Deathly Hallows
Jul. 21st, 2007 02:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
allyndraI just finished the book, and I feel so triumphant! Like I accomplished something impressive by staking out the bedlam that was Border's midnight release party. *snorts* Absurd ego trip aside, I'm pretty happy with The Deathly Hallows. Click the cut for my rambly, pointless reactions to the book.
I am blown away by how much of it fandom got right! When I think of how many "Snape was in love with Lilly" stories I've read, I just have to admire the community for its insight. Especially as some of those fics were written years ago. And manipulative!Dumbledore has been a recurring theme in fandom practically since the beginning. It was nice to seen it born out here, although with much less Dumbledore bashing than the fans usually use.
I cannot express how much I love the family connections in this book. The moment when Molly went after Bellatrix for endangering Ginny, I was grinning like an idiot, even though it was in the middle of a fraught battle scene. It was straight out of Buffy, I swear. And the Malfoys just made me all teary and hopeful. Lucius trying to get around Voldemort so he could go find Draco, Narcissa lying to Voldie about Harry, the three of them sitting in the Great Hall together ... my heart swelled with the awesomeness of it all.
And speaking of Draco, I want to ditch the Epilogue so I can imagine a happy Draco/Harry future instead. There's just so much to work with here. It's all I was thinking about when Harry stunned the Death Eater who was threatening Draco, and Draco turned around, beaming, looking for his rescuer. That was the word, Rowling used, beaming, and I could just picture it. Then, when he was confronting Voldemort (using Draco's wand, no less), Harry talked about Draco having been the one who had mastered the Elder Wand, taking it from Dumbledore. I don't even know why that bit made me all happy and slash-oriented, but it did. Maybe because it was so rare to see Harry saying anything about Draco that wasn't bitter and accusing. In any case, I'm all about Draco+Harry =4 Ever
Snape! I've been saying for weeks (months! years!) that I would be horribly upset if Rowling went the route that Snape was a bad, traitor guy. She had just lain too much groundwork over the years for him to be a good guy. Obnoxious, grudge holding, and biased, but a good guy. So when he died without having displayed his good guy tendencies, I felt a moment of betrayal. Thank god for Pensieves, that's all I have to say.
My husband is going to be gloating quite a bit once he finishes the book. He swore up and down that Dumbledore told Snape to kill him at some point during the events of Half Blood Prince, that he made Snape promise to do it so that Draco wouldn't have to. And he also insisted that Harry had to die in the final book. And lookit! Harry did die ... he just got better. My dearest darling beloved is such a smart man! (Just a slow reader, which is why he had to take his turn with the book after I'd finished.)
How much did I love Neville in The Deathly Hallows? Soooo much! And Rowling didn't make him OOC in order to make him cool. She kept traits he's had all along: his intense loyalty, his bravery when it counts, his love of and skill with plants, his devotion to the DA and use of the coins for communication. All things that were very Neville, but that made him into a hero in this book, where he'd been a sidenote so often before. Love!
I'm sure once I have a chance to think about it, discuss it with others, re-read it, I'll find plenty of points for complaint. But right now I'm riding the high of having finally read the book I'd been waiting for for so long, and finding that it was I really liked it. Which is not a given when I've built up that much literary anticipation. (Shelters of Stone, I'm looking at you). So, yay for Harry Potter! I forgive the oodles of character death because, Hello! This was war. Anyone who expected sweetness and light hadn't been paying attention.
And now, I think I'll go find a snack, because I read through lunch.
I cannot express how much I love the family connections in this book. The moment when Molly went after Bellatrix for endangering Ginny, I was grinning like an idiot, even though it was in the middle of a fraught battle scene. It was straight out of Buffy, I swear. And the Malfoys just made me all teary and hopeful. Lucius trying to get around Voldemort so he could go find Draco, Narcissa lying to Voldie about Harry, the three of them sitting in the Great Hall together ... my heart swelled with the awesomeness of it all.
And speaking of Draco, I want to ditch the Epilogue so I can imagine a happy Draco/Harry future instead. There's just so much to work with here. It's all I was thinking about when Harry stunned the Death Eater who was threatening Draco, and Draco turned around, beaming, looking for his rescuer. That was the word, Rowling used, beaming, and I could just picture it. Then, when he was confronting Voldemort (using Draco's wand, no less), Harry talked about Draco having been the one who had mastered the Elder Wand, taking it from Dumbledore. I don't even know why that bit made me all happy and slash-oriented, but it did. Maybe because it was so rare to see Harry saying anything about Draco that wasn't bitter and accusing. In any case, I'm all about Draco+Harry =4 Ever
Snape! I've been saying for weeks (months! years!) that I would be horribly upset if Rowling went the route that Snape was a bad, traitor guy. She had just lain too much groundwork over the years for him to be a good guy. Obnoxious, grudge holding, and biased, but a good guy. So when he died without having displayed his good guy tendencies, I felt a moment of betrayal. Thank god for Pensieves, that's all I have to say.
My husband is going to be gloating quite a bit once he finishes the book. He swore up and down that Dumbledore told Snape to kill him at some point during the events of Half Blood Prince, that he made Snape promise to do it so that Draco wouldn't have to. And he also insisted that Harry had to die in the final book. And lookit! Harry did die ... he just got better. My dearest darling beloved is such a smart man! (Just a slow reader, which is why he had to take his turn with the book after I'd finished.)
How much did I love Neville in The Deathly Hallows? Soooo much! And Rowling didn't make him OOC in order to make him cool. She kept traits he's had all along: his intense loyalty, his bravery when it counts, his love of and skill with plants, his devotion to the DA and use of the coins for communication. All things that were very Neville, but that made him into a hero in this book, where he'd been a sidenote so often before. Love!
I'm sure once I have a chance to think about it, discuss it with others, re-read it, I'll find plenty of points for complaint. But right now I'm riding the high of having finally read the book I'd been waiting for for so long, and finding that it was I really liked it. Which is not a given when I've built up that much literary anticipation. (Shelters of Stone, I'm looking at you). So, yay for Harry Potter! I forgive the oodles of character death because, Hello! This was war. Anyone who expected sweetness and light hadn't been paying attention.
And now, I think I'll go find a snack, because I read through lunch.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-22 01:08 pm (UTC)My husband is going to be gloating quite a bit once he finishes the book. He swore up and down that Dumbledore told Snape to kill him at some point during the events of Half Blood Prince, that he made Snape promise to do it so that Draco wouldn't have to.
I'm gloating, too. Yup. ~g~