*** This is a spoiler free post. Beware of comments.***
I awoke Saturday morning at just the right time, ate breakfast,showered and walked over to Barnes and Noble. I arrived before the store opened and stood in line with about 100 people waiting for the store to open. My husband said I might "actually be nuts." I told him gleefully that 90% of the people in line were adults, all with a smirk on their face, which to me meant "yes I am here standing in a line at 9:00 Saturday morning to buy a book, a children's book." It was really fantastic to see.
I did work 8 hours on both Saturday and Sunday but managed to finished last night around 10:30. I was able to avoid any spoilers, did not look at the newspaper or any news websites or television shows and I'm so glad. I'll admit I was tempted to peek on Saturday evening since I knew I wouldn't get to the end until the next night, but one of my co-workers whose son is a huge fan talked me out of it.
I enjoyed the book very much, it is action packed and very different from the previous ones. I always have a hard time getting into the rhythm of these books; not sure if it's the writing or me. There is always some turning point though, usually around halfway through, and I speed to the ending. Harry is a hero for the ages, courageous, selfless, clever, and bold.
I know people are talking about the 'end'; I am not sure if they mean the last 8 or so pages by that, but for me the end was the last 75-100 pages. I found myself reading passages over and over, saying the words to myself in a whisper to take it all in. It was intense and magnificent the way Rowling brought this all to a close. Her brilliance, I think, is in the story and world she conceived. I remember when I read the first 3 books and thinking about the parallels of Voldemort and his followers and their beliefs to Hitler and the Holocaust. The ways of classifying people are so very similar. I believed then that she had a greater message.
I was happy to have so many questions answered about all the different characters. I do have one question that is nagging me though, one I thought would have been answered but was not. It is not integral to the story but the idea of it had been suggested in the past which is why I thought Rowling would have mentioned it in passing in the last few pages. I'm not sure if I should mention it in the comments or wait a few days; I'll wait for now.
13 comments:
Oh yeah! Someone else who has finished Harry Potter! I would love to know what your unanswered question is. I have a few myself though I really feel that Rowling did a wonderful job of tying up the loose ends. I am not sure what people have been saying about the "end" but I liked the epilogue. I was glad for that extra little tidbit. I would say more but I am trying hard not to give out any spoilers.
You wrote a good review, Tara. I'm loved what you said about reading passages over and over. I did that too. Today I went back over the last 150 or so pages just to make sure I understood everything. My Potter life seems complete.
How cool that you lined up for the book. I waited till the crowds were gone before purchasing my copy.
Oh yes Tara, I agree with you about getting into the rhythm of the book. It took about 200 pages for me. I'm interested to know what loose end you're referring to?
Hello, I've just found your blog and am enjoying it very much. My husband said I was completely bonkers because I went into town at midnight and queued with about 200 others to get my book. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. And I thought the book was just about perfect. I too am curious about your question though...
Jennyellen, thanks again for stopping by, I enjoyed 'conversing' with you via email.
Kay, thank you. I agree, my Potter life seems complete as well. I look forward to sharing these books with my daughter when she is older, though they are very different than my very favorite series, The Little House books.
Lazy Cow, I really wanted to know what occupations everyone had. It would have been so easy for Rowling to say something like 'and after the children left on the Hogwart's express Harry went off to...' I appreciated the epilogue, but thought she could have included a lot more information in it, about all the characters.
Hi Cath, thank you, and thank you for stopping by. Good for you getting your copy at midnight! You'll see my question in my response to Lazy cow.
I wanted to know what Harry was doing as an occupation too. JKR must have left that out on purpose as it's an obvious thing, imo. I wondered if he would teach at Hogwarts but it's clear he didn't, not at the time of the epilogue anyway. Curious. Of course, he could have ended up so wealthy he didn't need to work! Perhaps if you save the world people throw money at you. :-)
I'm glad you mentioned that about wanting to know the occupations. I, too, was a little disappointed that she didn't share that with us. She did tell us about Neville. And, as to what theories were that were not proved
SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER
SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER
I thought Hagrid might die and guessed the wrong Weasley (thought it would be Percy but I like this better with Percy being redeemed). I knew there would be something about Harry's eyes (like Lily's) but it wasn't quite as dramatic as I thought but yet was very important in it's own way.
Cath, are you thinking he's an auror? That's what was on my mind. I could also see him teaching defense against the dark arts and Hermione teaching history of magic.
Kay, I suspected the same about Hagrid and am really glad that didn't happen. Intereting thought about Percy - I guess with so many Weasley's one was bound to go...
I simply loved the ending and thought it was great that it ended up at Hogwarts. That final action is going to look great in the final movie. I bought my book on Saturday morning and finished it at midnight that night. Loved it but feel totally lost that now there are no more to come.
My son also was a little disappointed by not getting more information about *what* the characters become professionally.
And how do you refrain from buying loads of books if you are within walking distance of a Barnes and Noble?
Great review! I'm impressed that you were able to do it so descriptively without any spoilers - I wasn't so disciplined. :)
For me, the ending began when they arrived at Hogwarts.
Yes, I was thinking Harry might have become an auror. But having thought about it some more I wonder if JKR has left that open just in case she feels like writing another book about Harry. Not saying what he does gives her a lot more scope to write anything she likes in the future.
Elaine, I am also very glad it all ended with Hogwart's especially after all the ugliness there. I completely agree with you about the final move - I cannot wait to see how they manage to edit the book down to a 2 1/2 hr movie. I'm already looking forward to it.
Jill, it's hard, I do tend to spend a lot of time there. Luckily the public library is also within walking distance so that keeps things in check!
Lesley, thank you.
Cath, I see what you mean about another book. Apparently she gave an interview in which she discussed writing a 'dictionary' of characters; perhaps she's thinking of giving additional information then..the interview was with Meredith Viera and I read it on msnbc if you're interested.
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