Yeah, that wasn’t the most original post title. Here we are at book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. For those of you wondering (like with the Philosopher’s Stone) what exactly a hallow is, then let me begin by enlightening you with Webster’s definition – usually a verb (Do you think they actually added the “usually” when Rowling used it as a noun in the title of a book? Just think of the power?!) 1. to make holy or set apart for holy use, or 2. to respect greatly.
Book 7 is quite large, large enough to be a purse even. Like the last season or episode of a television series, I think the reader looks for certain things to happen when they know it is the last one. And I think a lot of those things do happen – including an epilogue wrap up to answer any questions – or as I like to believe, to make sure no one takes off where Rowling didn’t want her characters to go. But I digress and we will get to the end – or after the end – later on.
Back to the beginning – the wizarding world changes slowly and yet all at once in book 7. I’ve seen this happen in the real world too suddenly to think it isn’t realistic – and I’m not just talking about the metaphorical child/teen turning into an adult, although that happens too. It is however absolutely terrifying – again, both versions. I think we expect smooth transitions, which is ridiculous because it hardly ever happens that way. Time has always been a solid contributor to the series (maybe not as much as FIRE, but close) and I really like the way it works in book 7. There are hours that seem like days, days that seem like weeks and months that flash past in the blink of an eye. It spirals around itself and flashes backwards and forwards in amazing ways that I just can’t stop thinking about.
That being said, like book 3, book 7 has a lot of telling especially in the flashbacks. This isn’t something that should work – and even if it does I shouldn’t like it – but book 3 is still my favorite and book 7 is mesmerizing; so I guess I’m going to have to say: "I wish I could show in my writing like JK Rowling tells in hers". Because it all works for me and is integrated enough with showing to just add enticing seasoning to the story.
Chapter 1 – Yeah, the very beginning of the end…
From a writer's standpoint...and an editors...and probably even an agent's, chapter one is the be all, end all of a book. It's what grabs the reader (and editor and agent) and in reality sells your book. Obviously by the seventh HP book, JK Rowling could have written blah, blah, blippity blah Harry's our man. Look at him, he's great. and still sold out on the first run printing; but this chapter one still reads like a first time writer trying her hardest. As a reader and writer I appreciate that more than I thought I would.
At the beginning of the book I think we are in the darkest of dark places. Not even the cave with the Inferi is as cold and stark as this opening scene in the Malfoy household. Everyone is uncomfortable, jumpy and extremely apprehensive. Their time has arrived and yet none of the Death Eaters seem very enthusiastic about it. This may have something to do with the torture victim hanging upside down over the family eating area, but only partly. While reading chapter one, I felt like there were Dementors in the room around me – how appropriate the chapter ends with a mealtime for the snake in said family eating area – solidifying the transformation of family manor to evil dungeon and the transformation of children’s book to something that goes even beyond YA in its adult-themed complexity.
On a whole, the book is filled with strange juxtapositions, time shifts, and a myriad of symbols that all mean about three to five different things at the same time – why would I expect anything different?
What are your thoughts on the beginning of the end? When we first see Harry he’s already bleeding – is that foreshadowing or just a cheap trick by the author? He’s bleeding from the mirror shard which is yet another magical object with a purpose – like the cloak and Marauder’s Map. Are these objects twisted into the story line extremely useful or just more name dropping to make the reader nostalgic for the series? Yes, they all serve a purpose, but would other plot elements/objects have worked just as well?
Next week – four funerals and a wedding, death and dismemberment and Merlin’s pants!
I love some of the connections among novels that we see in *Deathly Hallows*. Ollivander reenters to remind us of the phoenix feather wand choosing Harry in the first book. Rowling finally explains the necessity of a Deluminator when First Years are taught how to extinguish light through a simple spell. Hedwig’s death saddened me, but it also recalled the first birthday present the Boy Who Lived receives from Hagrid in Book One. From hearing about a room filled with chamber pots in The Sorceror’s Stone to finding the tiara in the Room of Requirement in the end, Rowling plotted her books very skillfully.
ReplyDeleteAll this nostalgia aside, the marble bookends of the series appear in my mind to be the Philosopher’s Stone and the Resurrection Stone. Voldemort seeks one to resurrect himself in a sickeningly narcissistic move whereas Harry employs the other to bring his loved ones’ forms back solely to guide him to his own death through the ultimate sacrifice. This difference is the (ahem) bedrock of the primary conflict.
On a totally different note, Deathly Hallows contains a book within a book through Rita Skeeter’s impertinent and partially fictitious biography of Dumbledore. Her dark hints about the alleged neglect of Albus’s little sister, his so-called Muggle hatred, and his suspected dalliance with the handsome Grindlewald all serve to transform Harry’s opinion of his adviser.
