Oct 19, 2007 09:06 AM
1999 Views
Introduction
Lumos! And in the light I could finally see the treasure that I was looking for since the last week of July, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
After months of waiting for the last installment of HP series, I
finally got it and it took me all of 2 and half days to go through the
600 odd pages of the book.
The Plot
After the death of Dumbledore at the end of the last installment Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince,
Harry and his friends are on their own in their quest to find and
finish off Lord Voldemort, before he manages to finish them! So,
Harry, Ron and Hermione set out to find the horcruxes which hold a part
of Voldemort's soul. Each and every horcrux needs to be destroyed
before the Dark Lord can fall. Also, they need to figure out the
mysterious R.A.B. who seems to be in the possession of one of the
horcrux.
On the other hand, with the fall of Dumbledore, Lord Voldemort
seems to be in the ascendancy and wants to capitalize on this and kill
off his one last enemy, Harry Potter! But, having been defeated by
Harry a few times now, the Dark Lord is a bit wary and is in the search
of that perfect weapon that can ensure his victory.
So what happens next? Does Voldemort manage to kill Harry or does
the "Boy who lived" lives on? Does good finally triumph over evil or
not? Check out this last offering in the HP series for the details.
Critic's Viewpoint (Contains Spoilers)
The simple fact that I read 600 pages cover to cover in 2 and half
days flat means that the book was captivating to say the least. Whether
it was the perfect ending to the series or not is a different question.
The book is fast paced is laced with action from the first page(well
the first page after the 8th chapter:) to the last. There is a lot of
violence now that the Dark Lord is in full power and lot of characters
are finished off in the book.
Having followed the fans' websites for a long time before this
book's release, a lot of things were pretty predictable. Every fan was
screaming that Snape would turn out to be the good guy and Dumbledore
had made a sacrifice for the Greater Good
(This word has been used quite often by JK in this book). Of course, JK
has obliged. But, what pained me the most was the tame manner of
Snape's death. I think he deserved at least a duel with the Dark Lord
before the curtains fell on him.
Another favorite topic was the identity of the mysterious R.A.B and Regulus Arcturus Black
was the popular choice. Again J.K. obliges, though the mystery as to
why he drank the liquid in the bowl, when he had an house elf that he
had treated as a slave till that point was not clear! As far as other
things like the re-appearance of Dumbledore and the role to be played
by non-wizarding community etc., J.K. has toed the popular line and
Dumbledore's apperance and the part played by elfs, goblins and
centaurs at the end were on expected lines.
What was intriguing though was the introduction of the concept of
the Deathly Hallows and the concept of the conquering the death? As a
novelty this digressed from the storyline discussed in the fan forums
and added a new dimension to the whole story. I liked the concept that
sometimes the things that you think are childish like children's
folklore etc. are keys to much mature subjects than you realize.
Voldemort's lack of interest in the folklore cost him the chance to
possess the Deathly Hallows at a much younger age. The concept though
is true for this series itself, as this started as a children's novel
and exploded into a mature series!
I was a bit irritated about some of the aspects of the novel. I
thought that the first eight chapters leading up to Bill and Fleur's
wedding were too long drawn out and were more of page fillers than
anything really significant. It was only after the chase began for the
horcruxes that the story began to really race along. The other
irritating thing was staining of the character of Dumbledore, though
some might argue that it was necessary to show that he was after all
just another Wizard. But, I thought that could have been left well
alone. The death of Dobby was unnecessary! Another disappointing thing
was after the Battle of Hogwarts, the scene directly cuts to "Nineteen
Years Later" without a mention of what happened to Hogwarts or what
happened to the building synergy between wizards and the non wizards
etc. That was a big letdown to me.
Also, there were a few loose points that are not answered properly.
For e.g. Despite the fact, that Griphook had stolen the sword of
Gryffindor, Neville manages to pull it off from the hat!(Yes, I know
that a true Gryffindor can pull it off. But when Dumbledore said those
words, the sword was resting in the room of the headmaster, and now it
was stolen and was with a Goblin!)
But, apart from these, I think this is definitely one of the better
endings for a series. I remember when I read the ending of the Foundation series, I was thoroughly disappointed about the concept of Gaia. Of course, much later the concept of Gaia grew up on me and I look at that ending as a masterpiece now. But, on first reading, I would put The Deathly Hallows almost at par with LOTR as a perfect ending for a great series.
The Series
The series has been a great joy and I have had the pleasure of tracking
the last three books in the fan sites and the excitement surrounding
this book was fabulous. Even in this world of Television and Internet,
a book series getting so much hype and creating so much excitement is
music to bookworms like me. Of course, the success of the series is no
less due to movies, the merchandise and the marketing, but all these
can only carry a series that could first captivate people with its plot
and the HP series has been a downright winner in this aspect.
Looking at the whole series, I thought how about an awards ceremony
for these wonderful characters. So here's my list of awardees:
Most Lovable Character: Ronald Weasley.
Most Hatable Character: Severus Snape(Awarded Posthumous)(In my
book, he comes ahead of Lord Voldemort, even though finally he ended up
on the good side:) His one look carried more weight than all the evil
of Voldy boy)
Most Humourous Characters: George Weasley, Fred Weasley(Awarded Posthumous)
Most Surviving Characters: The Malfoy Family(They managed to outlive Lord Voldemort. They know when to jump a sinking ship)
Most Improved Character: Neville Longbottom(It takes a long way to come from bumbling boy, to kill one of Voldy's horcrux)
Most Irritating Character: Rita Skeeter(Her tainting of Dumbledore in the last book, gives her the edge over Uhm Uhm Umbridge)
Most Caring Character: Molly Weasley
Summary
All in all a fantastic end to a great series. A series that very
few knew would redefine the marketability of books in this new era of
television and internet!
I have enjoyed the whole series as well as this book and despite the few flip sides that I mention in my section Critic's Viewpoint, I give this book a high five rating.
