Harry Potter and The End of an Era

Ok, after a few days of living with the knowledge of how Harry Potter's saga ends, I think I'm finally ready to review it. Laura thinks it's silly that I've given people only four days to finish the book, but I think most of you are, in fact, done. Just in case, though: Beware, THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW. Please, please note that I'm not kidding. I can't figure out how to do the cool thing other people do where they hide part of their blog post, so I'm begging you: if you don't want to know what happens, please don't read this post.

Generally, I'm happy with the way it turned out. I don't actually think this is the best of the bunch (Prisoner of Azkaban is still my favorite, I think), but I was definitely satisfied. I do think the Harry/Hermione/Ron hiding in the forest section went on a bit too long. I wasn't bored, but I can imagine being antsy to get through this chunk upon subsequent readings. That said, Rowling introduced some very nice back story here that really fleshes out some of the characters. I was particularly impressed with Dumbledore's history, which made him more of a three-dimensional character than he's ever been before. Harry's recognition that his mentor isn't perfect is a very realistic step in his coming of age, and I love that Harry finally trusted Dumbledore completely. I also really liked Snape's back story. Harry's foray into the pensieve offered some of the best scenes in the book and Snape's history made his feelings toward Harry and his actions/attempt at redemption complex in a good way. And how great/creepy/moving was Snape wanting to look into Harry's eyes as he dies because (as we've been told at least once in each book), Harry has Lily's eyes. So good! And in both Snape and Voldemort's histories, there is a nice shade of gray to everything. Snape wasn't wholly evil and James wasn't a prince, for instance; finally, Harry seems to see these ambiguities, too.

There was a sense of inevitability about this final book that took some of the dramatic tension out of it for me. I remember being terrified through the entire Hall of Prophecies section of The Order of the Phoenix that Neville was going to bite it. Here the deaths didn't have as much dramatic tension as they could have and lacked emotional heft. Fred's death was covered in just a few lines and we didn't even see how Lupin and Tonks fell. I could make an argument that we were shown things as abruptly as the characters and had to move on just as quickly because of the ongoing fight, but it's a weak argument at best. I loved those characters, and it felt like they were cheated a little.

A few things I did like, though: For the first time, a house elf story didn't annoy me. I actually really enjoyed it when they started biting and stabbing the ankles of all the Death Eaters, and I liked that Dobby died a hero's death. And, I love, love, love that Neville got all bad ass while nobody was looking. I've grown to love him and am very pleased that he played an important role in the climax.

The showdown: we all knew this part was coming, and for the most part, I think it was well done. Though it was wildly over simplified, I did like that Harry's personal sacrifice for the whole wizarding world passes on the same protection that his mother's sacrifice gave him. Though it's silly in the sense that surely other people threw themselves into harm's way to save their loved ones during Voldemort's first reign, it makes good use of the story we've heard so many times about Lily's attempt to save Harry.

A few notes on the epilogue: normally this type of thing would drive me bonkers, but I kind of liked a little glimpse into the future here. It was nice to know that our three main heroes turn out ok and spend their lives as family. Part of what worked well about it, for me, is that Rowling didn't try to tie up every loose end. Though there was more I wanted to know (see below), I accept that she had limitations, and I'm glad she chose to update us on the characters we were with over the course of the seven books (Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Draco). That said, here are a few things I wish she could have included:

What do Harry, Hermione, and Ron do with the rest of his life (besides starting families, that is)? Speculation has forever been that Harry either teach Defense Against the Dark Arts or become an Auror. We know none of them are at Hogwarts from this epilogue, and it's unclear whether there is a need for Aurors in this brave new Voldemort-free world. Do they go back to Hogwarts the next year to take their N.E.W.T.s? Is there some kind of wizarding GED? What do they do?

What happens to Luna? Does she take over the Quibbler? Go on fact finding missions to prove that all her father's theories are really true?

Fred and George were really two halves of a whole; what does George do without Fred? How does he cope without his twin? His loss is the greatest in the book (aside, perhaps, from baby Ted who we don't care about who lost his mom, dad, and grandfather in the course of a few hundred pages. Did it feel to anyone else like Lupin and Tonks were killed off just so Harry could become the godfather to an orphan?). I really mourn Fred's death, and I wasn't his identical twin, best friend, and business partner. I really wish we could know what George does.

All in all, I'm happy. It's very bittersweet, but I'm satisfied.