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Jul. 22nd, 2007 11:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brokenrecordSo I finished Harry Potter last night at 2 AM (I didn't get to start reading it until around 7 PM because of Alex's party) and I typed this up then just because I was afraid I would forget all my first impressions and stuff and also because I wanted to type it up before I saw anyone else's opinions because I was afraid they might diminish my love for the book (because I really, really loved it). But since I wrote them at 2 AM and I had only gotten about 3 hours of sleep the night before, they're pretty incoherent. But whatever, here's my reaction to the book.
I loved it, I loved it so much. Just how everything was tied in and it seemed like it was planned so carefully from the start and I know it was but at some points before the book came out part of me was cynically thinking that she had started without a clear endgame and wouldn't explain everything but she did! At least to my awareness. SHE EXPLAINED DUMBLEDORE LOOKING TRIUMPHANT AT THE END OF THE FOURTH BOOK WITH THE HARRY'S BLOOD AND OH GOD THAT LEAPT OUT TO ME THE FIRST TIME I READ IT WHEN I WAS 11 AND I WAS SURE SHE WOULD NEVER ACTUALLY RESOLVE IT BUT SHE DID SHE DID! AND JUST EVERYTHING OH GOD. So well set up!
And it was amazing because I WASN'T SPOILED AT ALL. The only "spoilers" I heard were that Harry would die, Hermione would die, and Harry was definitely not a Horcrux, NONE OF WHICH WERE TRUE. And it was awesome not knowing anything, being so excited on every page.
And all the theories I wanted to be true were (other than Harry being a Horcrux, but at least they explained it that Voldemort didn't know he was a Horcrux), like the locket and the note being Regulus Black's (I wanted that to be true so badly, and I'm not entirely sure why but I latched onto it the second I read the 6th book and figured that the only character we've been introduced to with those initials is Regulus) and Snape not really being evil and Dumbledore's certainty because Snape was in love with Lily (I really wanted to believe that was true but I didn't think J. K. Rowling would do that, but she did! And I was so afraid we'd never get Dumbledore's reason for trusting Snape, because I couldn't believe it was solely just that he had led Voldemort to kill James and Lily if he wasn't in love with Lily). al;ksjdf I love this book, I really do. It explained everything I wanted to be explained!
And there was Ron and Hermione! I hated that he left them, but I was glad that he returned shortly, and that he had tried to come back as soon as he could. AND RON AND HERMIONE. DID I MENTION THAT? (I like them together, if you hadn't noticed.)
Ok maybe this would've been better left to the morning, because I don't think I'm very coherent.
About the deaths: sad about Fred because I always loved the twins, and sad about Tonks (even though I don't really love her, just kind of like her) and Moody and Remus. Although is it wrong that I was slightly glad Remus died if only so he could be there with Sirius and James and Lily when Harry used the stone? Because I loved that, so so much. OH AND ALL SNAPE'S MEMORIES. SEEING THE MAURADERS BEFORE THEY WERE THE MARAUDERS ON THE TRAIN AND SUCH AW. Well only James and Sirius, but James being all cocky and Sirius being so glum about his whole family being in Slytherin and ah Marauders, I love you.
OH GOD HEDWIG. I FORGOT ABOUT HER DEATH BECAUSE IT WAS SO EARLY ON BUT OH GOD. I think that death killed me most of all. I have such issues when animals die in books and TV and such, more so than people, just because I guess it's more real to me. I've seen birds I've cared for get sick and die, both suddenly and over a long amount of time, and it just brings up that for me. Poor Hedwig. :( I was actually also very distraught about the destruction of Harry's wand, which is less explicable, but it was mended in the end, so that didn't end up being as bad.
Ok no. She didn't explain the veil thing explicitly, but when the whole story about the Deathly Hallows is being told and he's talking about the second brother, Xenophilius says that the girl that comes back "was sad and cold, separated from him as by a veil," and I don't know, I'm probably just making this up, but I took the use of veil to be... I don't know, purposeful I guess, and that she was indicating that beyond the veil is death, and that Sirius wouldn't be coming back for good like many fans have hoped, and he does come back with Lupin and James and Lily with the stone, and I don't know, that just kind of reinforced it for me. But again, I could be making something out of it where there isn't anything. But to keep myself happy with everything, I'll stick to that.
