Thoughts on HP 7
Jul. 22nd, 2007 10:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nickelsandcoatsSpoilers behind the cut.
I was shocked at how fast paced this book was. In fact, when Hedwig died, it took me a long time to realize it. I thought she had managed to fly away. It wasn't until Hagrid asked about her that it sank in. I was a little sad to see Harry not mourn her more. She had been a lifeline to him, and he seemed so callous about her dying.
I have to get it out of the way--I didn't like the epilogue. I'd rather have gotten little vignettes about each of the characters, where they'd gone, how they were doing, etc. I wanted to hear about George, Teddy Lupin, McGonagall, Molly and Arthur, etc. It was also a little confusing to keep track of whose kid was whose. Too many names, not enough context.
As soon as Remus came and announced Teddy's birth, I said "That's it; Tonks or Remus are going to die." I was a little surprised to see them both die, adn nearly cried at how Rowling described their bodies lying next to Fred's. I was a little pissed that she never told us anything else about how they died. Did Tonks try to avenge Remus? Did Remus die avenging Tonks?
I was so upset when Fred died! Why did it have to be one of the twins?! I was glad to see Percy mourning though. It gave him back his humanity.
Dobby! Poor Dobby! I loved that Harry honoured his friend so much in his death. I always loved Dobby, and I was glad he got to die doing the one thing he always wanted to do--save Harry Potter.
McGonagall screaming for Harry when he "died" and was brought back by Hagrid made a lump in my throat. I love that teacher so much. I wish we had gotten to know her as well as Snape and Dumbledore.
I liked hearing more about Dumbledore's past. I always thought there was more to him than just an old man who had his thoughts and guesses. All of the connections between him and Harry were a little much, I thought. Although it does explain why he didn't tell Harry much--I think D was afraid that Harry would turn out to be too much like him: full of pride and glory and forgetting what was most important.
All of the stuff about the Hallows made my head hurt. I need to read it again a lot slower and try to wrap my brain around all of this. I feel like there was a lot that I missed.
I was so glad she didn't kill Hagrid. There were several points where I seriously feared I was going to turn the page and find out Hagrid had died.
The killing of Voldemort seemed almost anit-climactic after the previous 750 pages and 6 books. He just went poof! and died. I thought the fight scene in GoF was a hell of a lot more intense than this one.
Glad to see Ron come into his own and see Hermione outside of school. They're lucky to have her.
OKay. Now for the part that I'm sure a lot of people thought was too cliche or whatnot. I LOVED the chapter about Snape and Lily. When Harry saw the doe Patronus, I knew it was Lily, or represented her. Finding out about how Snape felt about her and how she felt about him just destroyed me. For the first time, I felt how human Snape was. The part where Snape reveals his doe Patronus to Dumbledore was the only part of the entire book that really did make me cry, specifically these two lines:
"After all this time, Severus?"
"Always." said Snape.
GAH. That slayed me. I had to put the book down and cry for a few minutes. That poor, poor man.
All in all, I liked the book a lot. Was there stuff that was predictable? Yes. Were there a lot of things left out and unexplained? Yes, but I appreciate that because I can invent what I think happened within the context of the situation. I'm still in a little shock that the book is done and over. No more Harry Potter books. Wow.
I was shocked at how fast paced this book was. In fact, when Hedwig died, it took me a long time to realize it. I thought she had managed to fly away. It wasn't until Hagrid asked about her that it sank in. I was a little sad to see Harry not mourn her more. She had been a lifeline to him, and he seemed so callous about her dying.
I have to get it out of the way--I didn't like the epilogue. I'd rather have gotten little vignettes about each of the characters, where they'd gone, how they were doing, etc. I wanted to hear about George, Teddy Lupin, McGonagall, Molly and Arthur, etc. It was also a little confusing to keep track of whose kid was whose. Too many names, not enough context.
As soon as Remus came and announced Teddy's birth, I said "That's it; Tonks or Remus are going to die." I was a little surprised to see them both die, adn nearly cried at how Rowling described their bodies lying next to Fred's. I was a little pissed that she never told us anything else about how they died. Did Tonks try to avenge Remus? Did Remus die avenging Tonks?
I was so upset when Fred died! Why did it have to be one of the twins?! I was glad to see Percy mourning though. It gave him back his humanity.
Dobby! Poor Dobby! I loved that Harry honoured his friend so much in his death. I always loved Dobby, and I was glad he got to die doing the one thing he always wanted to do--save Harry Potter.
McGonagall screaming for Harry when he "died" and was brought back by Hagrid made a lump in my throat. I love that teacher so much. I wish we had gotten to know her as well as Snape and Dumbledore.
I liked hearing more about Dumbledore's past. I always thought there was more to him than just an old man who had his thoughts and guesses. All of the connections between him and Harry were a little much, I thought. Although it does explain why he didn't tell Harry much--I think D was afraid that Harry would turn out to be too much like him: full of pride and glory and forgetting what was most important.
All of the stuff about the Hallows made my head hurt. I need to read it again a lot slower and try to wrap my brain around all of this. I feel like there was a lot that I missed.
I was so glad she didn't kill Hagrid. There were several points where I seriously feared I was going to turn the page and find out Hagrid had died.
The killing of Voldemort seemed almost anit-climactic after the previous 750 pages and 6 books. He just went poof! and died. I thought the fight scene in GoF was a hell of a lot more intense than this one.
Glad to see Ron come into his own and see Hermione outside of school. They're lucky to have her.
OKay. Now for the part that I'm sure a lot of people thought was too cliche or whatnot. I LOVED the chapter about Snape and Lily. When Harry saw the doe Patronus, I knew it was Lily, or represented her. Finding out about how Snape felt about her and how she felt about him just destroyed me. For the first time, I felt how human Snape was. The part where Snape reveals his doe Patronus to Dumbledore was the only part of the entire book that really did make me cry, specifically these two lines:
"After all this time, Severus?"
"Always." said Snape.
GAH. That slayed me. I had to put the book down and cry for a few minutes. That poor, poor man.
All in all, I liked the book a lot. Was there stuff that was predictable? Yes. Were there a lot of things left out and unexplained? Yes, but I appreciate that because I can invent what I think happened within the context of the situation. I'm still in a little shock that the book is done and over. No more Harry Potter books. Wow.
