Watch Me Entertain Myself!

Sacha Guitry once said, "You can pretend to be serious, but you can't pretend to be witty." Oh yes, I'm the great pretender.
(pilot episode: 20 January 2004)

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

The End Of Harry

I did it. I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows last night, or I should say this early morning. I started reading Sunday morning but stopped after lunch because I had to go out of the house. By Monday I was reading during lunch and dinner breaks.

What can I say, without spoilers for a change?

I admit that I was disappointed with Books 5 and 6 because I found JK Rowling’s writing of the action scenes weak; she doesn’t know how to set up a very dense, action-packed scene visually. While I was reading the fight scenes in the Ministry of Magic (book 5) and in Hogwarts (book 6), I had trouble visualizing the place, where the doors were, where the people were located within the venue. But in the last book, it seems JK realized her mistakes. Book 7 starts action-packed and almost never lets up, but this time I could imagine what was happening in my mind.

This book is the most un-Harry Potter of them all: no more Quidditch, no more Hogwarts school scenes, and a whole lot of action and surprises. And deaths, lots of deaths—the book really lives up to its deathly title. For months people were speculating who among the major characters will die. Some were betting on two characters being killed off. Well, a lot of characters are killed, some of which were with us since book one. It was fascinating how the body count piled up; it’s as if JK wanted to make sure no one would think of something similar to the “Gone With The Wind” book sequel being done to her beloved boy wizard.

As always JK manages to pull off eleventh-hour surprises; I think this is her strength as a storyteller. Almost every chapter has a gasp-inducing “What the—?” moment. And the ending was quite satisfying. It’s so easy for JK—or any writer, if in her shoes—to disappoint at the ending. That she was able to pull it off means that she really had it all figured out early on.

So go ahead, plow through the book. It’s really a page-turner, so you might want to reserve a weekend for it.

Bottomline, did I like it? Yes.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for not spoiling it. I'm a little more than halfway (I already know what the Deathly Hallows are), but there are still so many surprises that are surely in store for me. I plan to leave work early today just so I can finish it tonight. I am so glad that you think it's great. It's made me even more excited to finish it, if that's possible.

Qtheconqueror said...

I agree. I liked it a lot. Although, the epilogue read like fanfiction... Inabangan ko talaga siya sa fully booked :)) and finished it inside a jeep. Hehehe. Nakakaaddict eh :P

Ernesto said...

great review, comprehensive without giving out too many details/spoilers. You should write for a newspaper.

atto aryo said...

Pahiram! :-)

joelmcvie said...

ARYO: As much as I want to, I'm sorry but the book isn't mine, it's the family's. So after me it's my sister's turn, then our youngest brother, then my other sister, then my other brother, then my mom. Or maybe my mom will get it whenever she feels like it. Anyway, you get the point. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Appreciate the review - been an HP follower ever since it first came out. I wasn't really planning on buying the book when it HP7 when it came out last Sat. (actually I was waiting for the paperback) but when I saw it I couldn't help myself. Started reading the book Saturday at 9 am - finished it before 12 midnight. c",)

Anonymous said...

I just finished it this morning at 3:15. I loved it, especially seeing how neatly all seven books get tied up in the end. What an amazing accomplishment indeed!

khalel said...

do you love it?

joelmcvie said...

KHALEL: I like it, I don't love it. There are parts of the whole Harry Potter series that never really grabbed my attention and interest. But on the whole the series is an impressive effort.

joelmcvie said...

KHALEL: P.S. I hope you don't mind, I've linked your blog to mine. :-)

Marcus: Bading Down Under said...

I just have to say you are right. There were lull moments in this book that made it ho-hum though. Having said that, I couldn't stop after page 400+. I ended up sleeping at 4 (much to Oli's chagrin) and yeah. Worth it! Definitely.

Admin said...

hehe...

hello kuya!

Nice... buti ka pa.. nabasa mo na...

aries said...

at pinagpaguran talaga na parang ikamamatay mo kung di mo matapos...

o sya cge, magpupuslit pa ako ng librong yan...ching