Deathly Hallows Book Review

Am I the only one profoundly sad?

I realized three or four books ago that Harry’s existence was a sad one. An existence filled with death and loss. As the books went on we were given a taste of minor catastrophes upon peripheral characters; like the death of Amelia Bones and Bill Weasley being horribly scarred by Greyback in H.B.P, and major ones; the deaths of Cedric Diggory, Sirius Black, and Albus Dumbledore in G.O.F, O.O.T.P., and H.B.P, respectively. The rumblings of war had been slowly growing louder.

As Deathly Hallows begins Harry knows there is no turning back. With the two people he cared for the most, aside from the parents he never knew, dead and the knowledge now common that Lord Voldemort has not only returned, but is building an army to take over as he failed to do before, he knows there is no going back to the life he once lived. If the readers were not aware of this, we’re definitely hip to the game by the end of chapter five, Fallen Warrior, as we’ve said goodbye to the Dursleys, 4 Privet Drive, Hedwig, Mad-Eye Moody, and George’s ear.

The primary focus of Deathly Hallows was set up in the final chapters of Half-Blood Prince. Harry would not be returning to Hogwarts for his final year of education. Instead, he will try to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes; items magically containing bits of Voldemort’s soul as tasked to him by Dumbledore, with the help of his trusted and courageous friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

J.K. Rowling could have easily left it at that, but instead readers are treated to a 759-page journey through history. Characters we thought we knew were revealed to have layers beyond any we imagined. Motives behind actions taken as far back as Sorcerer’s Stone are made clear. Whether we like them or not. Peculiar items left to Harry, Ron, and Hermione in Dumbledore’s will prove vital in the three heroes uncovering the legend behind The Deathly Hallows; three magical items said to provide the power to defeat death once possessed.

With very little to go on, and those they love left behind to live in constant mortal danger, Harry and his friends go on the run faced with a decision. Do they try and uncover The Deathly Hallows and are they the key to Harry defeating Voldemort? The words of the prophecy, “neither can live while the other survives,” ring in Harry’s head. Or should Harry soldier on, fulfilling Dumbledore’s wishes, and destroy the remaining Horcruxes, wherever they are and whatever they may be?

At times, that struggle became a bit too much for me to swallow. Harry’s willingness to mistrust what he knew of Albus Dumbledore because of the poison quill biography of him written by Rita Skeeter, of all people, seemed unrealistic. Hadn’t we been through this before with his refusal to open himself up to the Dumbledore suggested occlumency lessons with Snape in O.O.T.P. (which led to Sirius’ death), and his reluctance to work on Slughorn as Dumbledore asked, but rather worry about what Draco Malfoy was up to in H.B.P? That last one was especially frustrating as we know now Dumbledore had that well under control.

Harry’s tendency to react as a hothead and assume he knew better was frustrating through much of the middle portion of the book, but one could suppose it further goes to prove that he was, after all, his father’s son and still just a boy. When it counted though, Harry ultimately makes the right decision having had a sense of clarity after burying Dobby the house-elf (three-hanky moment 20) and realizes that in order to defeat Voldemort he must finish what he started; destroying the Horcruxes.

It is a testament to Rowling’s great talent that a tale so full of death, loss, and sorrow can still find ways to rally the heart. I’ve always found some of Ron’s lines, usually delivered out of his living in the shadow of louder, funnier, and smarter brothers the funniest. Deathly Hallows did not disappoint on that score.

“Why the hell,” panted Ron, holding up the Horcrux, which swung backward and forward on its shortened chain in some parody of hypnosis, “didn’t you take this thing off before you dived?”

And after Harry dreams about Gregorovitich for the first time…

“I think Voldemort’s looking for him.”

“Poor bloke,” said Ron fervently.

However, as much as it is a tale of good versus evil, at its heart the Harry Potter series is about friendship, trust, loyalty, bravery, and family. Which is why I found myself with a funny feeling in my stomach when I thought, “Hedwig won’t make it till the end of the book,” while reading chapter two, and teary-eyed when the owl didn’t make it past chapter four. It’s also why I cried when Fred Weasley, Lavender Brown, Colin Creevey, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, and Dobby died. (Though I didn’t shed a tear when Crabbe bit it.)

