owl

I recieved my copy of HP and the Deathly Hallows yesterday, and true to form, immediately spent all day and the night until 4 am reading it all the way through. Yes, I am a Harry Potter fan.

I realize this disqualifies me as an objective person regarding the Rowling oeuvre, but meh. But this isn’t going to be a slavishly slobbery ode to it. I certainly found weaknesses in it, to be sure. Fatal weaknesses? No.

I understand the many, many reviewers who have been disappointed with one thing or another, but I don’t think it’s necessary to lash out at the whole plot, book, Rowling or god. The problem is one encountered by Geo. Lucas with the Star Wars franchise. He made the mistake of divulging some hint of the whole structure of the thing. From that moment on, he was practically locked into completing it, considering the money everyone was printing off the whole concern. But the problem he ran into that I’m talking about is getting from point A to point Q, where the first story took place. A New Hope referred obliquely to a time of “peace and justice” in the galaxy, when the Jedi were in power. He had to get to a point where the galaxy was terrified of the psuedo-nazi Empire and the Old Republic was gone.

It’s all very well to say, oh I’ll get there–the mythological story-structures allow for a number of ways to get there, no worries. But then you actually have to DO it. And it never measures up to the imaginations of the fans.

Rowling was up against a similar thing. Although she had given no hints or leaks of what was going to happen in the end (and speculation was rife), the point is that she knew it, and she had to get from the death of Dumbledore to that point. Things are going to end up rushed. I know; I’m a writer too. You can make an outline and have a vague idea of what happens, but then you write it. And things go wrong.

And as a writer, I can tell you that well-established characters take on a life of their own in your head. You have this wonderfully tight outline written that will get there with drama and brevity without making it unreal…and then one of those characters pops up and says, “um, no. I wouldn’t do that. In fact, I’m going to do this.” “No, but…um, see this gets there better.” “I don’t care. I’m not doing that. In fact, I’m very angry about things and I’m going to leave.” “WHAT?? No! You can’t do that! That’ll add hundred pages to this thing! Wait–!!” Too late.

What does all this rambling have to do with the Deathly Hallows? Well, I really feel that Ms. Rowling got into those predicaments. Because there were a couple of things–not big things, mind you–that just seemed a little rushed or unrealistic. Now, don’t get me wrong. I thought it was a wonderful book, a fitting end to the HP saga. Rowling draws upon atmospheres of war from WWII that Americans never had to suffer: the bombings, the blitz, the near-invasions… Once you realize what and where she is taking her inspiration from, the deaths, the difficulties all make a great deal of sense.

I also think that Rowling avoided certain thematic comparisons not too badly. The comparison can still be made, but there’s equal evidence against it, for which I am especially happy. No, I’m not going to be more specific than that. No spoilers here. But don’t read the comments unless you want spoilers.

I can’t really say more without spoiling, so suffice it to say that I really liked it. Sad that it’s over, but knowing it was going to finish at 7 for years now has helped with that. For young adult fantasy fiction, Rowling has placed herself among the greats: Roald Dahl, Susan Cooper and Charles Lutwidge Dodgson.