I finally finished reviewing all the posts and I love the insight presented. I am a casual fan, I guess. I have seen the first four movies and just a month ago decided to read the books. I bought the paperback set and would read one, see the move, read the next, see the movie, etc. I got a copy of this last book on Monday and finished it Wednesday morning.
Here are a few of my impressions and fantasy epilogue scenes:
I would have loved to see Snape join the Marauders and Lilly as they escorted Harry through the forest. It would have spoken to redemption, forgiveness, and to the acceptance Snape so fervently craved and deserved.
I would have loved to see Dudley at the train station, proudly escorting one or more of his children onto the Hogwart Express.
I would have loved to see Draco reformed and married to a mudblood.
It would have been great to see the children of other magical peoples boarding the train, like little elves or goblins or centaurs.
I was impressed by the theme all the way through the series and emphasized at the end that Harry always felt he was just an ordinary person thrown into extraordinary circumstances. From the moment he discovers he is a wizard (But I’m just Harry, just Harry)to the comment to Ron in this book about how he has tried to convey that heroism isn’t that exciting, to the end when he, in his kids’ eyes is “just Harry”. Notice that his son Albus wondered why kids were staring at his dad (and even though Ron took credit, they all knew it was Harry who was famous), and that Albus Jr. had never heard the story of the Sorting Hat, I believed it meant that Harry and Ginny downplayed the whole event and tried to carry on as an ordinary family. I think it spoke to the value of common things in life, even in the shadow of extraordinary challenges that pop up from time to time.
I wasn’t bothered by the baby image at King’s Cross. I took it to be either LV’s soul as a whole or at least the portion now destroyed. Either way, it put me in mind of the scene in The Great Divorce where the narrator wonders why the woman isn’t sad that her husband has rejected the offer of heaven and is piteously moaning his condition and loneliness. The wife, explains the narrator’s guide, is no longer subject to the kind of pity that lets evil hold good hostage to its demands. Heaven would not be heaven if its happiness could be dampened by the wailing of those who made different choices in their lives.
Family seems to animate all the characters. Lack of it, surfeit of it, desire for it, comtempt of it. In the end it either saves or destroys every character. If this series can in any way keep families from breaking up, I would consider it a triumph of the highest nature, regardless of what some think of its literary merit.
There are a lot of unexplained things in the book, which is a reward to those who don’t care to have things laid out like a banquet. Perhaps some of it is oversight by Rowling but perhaps some if a nod to the intelligence of her fan case.
I have nothing but respect for anyone who can invent a plausible, coherent “other world” and live in it herself long enough to produce seven bestselling books. I haven’t followed the fan writings or interviews or such and I probably won’t but I enjoyed spending a few hours without having to fuss about mortgages, garbage days, running out of toilet paper or the latest gasoline hike. May she live long and prosper.
Exactly! I too am a casual fan, never seen the movies, loved the books and enjoy the discussions, but not at the depth that many seem to enjoy. I have no informed opinion about existentialism, don't claim any credentials as a literary critic, and I haven't read any Lord of the Rings books. I therefore skim over about 30% of the posts on any Harry Poster thread. Your post really hits the mark.
Oooh, that's good!
Family seems to animate all the characters. Lack of it, surfeit of it, desire for it, comtempt of it. In the end it either saves or destroys every character.
Excellent point! I had related all of those things to love, but there are a ton of ties to family. Hermione is the only one I can think of off-hand which doesn't quite seem to apply.
It DOES make a nice escape from the real world. If I could only write ONE novel with the popularity that JKR enjoyed (sigh).
Your insight about the family theme is “spot on” IMO. You have functional and disfunctional families throughout the whole series... I wonder if thats unconsciously why so many kids like HP, with a divorce rate around 50% in real life, its almost like having your parents die and being on your own like Harry. (Voice of experience here).
And who knows, maybe Malfoy IS married to a mudblood... after all, the pure bloods could only intermarry so far and alot were already cousins as it is.
The nicest thing about these books and the internet is it gives people yet another way of talking to others and discussing ideas... be they good, bad, or ugly... The thing I would emphasize the most with you is to form your own opinion and keep an open mind.
And remember ITS JUST A STORY!
Some folks forget that.
Forget reading critics reviews of the books and movies IMO. I’ve started to think that critics take the opposite approach from the masses just to get noticed. I laugh with my husband all the time that if the critics hate a movie, we’re sure to like it and if they like a movie, we’ll find it a “yawn-fest”.
With the Potter books you have :
a) Adult fans
b) Adult fans with kids READING the books too (my 15 year old son just finished the book the other morning at 2:30 am - so he read it in a 36 hour time frame..He’s only done that with the HP books.)
c) Kid fans
d) Critics trying to make a name for themselves
e) Religious frootloops whining about witchcraft (I turned my annoying neighbor into a newt...but she got better...)
f) Adults and kids just not interested - which is FINE and OK
Between you and me, there are a LOAD of women I’ve come across working on “writing a children’s book”... so when I read a very harsh critique of ANY popular book (not only childrens), I think “sour grapes”.