I think the epilogue was a bit overkill. It's nice to know that Ron and Hermione got married and had kids, as did Harry and Ginny, but that also wasn't really a doubt in my mind even without reading the book (provided none of them had died, and have I mentioned that I'm really glad neither Ron nor Hermione died? Because I was pretty terrified of that). And the names? Oh god. Overkill. Albus Severus? Oh god. Neville being a professor actually wasn't too surprising to me (actually the one thing I was spoiled for is that in the epilogue someone would have become a professor, but it wouldn't be who you'd expect, and my first guess was Neville, before even Hermione) because even if he sucks at nearly every subject, he was brilliant at Herbology, even better than Harry and Ron. And actually, I would've much rather learned what Harry and Ron and Hermione all do now, what there jobs are, rather than how many children they have and what their names are.
Harry calling Voldemort Riddle was made of awesome. Also made of awesome was Ginny and Luna and Neville becoming the new trio at Hogwarts in the absence of Harry and Ron and Hermione.
Seriously I'm afraid to read others' reactions now because I'm sure there'll be plenty of people that have issues with various things or questions they wanted answered that didn't get answered (because even though I've claimed that everything was answered, I'm sure I'm just reacting off the questions I want answered, and there are others that weren't and I just don't care as much about them) and it'll just ruin the total utter joy I have about this book. It just tied in so many more things than I thought had any significance and it answered questions I never thought would get answered and really, I love it.
Ok, so I think in retrospect, the third is still my favorite. I just can't not love that book more than any other. So my ultimate order is 3, 7, 5, 4, 6, 1, 2. I think. Part of me still kind of wants to put 7 first, and third seems too low for the 5th which I ended up loving more than ever on this reread. But whatever, it's not like it really matters. That's the gist of it, in any case.
I loved it, I loved it so much. Just how everything was tied in and it seemed like it was planned so carefully from the start and I know it was but at some points before the book came out part of me was cynically thinking that she had started without a clear endgame and wouldn't explain everything but she did! At least to my awareness. SHE EXPLAINED DUMBLEDORE LOOKING TRIUMPHANT AT THE END OF THE FOURTH BOOK WITH THE HARRY'S BLOOD AND OH GOD THAT LEAPT OUT TO ME THE FIRST TIME I READ IT WHEN I WAS 11 AND I WAS SURE SHE WOULD NEVER ACTUALLY RESOLVE IT BUT SHE DID SHE DID! AND JUST EVERYTHING OH GOD. So well set up!
And it was amazing because I WASN'T SPOILED AT ALL. The only "spoilers" I heard were that Harry would die, Hermione would die, and Harry was definitely not a Horcrux, NONE OF WHICH WERE TRUE. And it was awesome not knowing anything, being so excited on every page.
And all the theories I wanted to be true were (other than Harry being a Horcrux, but at least they explained it that Voldemort didn't know he was a Horcrux), like the locket and the note being Regulus Black's (I wanted that to be true so badly, and I'm not entirely sure why but I latched onto it the second I read the 6th book and figured that the only character we've been introduced to with those initials is Regulus) and Snape not really being evil and Dumbledore's certainty because Snape was in love with Lily (I really wanted to believe that was true but I didn't think J. K. Rowling would do that, but she did! And I was so afraid we'd never get Dumbledore's reason for trusting Snape, because I couldn't believe it was solely just that he had led Voldemort to kill James and Lily if he wasn't in love with Lily). al;ksjdf I love this book, I really do. It explained everything I wanted to be explained!
And there was Ron and Hermione! I hated that he left them, but I was glad that he returned shortly, and that he had tried to come back as soon as he could. AND RON AND HERMIONE. DID I MENTION THAT? (I like them together, if you hadn't noticed.)
Ok maybe this would've been better left to the morning, because I don't think I'm very coherent.
About the deaths: sad about Fred because I always loved the twins, and sad about Tonks (even though I don't really love her, just kind of like her) and Moody and Remus. Although is it wrong that I was slightly glad Remus died if only so he could be there with Sirius and James and Lily when Harry used the stone? Because I loved that, so so much. OH AND ALL SNAPE'S MEMORIES. SEEING THE MAURADERS BEFORE THEY WERE THE MARAUDERS ON THE TRAIN AND SUCH AW. Well only James and Sirius, but James being all cocky and Sirius being so glum about his whole family being in Slytherin and ah Marauders, I love you.
