Sunday, July 22, 2007

Now What Am I Going to Do?

As planned, The Child and I set off first thing yesterday morning to get our copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Her plans for the day had changed as The Boyfriend had invited her to the Bite of Seattle (like the Taste of Chicago, only with rain). And real boyfriends apparently trump literary heroes when you are 13. But we had time between getting the books and when she was supposed to meet him so she suggested that we get coffee somewhere and start reading. Which we did.

Only as soon as we sat down she was all "What time is it?" and "Shouldn't we go soon? and generally interrupting my reading so I deposited her with Boyfriend, came home, settled myself in and started to read.

I read and read. I ate some grapes. I read and read and read. I took a 2 hour nap. I read and read and read and read and had hamburgers with The Spouse. And then I read and read and kept reading until I thought, "Golly, it's midnight. I can finish this tomorrow" and just then I read something that made me say, "Golly, I've got to finish this now". So I did.

"And now you have nothing to look forward to ever again," smiled The Spouse this morning.

Of course, he's kinda right. I remember, for example, when I discovered the Lord Peter mysteries by Dorothy L. Sayers. I'm not even that much a fan of murder mysteries. But I liked the character of Lord Peter, a lot, and especially his odd romance with Harriet Vane, so I read them, more for the wit and the intrigue and the descriptions of food than for the mystery stuff. And then, one day I read the last book. And there weren't ever going to be anymore. (Actually, there was. A few years ago someone took the manuscript Sayers was working on when she died and fashioned it into one last Lord Peter story. It was OK).

And sure, you can re-read the books (and I do) and mine new things out of them and revisit the bits you really love and that's all good. But still, that first realization that there's no more to come is a little sad.

So I felt a little sad early this morning, when I closed the cover on HPVII. JK Rowling took us on a wicked good ride. It's been known that she's known all along how the saga would end and the best way to describe the ending of the final book is "fitting". It's not so much that she tidies everything up, although I suppose she does. Blanks are filled in. Questions are answered. And it is, in the style of all good epics, a matter of character determining destiny. But it is not pulled together in a way that is pat or dismissive. And I'm obviously just dying here because I'm desperate to talk to someone about it and no one I know has finished the book yet! So if one of you could get on that, please, I'd really appreciate it.

I was right about some stuff and partially right about some stuff and wrong about a few things. All of which I can live with. And what you've heard is true. Quite a lot of dying in this one. Tons of action, some snogging (not as much as in 5 and 6 but apparently adolescents don't think so much about snogging when their lives are in mortal danger).

And once again, I must give Ms. Rowling her props. This mega-franchise which has spawned from her work could have been the death of that work. But despite the astonishing success, the millions and millions of dollars, the movies, the products that could fill a thousand Hogwarts Castles, somehow she has managed to always keep it about the books. And each story has been better than the last, her style more confident, the characters more complex. She could have been phoning in these last few books and they would no doubt still have been best-sellers. But she didn't then and she hasn't now.

I haven't decided yet if the 7th will stand as my favorite of the series. But it's a bloody good book. I'm just sorry it's done.

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21 Comments:

Blogger canadian sadie opined...

Thank you so much for having something wonderful to say about the book, without spoiling it for me. :) I won't get to read it for at LEAST a few weeks--I'm on the library waitlist--and so many people are not saying nice things about the book. I'm so glad you liked it. :) It makes the wait more tolerable! :)

July 22, 2007 8:52 AM  
Blogger more cowbell opined...

The Offspring have demanded we purchase it today. They, alas, will have to do with one lone copy. The eldest has called first rights, as she will finish in a day. Middle Child works too much for a one-day read. The youngest has said fine, he wants the other 2 to go first. He is matter of factly saving it for the annual Visit With Dad, and plans to be reading any time Dad's New Wife attempts to draw him into conversation. Clever yet devious.

Good job at the no spoiler writing -- you must be about to burst.

July 22, 2007 11:39 AM  
Blogger Lorraine opined...

You're welcome, Sadie. Really? People are saying not nice things? The NY Times had a good review. Golly, you're going to have to walk around with your ears covered making "na na na I can't hear you noises". Good luck with that. I hope you enjoy it when you get it.

