Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
7th book in the Harry Potter Series
by J.K. Rowling

The seventh and final installment in the highly lauded series Is not much longer than its predecessors and yet the sheer number of events and subplots makes it all that much more dense. Because of this it has taken me quite some time, upon finishing the book, to sit down and order my thoughts and feelings regarding this last installment before compiling this review. I must say that while there were many aspects and points that I felt were exceptionally well thought out and executed, there were also bits that left me with a bit of a foul taste in my mouth.

Before we continue any further I must advise you that this review will undoubtedly contain some spoilers, as I will allude to specific events and occurrences in the book to support my claims. I will however attempt to refrain from divulging the entirety of the book.

To begin, let’s recap where book six, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince left off. At the end of the book it was revealed that Voldemort had split his soul into seven horcruxes in an attempt to master death and ensure that he could not be defeated. Dumbledore had already destroyed one, Harry had unknowingly destroyed another in his previous adventures, and it was revealed that a mysterious “R.A.B” had beaten Harry and Dumbledore to the third, a locket. In the book’s conclusion Severus Snape, the Order of the Phoenix’s spy had killed Albus Dumbledore and fled with his fellow Death Eaters in what seemed like the ultimate betrayal of Dumbledore’s trust.

Here now I’d like to address the subject that was the main focus of Harry, Hermione, and Ron’s quest for nearly the first half of the best - the search for and the destruction of the locket that R.A.B found first and the identity of R.A.B. It seemed to take unnaturally long for the book’s heroic trio to discern the initial location of the locket and the identity of R.A.B. I’m not even going to bother with dancing around the identity of R.A.B because everyone and their grandmother who have the read the book, came to the immediate conclusion of just who R.A.B had to be and then subsequently attempted to reject the idea because it was far too easy and obvious.

It took one hundred and eighty-six pages for the trio to discern that R.A.B was none other than Regulus Artiurus Black, and although we did not know his middle name until now, there isn’t a reader out there who didn’t arrive upon this conclusion upon the finale of the previous book, and sadly enough it took another three pages before the trio realized that the locket had been in front of their faces all along in the case of “dark artifacts” that had been disposed of during the cleaning frenzy at Grimwauld Place.

The true kicker here folks lies in the fact that Harry only realized the truth after looking at the name plate on Regulus’ bedroom door at the Black house. Odd how no one seemed to notice the name plates or comment on them in any of the previous books, but suddenly there is a very pompous name plate with Regulus’ full name on his old bedroom door. Hermione I’m disappointed in you, you’re supposed to be the brains of the operation and yet you failed to make the obvious connection? Tsk tsk.

One good thing did come of this scene however, the further development of Kreacher’s characterization as well as the development of the bond between Harry and Kreacher. I was rather touched how Harry and Ron revised their thinking of Kreacher and saw him as more than a talking appliance but as a person as well. I was thoroughly impressed with the level of maturation that was shown here but that level of maturity was short lived and tended to give way to utter idiocy on the part of Ron and Harry at times.

The question that plagued many a reader’s mind, was Snape good or evil, was at long last answered when Harry was gifted with some of Snape’s memories in order to explain himself and to instruct Harry on what his final steps should be in defeating Voldemort. I confess to not being surprised here honestly. Snape’s childhood, his motivation for joining the side of the light, even why he asked Dumbledore to never tell any of the Order members why he switched sides just did not come as a surprise. Despite it being well written and moving, it was also a large letdown as it was not only a theory hashed out in hundreds of fanfiction but it was also terribly cliche.

On top of this minor disappointment was the fact that, aside from the true nature of Dumbledore’s relationship with Grindelwald and the Deathly Hallows themselves the book’s events really weren’t that surprising. Granted, this is the final book and the pieces should all be fitting into their proper places at long last, but they lacked the element of surprise and suspense. This is what slowed down the tone of the story greatly as many of the events were not only predictable but also glaringly obvious which resulted in many “it took them how long to see this coming” moments for this reader.

While Harry and the trio searched for the locket and then subsequently continued their search for the other horcruxes and a means to destroy them the book dragged, horribly so. There were instances where one’s adrenaline began to rush, no doubt about that, but for the most part it dragged until Harry, foolishly and arrogantly, bumbles into the Death Eater’s hands. Then of course things begin to move along quite nicely. That is however more than halfway through the book though.

As for Dumbledore, I am glad that, in a sense, Rowling did not attempt to mimic the Gandalf-scenario here as that might very well have been the nail in this book’s coffin. However Dumbledore’s family history and his motivations and subsequent decisions might shock some readers. I for one wasn’t shocked simply because I’ve long seen Dumbledore as not nearly kind and benevolent as he appears and so the revelation of a sort of puppet-master-Dumbledore did not take me by surprise but merely confirmed my long standing suspicions.

Despite much of the book’s predictability and the fair number of cliched motivations and plot devices Deathly Hallows does have some good surprises in store for the reader, not to mention the fact that the death of many well-liked, popular, and even loved characters will have quite a few gasping in shock. If I’ve counted correctly there were at least fifteen character deaths that will sadden loyal readers, not including muggles and characters that were only mentioned for the first time in this book to serve as cannon fodder if you will.

Rowling ended this tale with a bit of a time jump so that we could see how the survivors had fared in life if you will. I was very disappointed with this bit actually. Despite the fact that throughout the whole series Dumbledore proclaimed that the four houses of Hogwarts had to stand together as they were all equal, nineteen years in the future shows that the previous generation has continued to pass on those same narrow-minded and prejudice beliefs to their children, which is evidenced when one of the children raises a fuss over the possibility of being sorted into Slytherin and his family and siblings continue on about the virtues of being a Gryffindor. Oh granted, the father of said child attempts to correct that logic, but the fact that it still persists is disheartening. And the reaction of the fathers of these children upon seeing an old face isn’t very encouraging either. It would appear that history here in the magical world is doomed to repeat itself eventually. Also on that note is the lack of Slytherins who participated in and fought on the good guy’s side in the final battle and McGonagal’s surprising lack of ability to rally the troops to unite. So much for Hogwart’s unity.

Before I wrap it up I’d like to add one final comment. I find it to be rather disturbing that this book is being marketed as a children’s book when the language and content is not exactly something most parents want their young children exposed to. The death count is staggering to say the least, there are numerous British and American explicits, and there is a remarkable amount sexual innuendo as well. A waitress murmuring a suggestion to Ron of where he could stick his “wand” when he complains his pants are too tight being just one of several such comments.

And then there is the torture and disfigurement of some characters, and the implied rape/extreme brutality of another. Initially these books started off light enough but the series grew much darker and maturer and as such I feel, as a whole and especially this final installment, should all be moved and classified as “Young Adult”. I don’t consider myself overly conservative or prudish but even I have to raise some objections to children under ten years of age absorbing some of this.

Over all this book was an entertaining read but I can’t help but to be relieved that Rowling has brought the series to a close. The way in which Rowling tied up the lose ends and brought everything to a close showed that this series had drug on just a bit too long. Despite this book’s confirmation of Dumbledore’s character, which I felt oddly vindicated in seeing, and the revelation behind Severus Snape’s past, motivations, patronous, and true intent, this is definately not one of my favorite books in the series and not one of Rowling’s better efforts.

Joana’s rating:

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