by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
Warning: This review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows contains some minor spoilers. If you haven’t read it and don’t want to know, stop reading now.
While this last installment of Harry Potter certainly wasn’t my favorite out of all the books, it is a fitting end to the series.
As a student of mythology, it was difficult for me to see any way around the death of Harry Potter. By the fourth book in the series I thought the same thing that I thought after watching the second Matrix movie: the hero has to die.
Death, and the threat of death, looms around every corner in the now sinister wizarding world. Many characters die and the body count of this tale is certainly higher than it’s ever been in any of the other books. Expect deaths in the beloved Weasley family and amongst Harry Potter’s admirers and friends. Any fan can expect tears, so keep the tissues handy as you read. The pace of death varies. Sometimes there’s time to mourn, other times the death comes in the thick of battle and grief must be pushed aside in favor of survival.
It’s not all tissues and funerals though; there’s enough high adventure in the book to keep you entertained and interested, including a thrilling break-in at Gringotts, a polyjuice infiltration at the Ministry of Magic and a final battle royale on the Hogwarts grounds.
Rowling is a genius at changing our perception of a character. By the end of the book you’ll know the true character of the inscrutable Snape (which I can’t possibly spoil for you). Harry’s Aunt Petunia might seem small minded and mean (and she is) but we get a glimpse of the motives behind her behavior. Even the bully Dudley undergoes a bit of a change of heart at the last moment. Each time we learn something new about a character’s history or see them in a different light, we’re reminded that sometimes we ought to reserve judgment about a person until all the facts are in. Of course, even when we know all the bare facts, we still can’t always know the motive behind a character’s decisions. In Harry Potter, motive is everything. Why someone does something is as important as what they do.
While the lives of each character in the Potter universe aren’t described in detail, we get answers to the things we need. Almost every important question from the last six books is answered and wrapped up in a bow.
Dumbledore, whose past had always been somewhat mysterious, expect for a few accolades and random facts, is revealed more fully in death than he ever was in life. And, yes, Dumbledore is dead, actually dead.
One character that I still want to know more about is Draco Malfoy. He never really explains why he spared Dumbledore in the last book, although that is what most certainly saves him from death in this book.
While Ron, Hermione and Harry drop out of school to search for the Horcruxes containing pieces of Voldemort’s soul, their school mates are dealing with the changes at Hogwarts. Voldemort has taken over everything, including the Ministry and Hogwarts. Snape is installed as headmaster and Death-Eaters roam the halls. We get a hint of what happens there, as many of the students rebel, but I’d love to see a short book on the adventures of Neville, Luna and the other students during this horrible year.
The word is that Rowling will be writing a sort of encyclopedia of the Harry Potter world, in which she will mine what she’s already written and fill us in on the interesting histories of background characters (such as Dean Thomas). It’s possible that she might include tidbits from their adventures during that year, so I’m looking forward to it.
Most readers will find the epilogue of The Deathly Hallows to be a bit saccharine sweet, as we check in on the main characters who have survived, nineteen years later. After reading it, it’s apparent that the series itself is no longer apt to center around Harry Potter, though Rowling certainly leaves the door open as far as adventures at Hogwarts are concerned. The next generation of witches and wizards may prove almost as interesting as Harry Potter’s generation was.
After I finished the book I began trolling spoiler sites, looking to see if anybody got it right or had access to insider info. It turns out that the answer is mostly no. Most sites that claimed they had spoilers were also headed with disclaimers as to the accuracy of the info. One Christian-based site said they were posting spoilers and making them as boring as possible to prevent anyone from wanting to read the book. Their spoilers turned out to be completely inaccurate.
Despite slight leaks of reviews here and there, most news organizations and reviewers sought to keep the surprises in the book a secret. Even the notoriously early review in the New York Times avoided major spoilers. On the Internet and in print, most things that even contained a hint of a spoiler (like this article) came with a warning. The real miracle is that most people didn’t strive to ruin the joy of discovering the story for the first time in the pages of Rowling’s book.
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