nico1908 | The end is here (Reply)

I couldn't help it: The first thing I did when I got Deathly Hallows yesterday around noon was read the very last line. Nothing else. Just the last line. And I only did it because I had to re-read Freud's "Rat Man" for my book study group that night and couldn't start DH right away. Yeah, I know, excuses, excuses...

Anyway, I just finished the book and it was an exhilarating read, although it didn't leave me even remotely as stunned and incredulous as HBP did, which I turned right over and read again after I'd finished it because I was sure I missed something while I was barrelling through the pages the first time, some clue, a small hint somewhere that Dumbledore wasn't really dead. There was nothing in DH to affect me like that, not even the character deaths, probably because we all knew from the beginning that this was going to be the story of a violent conflict on a broader scale than we'd seen before, so somebody had to die sooner or later, and it couldn't only be minor characters because that wouldn't have been shocking enough.

I didn't much care for the epilogue, but I hope it'll give rise to more fanfiction about our beloved characters as adults. Menopausal!witches, characters struggling with empty-nest-syndrome, the need to redefine relationships, the search for meaning in the second half of life, and most of all new ships - I can't wait! :-)

Overall, the story was a bit drawn out in places and often reminded me of other, older fantasy stories, but it was original enough to keep me on edge, although the escapes were a tad too spectacular for my liking, some things a bit too repetitive ("OMG Harry, you need to close your mind!"), and the King's Cross scene made me think of Neo waiting for the train, but oh well... All in all I feel rather smug that I guessed correctly who would survive and who would end up together (although I didn't much care for the pairings), and I'm relieved that the wait is finally over (at least the wait for the book - when's the next movie coming out? LOL). It's time that I direct my energies towards my own life again.

Here is a post-DH poll.

ETA: Something that keeps bugging me is the whole "wordless magic" thing. Why did JKR even bother with it when everybody ends up shouting curses? - I'm going for my daily walk now. I'm pretty sure other stuff will start bothering me while I'm out there.