As all authors like to do, Rowling comments here on the power of words. A simple slip of the lip in a spell can Reducto something out of the way instead of Reducio it to a smaller size. Also, mistakenly saying one name, Hermione, when Ron should have said LavLav has consequences. Those consequences do not match the penalty of saying He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named’s moniker after the fall of the ministry; however, each of these examples operates to elevate the influence of diction in young minds.
This parallels what she accomplishes in the book itself. Remember back in Book One when Ron talks about his uncle who is an accountant or something whom no one else in the family talks about? Words can transform a favorite tutor into a deranged monster or alter a career we see every day into something oddly skewed and limited. Rowling makes the familiar unfamiliar, making her readers Muggles with wand envy.
I love some of the connections among novels that we see in *Deathly Hallows*. Ollivander reenters to remind us of the phoenix feather wand choosing Harry in the first book. Rowling finally explains the necessity of a Deluminator when First Years are taught how to extinguish light through a simple spell. Hedwig’s death saddened me, but it also recalled the first birthday present the Boy Who Lived receives from Hagrid in Book One. From hearing about a room filled with chamber pots in The Sorceror’s Stone to finding the tiara in the Room of Requirement in the end, Rowling plotted her books very skillfully.
ReplyDeleteAll this nostalgia aside, the marble bookends of the series appear in my mind to be the Philosopher’s Stone and the Resurrection Stone. Voldemort seeks one to resurrect himself in a sickeningly narcissistic move whereas Harry employs the other to bring his loved ones’ forms back solely to guide him to his own death through the ultimate sacrifice. This difference between the enemies is the (ahem) bedrock of their conflict.
On a completely different note, Deathly Hallows contains a book within a book through Rita Skeeter’s impertinent and partially fictitious biography of Dumbledore. Her dark hints about the alleged neglect of Albus’s little sister, his so-called Muggle hatred, and his suspected dalliance with the handsome Grindlewald all serve to transform Harry’s opinion of his adviser.
As all authors like to do, Rowling comments here on the power of words. A simple slip of the lip in a spell can Reducto something out of the way instead of Reducio it to a smaller size. Also, mistakenly saying one name, Hermione, when Ron should have said LavLav has consequences. Those consequences do not match the penalty of saying He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named’s moniker after the fall of the ministry; however, each of these examples operates to elevate the influence of diction in young minds.
This parallels what she accomplishes in the book itself. Remember back in Book One when Ron talks about his uncle who is an accountant or something whom no one else in the family talks about? Words can transform a favorite tutor into a deranged monster or alter a career we see every day into something oddly skewed and limited. She makes our familiar world into the unfamiliar, leaving us all Muggles with wand envy. That's the true magic of the pen.
I love some of the connections among novels that we see in *Deathly Hallows*. Ollivander reenters to remind us of the phoenix feather wand choosing Harry in the first book. Rowling finally explains the necessity of a Deluminator when First Years are taught how to extinguish light through a simple spell. Hedwig’s death saddened me, but it also recalled the first birthday present the Boy Who Lived receives from Hagrid in Book One. From hearing about a room filled with chamber pots in The Sorceror’s Stone to finding the tiara in the Room of Requirement in the end, Rowling plotted her books very skillfully.
ReplyDeleteAll this nostalgia aside, the marble bookends of the series appear in my mind to be the Philosopher’s Stone and the Resurrection Stone. Voldemort seeks one to resurrect himself in a sickeningly narcissistic move whereas Harry employs the other to bring his loved ones’ forms back solely to guide him to his own death through the ultimate sacrifice. This difference between the enemies is the (ahem) bedrock of their conflict.
On a completely different note, Deathly Hallows contains a book within a book through Rita Skeeter’s impertinent and partially fictitious biography of Dumbledore. Her dark hints about the alleged neglect of Albus’s little sister, his so-called Muggle hatred, and his suspected dalliance with the handsome Grindlewald all serve to transform Harry’s opinion of his adviser.
ReplyDeleteAs all authors like to do, Rowling comments here on the power of words. A simple slip of the lip in a spell can Reducto something out of the way instead of Reducio it to a smaller size. Also, mistakenly saying one name, Hermione, when Ron should have said LavLav has consequences. Those consequences do not match the penalty of saying He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named’s moniker after the fall of the ministry; however, each of these examples operates to elevate the influence of diction in young minds.
This parallels what she accomplishes in the book itself. Remember back in Book One when Ron talks about his uncle who is an accountant or something whom no one else in the family talks about? Words can transform a favorite tutor into a deranged monster or alter a career we see every day into something oddly skewed and limited. She makes our familiar world into the unfamiliar, leaving us all Muggles with wand envy. That's the true magic of the pen.