Sep 20, 2007 06:18 PM
1997 Views
And so Voldemort meets his maker, Harry lives, marries Ginny. Ron lives too, marries Hermoine. Read that line, and forget to read the book. I mean it- end of story.
The above line sums up Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows very succintly. It is, in my opinion, the worst book of the series, one that completely shatters the aura around the series. Hard words, I know. Not many people will like my review, I know. But that is my honest opinion, and if you are still interested, read on for my explaination. I had to start re-reading the series to remind myself what Harry Potter is all about!!!
To understand the above, one would have to look at what made Harry Potter a phenomenon? It wasn't any one factor, but rather a combination of factors that propelled the series to unbelievable heights, for example:->
1) The make believe world of magic and fantasy, which has always has been attracting children and adults alike since time immemorial. But that alone would not have been sufficient, as otherwise there would have been quite a few other books and series to match HP
2) The setting, the charectarisation and the overall story of a simple, average but down-on-his-luck boy with uncommon strength of character and conviction
3) The diverse characters of his two friends- the intelligent and straight Hermoine and the staid, steadfast and stolid Ron
4) The mix of the other characters- be it the vain Dudley family, the larger-than-life Dumbledore, the sneering Snape, the stern McGonagall, the stupid but brave Neville or the egoistic Draco
5) The rivalry at school between Draco and the 3 central characters
6) The backgrounds and the simplicity of the central characters
7) The way the story developed at Hogwarts- the relationships, between friends, enemies and teachers alike, the trials and tribulations, the defeats and victories, the adolescent problems and jealousies in the 3rd and 4th years, the onset of maturity of the 5th and 6th years - these were all central parts of the books of the series till number 6.
8) The way the charectars were developed bit by bit in each book made for fascinating reading. The way the relations were built, the way the friends intertwined with others, won over problems - all kept us glued to the pages. The inumerable simple subplots- Hagrid, Neville and his parents, Percy and his gross stupidity, Harry - Ginny, Ron - Hermoine, etc etc... all these were the spice of the book
9) All this was woven around the central theme of Voldemort vs Harry, which was opened bit - by - bit, almost like a tantalising strip-tease. That made each book a treat.
Never have I come across a single book that had so many small sub-plots of various hues woven around a central theme. It was this that made Harry Potter a household name, and not just the magical setting. The books {1 - 6} are examples of beautifull story telling, and how to attract and keep an audience. I say audience because in numbers 1 - 6, you could visualise the story playing in front of your eyes, such was the quality of the writing. This was missing in number 7.
Number 7, by contrast, was like an airoplane ride. From page 1 to page around 565, it was non stop, hectic pace. That took the fun out of reading. The usual side-plots were totally ignored, and that took the punch out of the book, leaving me dissatisfied. Gone was the chemistry between various characters, gone was Hogwarts, gone were the interesting sub-plots. I was left missing Hagrid, Neville, Draco Malfoy, Luna Lovegood, Parvati Patil, Minerva McGonagall, Quidditch, Hogsmead, the Weasleys...
The author has tried to do too much, and in her haste to finish it in precisely 7 parts has botched it up. It would have been better to split it into 2 parts, which would have given her space to look at the sub-plots. Instead of the strip-tease, everything was revealed rapidly, leaving me gasping for breath. I sorely missed the tantalising style of the suspense that was in evidence in earlier books...
A word on the purchase price: I waited for 2 months to buy it. I could not see the logic in spending 975/- for it, so I waited for someone else to spend the dough, read it and sell it to a second hand outlet!!!!