It is, too, why the story of Snape touched me so deeply. Over seven books we came to love, hate, loathe, and care about, the people in this world and the reasons behind their actions. How tragic, how brave, that Snape would live a life where everyone thought him to be a traitor because his misguided beliefs helped kill the woman he loved. How sad that he devoted himself to help protect the life of her son who had her eyes. How truly remorseful must he have been to allow the world to believe he had killed the only man to really trust, believe in, and know him, in malice.

I read once, either in some how-to book on being a fiction writer or during some writing class, that you never introduce a loaded gun in act one if you don’t plan on firing it by act three. Maybe Rowling read the same book for she definitely addressed every plot point, every landmark, and damn near every character, ever introduced in the Potterverse in this final installment. Even better, one never gets the feeling that she was just making stuff up as she went along. It was evident that each character, even the evil ones, were carefully crafted, loved, and respected, for they were each given history and some even life after death. Albus Severus Potter? That would be three-hanky moment 40, thank you very much.

Some might say that Deathly Hallows was a bit heavy on the message of tolerance. No one can say they didn’t immediately think of concentration camps when reading about the Muggle-Born Registration Commission. Though, there was a lovely moment during a scene in which Harry, Hermione, and Ron gather around to listen to a pirate radio show aimed at getting the truth out while Voldemort has taken over the Ministry of Magic and all media. Kingsley Shacklebot suggests that those in the magical world also protect the unsuspecting Muggles (non-magical folk) by placing protective charms around their homes.

“And what would you say, Royal (Kingsley), to those listeners who reply that in these dangerous times, it should be ‘Wizards first’?” asked Lee.

“I’d say that it’s one short step from ‘Wizards first’ to ‘Purebloods first,’ and then to ‘Death Eaters,’” replied Kingsley. “We’re all human, aren’t we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.”

Let’s face it, there is no perfect ending to a story you never want to end. And there’s no mistaking that it had to end. I mean, how menacing could Voldemort continue to prove to be if he never succeeds in killing Harry, or how impressive is it to be The Chosen One and The Boy Who Lived if you never vanquish the bad guy? It would become comical.

No, no ending would be perfect. But Rowling gets it damn near perfect in Deathly Hallows. Sure, in the epilogue I would have loved to have learned more about what happened to Luna (I imagine her off running The Quibbler married to Dean Thomas), how the Weasley’s coped with Fred’s death, how was the revelation that Snape was a hero received, did the Dursleys ever see Harry again, and more, but I don’t mind having some of it left to my imagination either.

I’m happy with where these beloved characters were left. I called it after seeing the movie, Order of the Phoenix, that you’d never see Harry performing Avada Kedavra on Voldemort. That’s not his style. Everything was left as it should be. But that’s not to say that if five years from now Rowling ever has the desire to pick up a new tale in the halls of Hogwarts, the streets of Hogsmeade, the lanes of The Burrow, the cobblestone paths of Diagon Alley, I’d be complaining.

I’m Going To See Harry Alone

Why?

Because my child is throwing a bloody fit. “I don’t want to go. I don’t like Harry Potter!”

“Since when?”

“I just don’t! I don’t want to go!”

If it wasn’t for the fact that I was there when I pushed her out I would seriously be wondering if she is truly my child. Then again, she questions whether or not she is really adopted every time I frown up my nose at a corn dog. We get by.

“Well, too bad. I do a lot of stuff I don’t feel like doing all the time. And there could be worse things, you know, than going to see a movie you don’t want to see. For instance, I could be making you clean your room!”

“Why can’t you go alone and let Daddy stay home with me?”

“Because he wants to go too.”

“Not as much as you.”

She had a point. I briefly wondered if this is what I was like at her age when everyone said, “You should be a lawyer when you grow up. You talk a lot, you argue a lot, and you always have to have the last word.”

“I don’t want to go alone!”

“Well, I don’t want to go. Please don’t make me. It scares me. I saw the commercials and it looks really scary for my age.”

Then my child, as expertly as Hermione Granger, magically conjured up tears.

And that’s how I found myself on fandango.com purchasing one ticket for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at 11:40am at the theatre down the road.

Just wait and see what happens the next time she wants cupcakes from scratch……….

I’ll make them.

Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix Film Review

As I drove, alone, to the theater this morning the weather was gloomy. It was chilly, overcast, and rain had begun to drizzle. It seemed fitting as the tone of this film was definitely darker than any of its predecessors. As well it should be. When you first begin the journey that is the story of Harry Potter and its many characters it all seems very tame, doesn’t it? It’s almost as if you got your somewhat happy ending at the beginning. “A dark wizard tries to kill a little boy, but he survives? That doesn’t sound so bad.”

As the stories progressed we find that being “The Boy Who Lived” kinda blows. It’s lonely as he’s an orphan and the few true friends he has managed to make can never fully understand the burden placed upon him. It’s dangerous as he’s in constant fear of what Voldemort, a.k.a The Dark Lord, a.k.a He Who Must Not Be Named, a.k.a. that guy from Strange Days (Ralph Fiennes), might be planning, and he must go through all of this while dealing with the normal rises and lows of being a teenaged boy.

As each volume unfolded we got reminded time and time again what a hard existence it is to be Harry Potter. The cold wind and big fat rain drops put me in the right frame of mind as the film began.

Readers of the books know that The Order opens with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) having spent a summer alone with the mean spirited Dursleys. He’s been brooding because he’s not had one word from the wizarding world as to what is going on now that they all know Lord Voldemort has returned having tricked Harry into participating in his rebirth, and then killing Cedric Diggory, at the end of Goblet of Fire.
Things quickly pick up as Dementors attack Harry and his cousin, Dudley (Harry Melling), in a park in Little Whinging. This was one of the scenes I had been looking forward to seeing the most as I remember the shock and excitement of reading about the events in the book. Such a blatant attack early on really set up the rest of OOTP well. You know right away that, yet again, the danger has been taken to a whole new level.

As The Order of the Phoenix, a group of good wizards and witches led by Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) and formed to fight Lord Voldemort the first time he rose to power, come to pick Harry up and take him to their headquarters I was pleased that things were moving along so quickly and I was excited to finally see what Kingsley Shacklebot (and auror at the Ministry of Magic working in secret with The Order) and Nymphadora Tonks looked like. They both did not disappoint but I was most pleased with Tonks (Natalia Tena). She was everything I imagined her to be – spunky, quirky, pretty, clumsy, and above all kick ass…but more on that later.
Things don’t get better for young Potter, looking all growed up I must say, as he finds out from The Order, that also includes his fugitive godfather Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), the Weasley parents, and his father’s arch rival and his own Potions master Severus Snape (played with ghoulish glee by Alan Rickman), that the Ministry of Magic has made it their business to try and discredit Harry and his claims that Lord Voldemort has indeed returned.

The wizardry news is filled with stories professing that Harry is a liar and out for attention. Also fearing that Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of the wizardry school Hogwarts, is backing Potter’s claims in an effort to take his job as Head of the Ministry, Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy) places his under secretary, Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), at Hogwarts in an effort to try and control what goes on there.

Much of the movie is spent at Hogwarts, as usual, as Harry and his friends led by Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) deal with the over growing presence of Umbridge at their school (educational decrees up the wazoo!), taking their Ordinary Wizarding Level exams (O.W.L.s), and attending secret Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons taught by Harry. Hey, if the Ministry is too stubborn to acknowledge Voldemort’s return and protect them, then they need to protect themselves, don’t they? You bet your ass they do.

All of this leads to a climax at the Ministry of Magic so good I wanted to stand up and cheer. But I was alone. And I’m like 6 feet tall. And grown. So, overall, I’m thinking that woulda been weird.

So now, as is my way, I’m going to tell you what was good before I get to the bad…

- What J.K. Rowlings does expertly, and so far the many directors of each film has managed to capture as well, is display Harry’s constant wonder and joy at his new, true, world. He finds out he’s a wizard much later in life than most children in his world. And now, even five years later, he still displays amazement at experiencing new aspects of the wizarding world. For instance, in Goblet of Fire when he attended the Quidditch World Cup and used a portkey for the first time and now in Order as he arrives at the Ministry of Magic to answer charges of unauthorized use of magic in front of a Muggle (He was cleared. He only used the Patronus charm to defeat the Dementors and save his and Dudley’s lives. Besides, the whole hearing was nothing more than an excuse to further discredit Harry and, by extension, Dumbledore.) Showing Harry watch people arrive to work by Floo Powder and the self flying paper airplanes that serve as inter-office memos is a nice touch that reminds the viewer that he’s just as new to some of this as we are.

