Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Author: JK Rowling
Publisher: Scholastic
Year Published: 2007
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Bildungsroman

And at last I finish the final book. Somehow I managed to avoid every review, every spoiler, every conversation that was taking place about Hogwarts, Year 7. I have read a few reviews since (as I have noted along the way) but my overall impression remains the same as it was when I closed the book…

Meh.

Actually… if I had a 3.75 graphic I’d use that, because I don’t think Deathly Hallows is as strong as Goblet of Fire.

Now, before you start sending me hateful emails, allow me to explain.

First of all, Rowling once again begins the book with chapters not containing Harry, as she did in Half-Blood Prince. Although I was uncertain then, I have decided that for me, especially with this book, it just doesn’t work. At all. I see the author’s hand as she constructs suspense and mystery, falsely leading the reader in a direction away from the truth. And truth is something we have come to expect from our narrator. The trusting relationship Rowling so carefully crafted is suddenly rendered unreliable, and a shadow of doubt is cast not only on the Harry-less scenes, but on every scene since we first met a lonely little boy under the stairs on Privet drive.

Secondly, the final two chapters are two of the worst chapters in the seven book series. The Epilogue in particular is thoroughly pointless, and mires the end of the book in an emotionally contrived “see how happy we are now, everything is back to normal” ending. Rather than leaving me wanting more, Rowling left me wanting to close the book and move on to… well… anything, really. I understand her desire to please her fans, but the compromises she made with the inclusion of these scenes brings the overall “reading experience” crashing to its knees.

Why a 4 out of 5 rating then? Simple. Where the first two chapters are superfluous, and the final two are the equivalent of a narrative train-wreck, everything in between is, without a doubt, the best stuff Rowling has written in the series. The frenetic pacing of both her action scenes and her information scenes compliment each other wonderfully. Indeed, it is easily the best plotting she has done, including Half-Blood Prince, which I still think is a strongest book in the series.

Perhaps the single element that made me smile most often was how, finally, Rowling allowed Harry to grow up. Over the course of the series, we have watched Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all grow up and mature. Harry, on the other hand, continually regressed between books. I mentioned the pattern in the write-up for Order of the Phoenix, and it was so refreshing to see that pattern finally broken.

The only other thing I would have enjoyed seeing was a greater emotional struggle for Harry where Ginny was concerned. Without giving anything away, his attachment to her seemed too easy for him to turn his back on. I wanted to see a greater struggle, and, conversely, a greater reward for that struggle at the book’s close. It is well done as it is, but for two young adults so emotionally attached to each other, I think it falls short of what it should have been.

(below added 11/15/07)

And so the Harry Potter experience comes to a close. Many series I read time and time again, of which Lord of the Rings and A Song of Ice and Fire are just two examples (with another reading of Song as soon as a release date for the final book is announced). Will I read Harry Potter again? Nahh. Maybe to my niece or nephew in a few years, but certainly not for me. It’s a good series, and should find itself on many Recommended Reading lists for years to come, but it certainly isn’t ground breaking. Ground breaking would be the Le Guin’s Earthsea series (to which Rowling should really give some acknowledgment - but I digress). I enjoyed the time I spent with Harry, Hermione, and Ron, but, like J.K., it’s time to move on. What’s done is done. Still though… it was a helluva fun ride while it lasted! Thanks for the good reads, Ms. Rowling.

oh yes, one more thing… As I formatted this final review, which I wrote over a month ago, I came to realize something that kind of shocked me… Mrs. Weasely is my new favorite character. And that’s all I have to say about that.