had was her depiction of the Slytherins. Throughout the series, it has been a main theme to warn children not to judge too quickly by appearances. Then, suddenly, she changes her mind in this book and BAM! They really are evil!! I thought it was unrealistic and really callous. Furthermore, it sends the wrong message about prejudice. It’s like she’s saying “Racism and prejudice are okay as long as the right people are the ones doing it.”
The thing that really kills me though is what she did to Severus. He was my absolute favorite and I knew he was good. I also knew that he would have to die. However, I was hoping she would let him have the hero’s death that he deserved. Instead, she makes him die knowing that everyone still hates him and thinks he is a murderer. That was cruel and unnecessary. Plus, his death is ridiculous. He’s a potions master and he dies from a poisonous snake bite? I just don’t buy that. Even if I did, I think it was a very inappropriate death for someone who deserved–at least once in his life–to have something go right for him.
Anyway, to me it was like she was laughing in the faces of everyone who spent so much time, money, and effort on her series. It’s like she was saying, “Ha! Ha! This is the last book of the series. I no longer need your loyalty so it can suck as much as I feel like making it suck. And there’s nothing anyone can do about it. *insert evil cackling*”
Is that too harsh?
August 11th, 2007 at 10:12 am
1. I really liked this book, and thought it was maybe the best of the series. It certainly didn’t disappoint anyway. It was all about the journey rather than the ending, and I was happy with how the different strands were brought together.
2. Dobby. I found that to be the only sad bit of the book really. He’s been such a great character all the way through, and dying for Harry seemed a fitting end.
3. The chase from Gringotts on the back of the dragon.
4. Lord of the Rings is definitely prevalent throughout. The whole massive journey with a goal us lifetd directly.
5. That none of the 3 main characters died. I thought Ron might perish, partly because I read a spoiler before hand. I also thought Harry might go, and maybe in a way if he had it would have brought more closure to the series.
August 11th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
Wow! Two opposing viewpoints!
Jennifer…well I didn’t feel that way. But I suppose that’s the beauty of a book like this. Everyone perceives it differently.
Dave, I hope that the dragon escape makes it in too. Glad you liked the book.
Thanks for participating folks!
August 15th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
I’m mostly with Jennifer on this one. I felt like Rowling was proceeding quite nicely, then all of the sudden decided, “oh, crap… how to finish?” So much of the seventh book felt like a cop-out, whether Harry not dying (seriously, call him Aslan or give him a cross), Snape’s death, etc, etc.
It just didn’t work, not with how the series had started to develop an almost classical arc. I felt as thought Rowling was on the verge of distinguishing herself as a master of real literature (and not just someone that sold well), but the last a hundred and fifty or two hundred pages simply crashed and burned.
Sorry!
August 16th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
My absolute most favorite chapter was the last…I LOVED knowing that they thrived and went on…and when we found out Harry’s middle son’s name…omg. That made tears pop in my eyes, yet I smiled at the same time. And then Harry said Snape was the bravest man he knew…wow! As you might be able to tell from my blog name name, I always thought Snape was good
Second favorite chapter was The Prince’s Tale. Everything explained, and beautifully so! To think he loved Lily all those long years…oh my poor Severus. On my way to work the Wednesday before the book came out, a deer jumped out of the woods on the opposite side of the road and ran in front of my car…but not so close that I was in danger of hitting her…I thought of it when I found out the doe Patronus was Snape’s!
Third favorite chapter was King’s Cross, when Harry was talking with Dumbledore…yet more questions answered, even some that were raised just within this book!
There was one sentence that Harry said in the 34th chapter: “But he was home. Hogwarts was the first and best home he had known. He and Voldemort and Snape, the abandoned boys, had all found home there…” That was amazing…linking the three of them together.
The theme of this book, the theme of the whole series, in fact, seems to be love, kindness, forgiveness & caring are of the utmost importance.
See…John Lennon wasn’t far off when he said “Love is all you need”.
I’m glad JK Rowling is writing her notes…I’m interested in learning more about Luna! Although she didn’t grab me in the books, I ADORED her in the 5th movie and she’s now one of my favorite characters. Someone called her the anti-Hermione…love it!
August 16th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Matt, you are officially my present and eternal hero. I totally thought I was the only one who didn’t care for it. I think the biggest problem with it is that she tried to introduce too many new characters (Mr. Lovegood, Grindewald, etc) and new plotlines (the whole Deathly Hallows thing) that she couldn’t really do justice to the ones that she already had. Furthermore, I really hated how predicatble everything was. I almost wish that Snape had been bad because then it couldn’t have been as obvious. The whole thing with him loving Lily was over the top ridiculously predictable. Anyway, glad to hear someone else agrees with me on this one