- Sirius Black – though he’s never been a huge part of any of the books he’s in (even the one that bears his name – The Prisoner of Azkaban cause let’s face it, he’s not in many actual scenes of the books), he’s still such a presence in the Harry Potter world. He’s the only real family Harry has left and watching the scenes between them knowing the tragic outcome was heartbreaking. I did notice one thing though. He is definitely a rock star. I mean. Sirius Black is like the freakin’ Mick Jagger of the wizarding world. Don’t believe me? Just pay close attention to the scene with him and Harry at the train station.

- Watching members of The Order line up outside 4 Privet Drive and mount their brooms.

- Luna Lovegood! I loved Luna in all loony glory. She spoke as if she were in a haze, but delivered some of the best moments, and advice, of the movie. I totally want Harry to end up with Luna now. Hopefully, J.K. makes that happen in the final book.
- Dolores Umbridge. She was like a walking, talking, bottle of Pepto Bismol. And just as nasty.

- Minimal Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane)…and I didn’t mind.

- Patti said in her review that she wanted to “make sweet, sweet, love to” the final battle that took place at the Ministry. Sign me up for the orgy, please. The film found an impressive way to visualize that battle. The Death Eaters dissolved into black smoke and whipped around our hero and his friends, but when The Order showed up (and wow, what an entrance) they fought back in streaks of white. It made the battle much more magical because let’s face it, two people pointing sticks at each other and shouting Latin can get kinda…lame.

- Though I appreciate Kingsley getting a line, I have a feeling I would have rather seen the painting of Phineas Nigellus deliver the original line, “You know, Minister, I disagree with Dumbledore on many counts…but you cannot deny he’s got style…”, after Dumbledore made his exit from Hogwarts…a scene I was dying to see that did not disappoint.

Here’s what was not so good…

- Several scenes ended weirdly. Like the director didn’t know quite when to cut them so instead we get an uncomfortable fade-out or a shot pulled back straight out of the room and into the skies above Hogwarts.

- As the books got longer it was inevitable that more would have to be cut from the movies. As much as someone like me wouldn’t mind a four hour epic, as long as it was done right, including each aspect of a book that you’ve come to love for its many details, most of America wouldn’t get down with it. And I understand that. And I deal with it. But that doesn’t stop me from missing little details like how much work the teenagers put into helping Mrs. Weasley rid the headquarters of doxies and dead puffskeins, the explanation of how Tonks is related to Sirius, the fact that Professor Trelawney is the one who spoke the prophecy regarding Harry and Voldemort, and everyone running into Neville Longbottom’s parents at the St. Mungos when they go to visit Mr. Weasley.

- There were not enough scenes of the occlumency lessons between Snape and Harry. Considering that their failure to successfully complete the lessons due to their mutual hatred is what led to Voldemort being able to lure Harry and his friends to the Department of Mysteries, I thought there could have been at least one or two more scenes to show the breakdown. Especially knowing what Snape does in The Half Blood Prince, one wonders if this was part of his plan.

- Grawp. I didn’t care for him in the book and he seemed pointless in the movie, but I understand why he had to be introduced. Much like Kreacher, who is rumored to play a big role in Deathly Hallows, had to be at least introduced in this movie.

- Dolores’ comeuppance, being carried away by the Centaurs, always struck me as disturbing. Seeing it didn’t help. Though I did miss the scene with Ron later torturing a catatonic Umbridge with the sounds of hoof beats.
Finally, I thought there wasn’t enough mourning shown by Harry after Sirius’ death. The ending of the movie, didn’t seem to match up with the ending of the book tone-wise, I mean the final chapter was titled, “The Second War Begins,” for God’s sake! I wanted more feelings of impending doom. Some serious stuff went down in this installment and it whispered of what’s to come. Why was everyone so damn optimistic? They shouldn’t be.

As I watched the final scenes of the movie the words of the prophecy stuck with me. “One must die at the hands of the other as one cannot live as long as the other survives.” And though I’m anxiously awaiting the final book (just one more week!) and hoping for good things, I found myself hoping that Voldemort kills Harry.

Why? Because this movie did such a great job of reminding me of the burden that comes with being Harry Potter, and how though they (he and Voldemort) are eerily alike, Harry is much different (and better) because of who he is at heart and the friends that he has. I somehow feel as if I’d rather he dies in Deathly Hallows fighting the good fight than having the added burden of being a murderer.

