Some of you know my long-standing avoidance of the Harry Potter series, but I'll briefly explain it here for those who don't know.
I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone when it first came out, like essentially everyone of my generation, but I wasn't grabbed by it. I only vaguely noticed what a cult phenomenon it was becoming while I was in high school. But when I was studying literature in college, I became increasingly annoyed by the people in my upper level courses, trying to tie every concept to Harry Potter. I'm sorry, but no. Harry Potter is adolescent literature. It's really good adolescent literature, but it still isn't a substitute for Marquez or O'Connor or Camus or Tolstoy. Read a book. This I maintain.
At the same time, I made best friends with a real Harry Potter fan, and I went to see the movies with him. Despite his arguments, I still refused to read the books, but I was intrigued most by his claim that the themes and conflicts get increasingly complex as the characters grow.
So what broke me? During my BSC year, I was really struggling with how awful the world seemed, and I felt like I couldn't read any of the "serious" books I owned. So I borrowed... Twilight. I know. I know. But it was available, and mindless, and I was bored. At the same time, excitement was building for the movie of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. We went to the premiere. Despite complaints about the movie's accuracy, I was definitely intrigued by how dark this movie was, by the honestly compelling emotional trauma of characters good and bad. So, I decided that if I could get through Twilight, Harry Potter couldn't be that bad.
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| Before the spoiler-hiding-cut, I have to say that Neville is clearly the man! Also, have you seen a recent picture of Matthew Lewis? Yowza! Who'dathunkit that he'd ever grow into those teeth! photo here. |
**SPOILERS FOLLOW** If you don't want to know some things about the ending, don't read any more! Or don't be mad at me if you ruin it for yourself!
on Harry: generally, I think he's a whiny, untalented brat. But I have to say that I was really glad to see him act and think on his own in this last book, instead of depending so much on his friends (::ahem:: Hermione). Even though this has been my biggest complaint about the character the whole series, I found myself really mad at You-Know-Who in the last chapters for calling Harry a coward. I was glad that Rowling found magical explanations for most of the "luck" he's found in the last six years.
on Ron: I'm really impressed with Ron's depth in the books, and I'm sorry that hasn't been expressed in the movies. I was really scared when he left, and really excited when he reappeared. I'm sorry that the deluminator stopped being important after he hooked back up with H&H, though. I like that thing.
on Hermione: I really want to like Hermione, since she's the "female lead," but I kind of thought she's annoying. I'm glad her tone changed a lot in this last book, that there were things she didn't know, and that she was more patient with people who didn't know/hadn't read everything she had. Also, even though we haven't really seen them the entire series, I want to know what happened to her parents after the war.
on the other Weasleys: Ms. Weasley said "bitch."
on Snape: I almost couldn't be happier with how his character turned out to be. To me, while certainly not the most likeable, Snape has always been the most intriguing character. The entire time I was reading the series, I was torn between wanting to know whether he was good or bad and loving the mystery surrounding him. I'm glad, in the end, that he turned out to be tortured and morally grey. However, I'm a little disappointed that the thing that tortured him was Lily's death, and not the fact that he loved a mudblood. I think Rowling missed a good chance to talk about the complexities of core belief vs. actual feelings.
the Malfoys & Bellatrix: I was also glad to see a little humanity injected into this family. Even though I don't see him being my favorite character under any circumstances, I really fell in love with Draco in book 6. I do wish there had been a little more concession to the characters who turned out to be in the grey area morally, instead of such a black-and-white for-us-or-against-us dogma, but I also understand that You-Know-Who's presence doesn't really allow that kind of thing. I wish Rowling would give the whole mother's-love-conquers-all shtick a rest, but it suited Narcissa somehow, especially as she contrasted with her sister. Also, I'm glad Bellatrix didn't go out roaring with laughter.
on Dumbledore: I thought Dumbledore was seriously amusing the entire series, but Dead Dumbledore was kind of obnoxious. In the end, I understand a lot of why he did what he did, and why he left some things unexplained, but the thought that he was so cryptic because Harry needed to prove himself was possibly the most nauseating thing I could've imagined. Don't screw around with kids' lives, Dumby. This ain't summer camp.
on Dumbledore's Army: the unsung heroes of the entire series? Anyone? Scraggly, beaten-up, snake-killing Neville is my favorite thing in the world. Luna proves herself to have some serious brains. All of them (not just the Gryffindors) show they've got some serious balls.
on Hagrid: Dude, WHERE WAS HE this whole book? It was seriously lacking in Hagrid. Really, the only things I can clearly remember him doing is getting Hedwig killed and carrying the supposedly dead Harry. And his tears weren't as touching this time as when Dumbledore died (which slayed me).
on Dobby & Kreacher: I'll admit it. Dobby's death was the only one that made me cry. Am I cold-hearted? Maybe. But poor Dobby! I also loved Kreacher's transformation, Ron's changing opinion about house elf rights, and the image of all the elves stabbing Death Eater shins. A missed opportunity on Rowling's part, I think, was to explain the role of other magical creatures after the war was over. Do elves have more freedoms? Can goblins get along with wizards any better? Are the centaurs still pissed? Where are the giants? Speaking of, where was Madame Maxime during the war?
19 years later: a little cheesy for my taste. I'm glad Snape got a nod in the baby-naming, but what was with Ron and Hermione's choices? More missed opportunities, imho.
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