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Jul. 26th, 2007 11:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
angela_oSince everyone and their brother has posted a DH reaction, I'm not sure that I have much to add, but that's never stopped me before and I guess it won't stop me now.
On the whole I thought she did a very good job. The pacing was a little slow in the first half of the book, but things definitely picked up speed after that. I kept thinking while reading that this was a very cinematic book. I'm sure that was enhanced by the fact that I'd seen OotP the week before, but I do feel that there are a number of set piece scenes that will translate very well to the big screen.
Random thoughts:
I'm still unclear as to how Godric's sword got back into the Sorting Hat. I've seen a variety of explanations that range from "the Sorting Hat functions as a mini Room of Requirement" to "it will always come to a true Gryffindor in need" to the handy dandy catchall "it's Magic!!!". I'd be curious to know what you thought.
While we're dealing with my confusion issues, I'm also still unclear as to why Voldemort's Avada Kedavra rebounded on him in the final duel. Was it because the Elder Wand wouldn't harm its true owner? Wouldn't that bit of Harry's blood in Voldemort's body tie him to life as well as it did Harry?
I admit freely that I cried like a baby over Dobby's death. "Here lies Dobby A free elf" did me in. I also got weepy over the Weasley's standing over Fred. Do you think that Fred as a ghost will hang out with George? I just can't see the twins being separated.
I also squeed over Ron and Hermione. You all know that "anyone but Ron" has long been my mantra regarding the promised deaths in the final book. I'm just so glad that he avoided "best friend of the hero" syndrome. *happy sigh* Plus, the fact that Hermione kissed him after he was concerned about the house elves was just delightful.
Harry and Ginny I'm less than indifferent to. I find Ginny to be one of the most two-dimensional characters in the series. She never comes alive. I can understand intellectually her purpose in allowing Harry to become a true member of the Weasley family, but he had more chemistry with *insert character of choice here* than he ever did with Ginny. My character of choice just might be Draco, but you choose your own.
I had long thought that Rowling would kill off Harry and I think she wimped out a little bringing him back, but I guess it was *British voice* "for the children". I still think that Harry is one of the most damaged characters in literature which makes it hard for me to buy that he would "live happily ever after", but I'm handwaving that one I guess.
Color me surprised that all the Malfoys made it out alive. I was sure that Lucius was a goner. I like the fact that the books showed that love wasn't something that was restricted to the side of the Light.
Which brings me to Snape. Oh, you twisted anti-hero you! I found it very poignant that this book showed us that Snape's worst memory isn't because of his altercation with the Marauders, but that it was the moment he lost his friendship with Lily. That was tragic. I hope that they do the flashbacks well in the last movie.
Wow! This got longer than I thought it would.
For those who are interested, JKR has given out some additional info as to what the characters are up to post final battle. You can read about it here.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19959323/
And because you can't say it too much, "Potterdammerung" still makes me laugh when I think about it..
The JKR additional info leads me to another Potterverse question however. Are there any women who have children and continue to work outside the home that you can think of in the wizarding world? Hermione obviously does given JKR's new info, but she grew up in the Muggle world with a working mother. I was just curious to see if anyone could think of canon examples of any others.
Finally, in the post DH world, I also managed to read a few more books.
#112 is Vaporetto 13 by Robert Girardi(July/07). Girardi does atmospheric modern ghost stories and this is no exception. He does a very good job creating a haunting Venice both literally and figuratively.
#113 is No Graves As Yet by Anne Perry(July/07). This one is subtitled "A Novel of World War 1". I have a friend who loves Perry's Victorian mysteries so I picked this up while sorting last week as I've never read the author. I have mixed feelings about it. The writing is good, the sense of place is evocative, and I liked the main characters, but the story never quite seemed to gel for me. I kept waiting for things to start moving, but the pace never developed to my satisfaction. I'm not sure if it's partly because this is supposed to set up another series, but I was vaguely dissatisfied when I finished.
#114 is Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews(July/07). Andrews is most definitely a formula writer, but I had to give this one a chance simply because I grew up near Savannah. It was breezy and fun and I enjoyed the descriptions of the antiques. A brain candy book for sure.
#115 is Dead and Dateless by Kimberly Raye(July/07). Another in the vampire chick lit category. I'm coming to terms with the fact that I may be over chick lit for a while. The essential stupidity and/or vapidity of the heroine in the genre is really starting to drive me a little insane. This was no exception.