A Different Kind of Wet Spot

You can add to Donny’s long list of accolades, “He never makes me sleep in the wet spot.” And you know what? I wasn’t about to start last night. Shall I explain?

Kali has this new (and by new I mean she’s been doing it for a few months now) thing where she completely cocoons herself in her blankets when she falls asleep. I used to do it for many years – even as an adult. She does it because she’s afraid. The problem with the cocooning…well, besides the fact that anything she should be afraid of while she sleeps (sudden fire, child molestors, the monster under her bed) will not be deterred by a butterfly embroidered blanket…is that it makes her all sweaty in the morning.

Well, last night Kali fell asleep in our bed and when Donny and I finally found our way upstairs (after Heroes, which better be soooo good next week to make up for last night’s snoozefest) we found her wrapped up in our big blue comforter. As Donny picked her up to carry to her room, I kissed her forehead and rubbed her head. “You’re all sweaty,” I cooed. She hugged Donny tighter and grinned without opening her eyes.

While he’s doing that I slipped into bed. Kali had apparently propped our two pillows on top of each other in order to see the television better and that’s how I found them when I laid down. As soon as my lower back rested against them I noticed that they were just so…so…hot…and moist.

“Ewww,” I cried as I flung the top (and warm and wet) one towards Donny’s side of the bed. I then fluffed the cool pillow and settled in, pulling the blanket up to my shoulders…to discover that it too was warm and wet. I quickly rearranged the blanket so that it (the damp part) was also on Donny’s side.

A few moments later he comes in and climbs into bed.

“What the hell?!”

“I never sleep in the wet spot and I’m not about to start now.”

****

I have this rule for my marriage that we both can’t be cranky at the same time. And if we ever are, my cranky trumps Donny’s cranky. Of course, it means that Donny never gets to be cranky because if he ever is, it makes me cranky and then I win. If I am, it makes him crazy, and guess what? I still win.

Then we have what I call fake cranky. This is where we both act really, really, fake cranky with smiles on our faces and go out of our way to be difficult because if we didn’t we’d probably be all mushy and making out. This fake cranky usually occurs when he comes home from work and I’m happy to see him, but wonder if it would be really lame to jump on him with kisses and a, “Hi, honey!”

So, yesterday when he came in he rested for about 30 minutes and then started to load the dishwasher. Remember, he left me two sinks of dishes on Monday morning from all the Mother’s Day cooking he did. Technically, those were his dishes to do. He looked as if he wanted to cuss me out, but didn’t. However, I was on the phone with Richard at the time who called me all kinds of lazy bitches.

Anyway, after much debate we settled on making sage pork chops for dinner because of all the new recipes we’ve tried it’s the quickest and they’re awesome. Problem is, we don’t have any pork chops. Donny and Kali run out to get some and come back with four of the smallest pork chops I’ve ever seen in my life. I mean, teeny, tiny, little fuckers. I was so hungry at this point I felt I could have eaten all four easily.

“Why you bring these little ass pork chops in here?”

“That’s all they had.”

“What is Kali going to eat?”

“She wants a Kid Cuisine.”

“What are you going to eat?”

****

As we ate dinner the family watched, “Night at the Museum.” Kali and I were supposed to watch it the other night, but she really wanted to watch it with both Mom and Dad. Awwww. Anyway, it was a cute movie and we all laughed out loud many times.

Kali went upstairs (unbeknownst to us to sweat our bed up) and we continued on with our fake cranky. Just really silly, stupid conversations like…

“God, will you move your leg?”

“I’m going to fart on you if you don’t shut up.”

“By the end of the night, woman, you’re going to be calling me Master.”

“Nigga, please.”

Ok, I’m kidding. I didn’t say that. But I totally looked at him as if to say it.

At one point he’s playing a baseball game on the X-Box 360 and I ask him to pass my Harry Potter book which is face down and open on the arm of the sofa. Perturbed that I’m interrupting his lame ass game he kind of half ass tosses it at me….and loses my page.

I gasp as if he slapped me. (When you’re fake cranky, you pretend that everything bothers you.) He smirks. Then says, “Calm down, it was an accident.”

“Whatever, now find my page.”

“How the hell am I supposed to know what page you were on?”

“It was after the rogue bludger tried to kill Harry but right before he took the polyjuice potion. Good luck.”