Clever children, Cowbell. And yes, I am about to burst and it wasn't easy. Have the Eldest email me or something...I'm going nuts.

July 22, 2007 11:49 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous opined...

You can call me if you want to. I never read any of the books so it won't matter one bit if I know the ending. Granted, my ignorance probably takes some of the fun out of it for you right? Ah well.

July 22, 2007 12:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous opined...

I finished my copy about 4:00 this morning. If you want to swap emails about it, I'm happy to oblige, if you'll tell me how to get in touch--unless you've found that a friend has finished it by now, in which case, I deem my offer likely to be unneeded.

It was somehin', though, wasn't it? Like at that part? And that other one? And right here, too? ;)

July 22, 2007 12:26 PM  
Blogger Lorraine opined...

That's a very sweet offer, Hat. But yeah, the whole not-knowing-who-any-of-these-people-are thing could get in the way.

Syd! Totally. That bit where that thing happened? Crazy! So over there on the sidebar where it says "Email Moi"? Email moi, please!

July 22, 2007 12:34 PM  
Blogger Sling opined...

Now is a good opportunity for you to begin reading the "Doc Savage" series..

July 22, 2007 2:31 PM  
Blogger Lex Lata opined...

Harry who? What is everyone talking about?

July 22, 2007 4:54 PM  
Blogger Lorraine opined...

Sling, is there magic?

Lex: Shut up.

July 22, 2007 5:27 PM  
Blogger more cowbell opined...

She'd be glad to -- of course you'd have to put up with hearing about Snape's hawtness. I was too lazy to buy it today, and she left for a friend's house, so it will have to be tomorrow for the Big Purchase.

July 22, 2007 8:11 PM  
Blogger Sling opined...

umm...why yes!..Yes there is magic!
Start with,"Doc Savage and the incredibly gruesome corpse".. :P

July 22, 2007 9:08 PM  
Blogger Lorraine opined...

Or, maybe we should just go out on the porch and have some beers?

July 22, 2007 10:13 PM  
Blogger Sling opined...

..that's prolly best.

July 22, 2007 10:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous opined...

i'm almost done! i'm almost done! even though n & i had humorously agreed not to begin the book until today after his parents leave, HA. i'm about page 400 into it. pretty good for "not starting it until monday"...

July 23, 2007 4:52 AM  
Blogger Br. Jonathan opined...

I got hooked on Arthur Hailey for a while ("Airport" "Hotel" etc). I read ALL of his stuff. I'm sure you can get them all at 50 cents a piece at a used bookstore now.
Wonderful review, btw, with no spoilers at all. Yay.

July 23, 2007 6:51 AM  
Blogger Citymouse opined...

My son read it in a single day-- I'll be writing more about his adventure im sure! All i can say is he liked it too!

July 23, 2007 7:31 AM  
Blogger Lorraine opined...

Cowbell, I get the Snape hotness thing. I really do. Even before the movies started I was picturing him as Alan Rickman. Be still my heart.

Stacy! Hurry! Hurry! Email me the second you're done.

Jon, disaster fiction isn't exactly my thing, punkin, but thanks for the suggestion. (You really are a man of many faces, aren't you?)

Mouse: There's such a tugging little thrill about knocking off a book in a day. But yesterday I was totally wishing I'd left a little something for a lazy Sunday afternoon as well!

July 23, 2007 8:42 AM  
Blogger booda baby opined...

This is a wonderful unrevealing review!

July 23, 2007 10:00 AM  
Blogger Lorraine opined...

Thanks, Booda Baby.

July 23, 2007 10:11 AM  
Blogger Red Seven opined...

I pick mine up tomorrow; it was delivered to my office. I imagine that it will take me at least a few days to get through it, mostly because I'll want to stretch it out and savor, savor, savor. But lots of my friends are finished with it already, and I've yet to hear any disappointing reviews ...

July 23, 2007 7:46 PM  
Blogger Lorraine opined...

I understand the whole "savoring" thing. In theory. But obviously, I'm an HP glutton.

July 24, 2007 9:00 AM  

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