On the whole I thought she did a very good job. The pacing was a little slow in the first half of the book, but things definitely picked up speed after that. I kept thinking while reading that this was a very cinematic book. I'm sure that was enhanced by the fact that I'd seen OotP the week before, but I do feel that there are a number of set piece scenes that will translate very well to the big screen.
Random thoughts:
I'm still unclear as to how Godric's sword got back into the Sorting Hat. I've seen a variety of explanations that range from "the Sorting Hat functions as a mini Room of Requirement" to "it will always come to a true Gryffindor in need" to the handy dandy catchall "it's Magic!!!". I'd be curious to know what you thought.
While we're dealing with my confusion issues, I'm also still unclear as to why Voldemort's Avada Kedavra rebounded on him in the final duel. Was it because the Elder Wand wouldn't harm its true owner? Wouldn't that bit of Harry's blood in Voldemort's body tie him to life as well as it did Harry?
I admit freely that I cried like a baby over Dobby's death. "Here lies Dobby A free elf" did me in. I also got weepy over the Weasley's standing over Fred. Do you think that Fred as a ghost will hang out with George? I just can't see the twins being separated.
I also squeed over Ron and Hermione. You all know that "anyone but Ron" has long been my mantra regarding the promised deaths in the final book. I'm just so glad that he avoided "best friend of the hero" syndrome. *happy sigh* Plus, the fact that Hermione kissed him after he was concerned about the house elves was just delightful.
Harry and Ginny I'm less than indifferent to. I find Ginny to be one of the most two-dimensional characters in the series. She never comes alive. I can understand intellectually her purpose in allowing Harry to become a true member of the Weasley family, but he had more chemistry with *insert character of choice here* than he ever did with Ginny. My character of choice just might be Draco, but you choose your own.
I had long thought that Rowling would kill off Harry and I think she wimped out a little bringing him back, but I guess it was *British voice* "for the children". I still think that Harry is one of the most damaged characters in literature which makes it hard for me to buy that he would "live happily ever after", but I'm handwaving that one I guess.
Color me surprised that all the Malfoys made it out alive. I was sure that Lucius was a goner. I like the fact that the books showed that love wasn't something that was restricted to the side of the Light.
Which brings me to Snape. Oh, you twisted anti-hero you! I found it very poignant that this book showed us that Snape's worst memory isn't because of his altercation with the Marauders, but that it was the moment he lost his friendship with Lily. That was tragic. I hope that they do the flashbacks well in the last movie.
Wow! This got longer than I thought it would.
For those who are interested, JKR has given out some additional info as to what the characters are up to post final battle. You can read about it here.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19959323/
And because you can't say it too much, "Potterdammerung" still makes me laugh when I think about it..
The JKR additional info leads me to another Potterverse question however. Are there any women who have children and continue to work outside the home that you can think of in the wizarding world? Hermione obviously does given JKR's new info, but she grew up in the Muggle world with a working mother. I was just curious to see if anyone could think of canon examples of any others.
Finally, in the post DH world, I also managed to read a few more books.
#112 is Vaporetto 13 by Robert Girardi(July/07). Girardi does atmospheric modern ghost stories and this is no exception. He does a very good job creating a haunting Venice both literally and figuratively.
#113 is No Graves As Yet by Anne Perry(July/07). This one is subtitled "A Novel of World War 1". I have a friend who loves Perry's Victorian mysteries so I picked this up while sorting last week as I've never read the author. I have mixed feelings about it. The writing is good, the sense of place is evocative, and I liked the main characters, but the story never quite seemed to gel for me. I kept waiting for things to start moving, but the pace never developed to my satisfaction. I'm not sure if it's partly because this is supposed to set up another series, but I was vaguely dissatisfied when I finished.
#114 is Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews(July/07). Andrews is most definitely a formula writer, but I had to give this one a chance simply because I grew up near Savannah. It was breezy and fun and I enjoyed the descriptions of the antiques. A brain candy book for sure.
#115 is Dead and Dateless by Kimberly Raye(July/07). Another in the vampire chick lit category. I'm coming to terms with the fact that I may be over chick lit for a while. The essential stupidity and/or vapidity of the heroine in the genre is really starting to drive me a little insane. This was no exception.