OH GOD HEDWIG. I FORGOT ABOUT HER DEATH BECAUSE IT WAS SO EARLY ON BUT OH GOD. I think that death killed me most of all. I have such issues when animals die in books and TV and such, more so than people, just because I guess it's more real to me. I've seen birds I've cared for get sick and die, both suddenly and over a long amount of time, and it just brings up that for me. Poor Hedwig. :( I was actually also very distraught about the destruction of Harry's wand, which is less explicable, but it was mended in the end, so that didn't end up being as bad.
Ok no. She didn't explain the veil thing explicitly, but when the whole story about the Deathly Hallows is being told and he's talking about the second brother, Xenophilius says that the girl that comes back "was sad and cold, separated from him as by a veil," and I don't know, I'm probably just making this up, but I took the use of veil to be... I don't know, purposeful I guess, and that she was indicating that beyond the veil is death, and that Sirius wouldn't be coming back for good like many fans have hoped, and he does come back with Lupin and James and Lily with the stone, and I don't know, that just kind of reinforced it for me. But again, I could be making something out of it where there isn't anything. But to keep myself happy with everything, I'll stick to that.
I think the epilogue was a bit overkill. It's nice to know that Ron and Hermione got married and had kids, as did Harry and Ginny, but that also wasn't really a doubt in my mind even without reading the book (provided none of them had died, and have I mentioned that I'm really glad neither Ron nor Hermione died? Because I was pretty terrified of that). And the names? Oh god. Overkill. Albus Severus? Oh god. Neville being a professor actually wasn't too surprising to me (actually the one thing I was spoiled for is that in the epilogue someone would have become a professor, but it wouldn't be who you'd expect, and my first guess was Neville, before even Hermione) because even if he sucks at nearly every subject, he was brilliant at Herbology, even better than Harry and Ron. And actually, I would've much rather learned what Harry and Ron and Hermione all do now, what there jobs are, rather than how many children they have and what their names are.
Harry calling Voldemort Riddle was made of awesome. Also made of awesome was Ginny and Luna and Neville becoming the new trio at Hogwarts in the absence of Harry and Ron and Hermione.
Seriously I'm afraid to read others' reactions now because I'm sure there'll be plenty of people that have issues with various things or questions they wanted answered that didn't get answered (because even though I've claimed that everything was answered, I'm sure I'm just reacting off the questions I want answered, and there are others that weren't and I just don't care as much about them) and it'll just ruin the total utter joy I have about this book. It just tied in so many more things than I thought had any significance and it answered questions I never thought would get answered and really, I love it.
Ok, so I think in retrospect, the third is still my favorite. I just can't not love that book more than any other. So my ultimate order is 3, 7, 5, 4, 6, 1, 2. I think. Part of me still kind of wants to put 7 first, and third seems too low for the 5th which I ended up loving more than ever on this reread. But whatever, it's not like it really matters. That's the gist of it, in any case.
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Date: 2007-07-22 07:22 pm (UTC)I want to know why Hermione didn't drive the fam. There's no need for Ron to get a license if Hermione is a muggle. Oy. That's the only thing that really made me go wha? and it's not even a major thing.
But yeah, complete and utter joy over this book. I loved how she brought everyone back. And I cried for Dobby the most, especially when they all put clothing on him.
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Date: 2007-07-22 07:33 pm (UTC)For some reason I didn't think about that, but yeah, that makes no sense. Oh well.
Me too! I don't remember if I said it in my reactions but I was definitely thinking that at the end of the book. There were so few characters from the entire series that weren't brought back. The only really major ones I can think of off the top of my head are Lockhart (which, it's not like there's anything he could do) and Arabella Figg and I'm sure there are others too, but for th most part she brought nearly everyone back.
I was really sad about Dobby too! And I think I forgot to talk about that in my reactions, but yeah, I never really loved him before, but he was awesome in this book and he saved Harry and everyone and it sucked that he had to die. I loved Harry digging his grave, though, and the clothing and such.
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Date: 2007-07-22 07:39 pm (UTC)Yeah those were the only two I noticed as well.
And omg Kreacher. At the end he was hilarious.
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Date: 2007-07-22 07:48 pm (UTC)Kreacher! He was awesome in the fight and it was sad hearing what happened to him and how just a little kindness from them caused him to help Harry.
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Date: 2007-07-28 07:01 pm (UTC)So, i like that in your review you didn't have much problems with the book. As i view it, its still JK Rowling's books, so in the end its her choice and now the readers.
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Date: 2007-07-28 07:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-28 07:16 pm (UTC)I didn't mind the epilogue because when I would have pictured the group nineteen years later I would have pictured their kids going to Hogwarts and what most important day as to the first day of school? :P