Well…surprisingly I stayed away on the bus ride home to finish out the book.
Also…spoilers follow.
Chp 35 – the required chapter of Dumbledore debriefing. We start thinking; maybe Harry is in the afterlife. Maybe JK killed him. We find Harry is the 7th Horocrux and other wonky stuff that ties everything all together and explains how and why. This chapter had two good Dumbledore quotes:
“perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it” something important to remember this election season.
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, buy why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”
Chp 36 – Narcissa lies to Voldemort in order to protect her son. Aww…the evil one has a bit of love in her heart. Maybe there’s a chance for her to be redeemed. This chapter is the big fight…and alls well that ends well. I would like to say, that a lot of fantasy authors will details each swing of the blade and a battle will stretch on for 30 pages giving the exact details of every combatant. JK sums up nicely, she trusts her readers to fill in the rest of the fight details in their heads.
Voldemort raises a question, when he says Harry “ was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him.” I swear once upon a time I read a Slate.com article that said Harry wasn’t a hero, but a patsy for the good guys who happened to get very luck very often. So, readers, is Harry a hero? This book was about Dumbledore from the grave, and Snape from deep cover, leading Harry on his quest. A lot of people die to protect Harry. Harry is kind to others, and he does want to protect others from harm. He does have the perseverance that CS Lewis says is required of a hero.
Nineteen Years Later!
Yes, as luck would have it, I had to get off the bus. This epilogue was pretty lame.
All in all, I enjoyed the book. Nicely done JK!
grade: A--
I was talking to a friend at work, and said I believe Stephen King is a better writer, but JK is a better closer.
Maybe now I can go back to reading short stories.
Posted by joncim at August 22, 2007 10:10 PM