RB (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rubberbutton) wrote2007-07-22 02:51 pm
rubberbutton) wrote2007-07-22 02:51 pm
Entry tags:
HP7
I liked it, mostly, and yet feel strangely empty now. Part of it is just the end of a decade of wondering what happens next. The closing of cannon represents the end of all the other possibilities, which is a loss I actually feel pretty deeply.
So I liked it....but here’s an excessive list of pet peeves, annoyances and issues that I really need to get off my chest.
Things I Didn't Like:
1. I thought Harry should have died. For most of the book I was hoping he’d live, until we learned from Snape’s memory that Harry has to die. At that point, I felt a promise of sorts had been made and that Harry really needed to die.
It’s called catharsis, hello. I got all worked up about Harry’s impending death (even while I figured it wouldn’t really happen) and then didn’t get the emotional release.
By letting the martyr character live, an author demeans their sacrifice, I think. And I always feel a bit cheated when the author gets to have their character-struggles-with-ultimate-choice cake and eat it, too.
Of course, if Rowling had killed Harry, the entire world would have plunged into grief and darkness—and who wants that on their hands?
2. I felt like I never got to grieve, because Harry never got to grieve. There were about two sentences indicating either that he was or eventually would grieve for the fallen, but the audience didn’t ever see it.
Rowling did kill plenty of characters, characters I really liked, but since there was never a moment to contemplate their loss, I never really felt much emotion. I’m not asking for chapters and chapters of Harry moping around—we’ve already had seven books of that—but a final funeral or memorial service, something, anything to let me wallow a little.
The only point in the book where I wept was when Harry used the Resurrection Stone and called back Lupin and Sirius and his parents and the audience really got to think about what had been taken from him/us.
This isn’t the first time I’ve had this problem. Sirius’ death seemed mostly forgotten in book IV and Harry’s loss of Dumbledore was mostly about loss of guidance than anything else. Why should I care if none of the actual characters do?
3. TOO MANY CHARACTERS. Don’t get me wrong—I love ensemble pieces but with a narrative thisrambling involved, it seems a shame to have dozens and dozens of fantastic characters gathering dust because the fricken book is already close to 1,000 pages. Part of the problem is that Harry, Ron and Hermione are probably the least interesting of the cast.
I kept desperately hoping to see more of Lupin, Snape, Luna and the rest. Instead I got Harry, Ron and Hermione camping out in the middle of nowhere and giving each other the silent treatment. Not my favorite bit, that.
I was especially bitter because I really, really wanted to see the Lupin-Tonks relationship fallout, and all of that was indirectly reported. NOT FAIR.
4. The abruptness of the epilogue bothered me. It felt like ten pages of “and they all live Happily Ever After.” I mean, all was well? It was more whimper than bang.
Everyone ends up married with 2.5 kids? WTF, J. K.? There are other roads to happiness, you know. Some of us like being alone, thank you very much.
And of course Rowling can’t resist introducing five new characters who’ll never be more than a name and hair color. I think, again, my annoyance is because that by establishing such a concrete future, Rowling has stripped the reader of the chance to decide for themselves what happens next. I guess as a fanficcer (though I’ve never written HP and only read a little), I’m more aware of it than normal people.
I really would have preferred to decide for myself how Harry and the gang dealt with the fallout of seven years of extreme soul-numbing fear and horrific battle. It’s uppity of me to feel that way, but...nope, don’t have an excuse. I’m uppity.
Everybody ended up dead or happy. After a few books of extreme darkness, it didn’t jive for me. Maybe after the first couple of volumes it would have worked, but after all that it just seemed too pat.
I keep reminding myself that it is a children’s book. The complex and ambiguous narratives I crave now would have left 12-year-old RB seriously annoyed. At that age I hated everything that didn’t end with a Disneyfied ending. But then, with its impressive death toll, Deathly Hallows isn’t your typical kids’ book—does this mean it has more or less excuse?
Things I Did Like:
Snape—Shallow of me perhaps, but I’m glad he got to claim his Tragic Hero title and fulfill the angsty wet dreams of fangirls everywhere. You know, I always trusted him. And Alan Rickman is going to be fantastic.
Lupin—I was glad he died. Don’t get me wrong, I love him; he’s one of my favorite characters. I’ve been hoping he’d die since Sirius’ death. I think it’s the closure since he’s the last Marauder that appeals to me. It’s just too poetical. I only wish we’d gotten to see him go out. And that he hadn’t married Tonks (that always seemed way out of left field).
Harry—I liked the person he became. I appreciated the quite grace and acceptance of his (not so) final sacrifice.
Ron/Hermione—I squeed out loud when they kissed. I’m not an HP shipper (except for some reflexive Lupin, Sirius, Snape slash) but I found them charming.
Confession:
Don’t laugh, but it was a real and serious concern of mine that I would die before reading the last book. It wasn’t even that I was an uberfan—it was just a vague but persistent concern. I mean, I don’t have any real goals, like climbing Everest or seeing my grandkids and my family all knows I love them. If I’d kicked off, the greatest If Only would have been not knowing what freakin’ happens. So now, I guess I can die, if not happy, then at least without feeling hard done by.
Whew. I feel better now.
So I liked it....but here’s an excessive list of pet peeves, annoyances and issues that I really need to get off my chest.
Things I Didn't Like:
1. I thought Harry should have died. For most of the book I was hoping he’d live, until we learned from Snape’s memory that Harry has to die. At that point, I felt a promise of sorts had been made and that Harry really needed to die.
It’s called catharsis, hello. I got all worked up about Harry’s impending death (even while I figured it wouldn’t really happen) and then didn’t get the emotional release.
By letting the martyr character live, an author demeans their sacrifice, I think. And I always feel a bit cheated when the author gets to have their character-struggles-with-ultimate-choice cake and eat it, too.
Of course, if Rowling had killed Harry, the entire world would have plunged into grief and darkness—and who wants that on their hands?
2. I felt like I never got to grieve, because Harry never got to grieve. There were about two sentences indicating either that he was or eventually would grieve for the fallen, but the audience didn’t ever see it.
Rowling did kill plenty of characters, characters I really liked, but since there was never a moment to contemplate their loss, I never really felt much emotion. I’m not asking for chapters and chapters of Harry moping around—we’ve already had seven books of that—but a final funeral or memorial service, something, anything to let me wallow a little.
The only point in the book where I wept was when Harry used the Resurrection Stone and called back Lupin and Sirius and his parents and the audience really got to think about what had been taken from him/us.
This isn’t the first time I’ve had this problem. Sirius’ death seemed mostly forgotten in book IV and Harry’s loss of Dumbledore was mostly about loss of guidance than anything else. Why should I care if none of the actual characters do?
3. TOO MANY CHARACTERS. Don’t get me wrong—I love ensemble pieces but with a narrative this
I kept desperately hoping to see more of Lupin, Snape, Luna and the rest. Instead I got Harry, Ron and Hermione camping out in the middle of nowhere and giving each other the silent treatment. Not my favorite bit, that.
I was especially bitter because I really, really wanted to see the Lupin-Tonks relationship fallout, and all of that was indirectly reported. NOT FAIR.
4. The abruptness of the epilogue bothered me. It felt like ten pages of “and they all live Happily Ever After.” I mean, all was well? It was more whimper than bang.
Everyone ends up married with 2.5 kids? WTF, J. K.? There are other roads to happiness, you know. Some of us like being alone, thank you very much.
And of course Rowling can’t resist introducing five new characters who’ll never be more than a name and hair color. I think, again, my annoyance is because that by establishing such a concrete future, Rowling has stripped the reader of the chance to decide for themselves what happens next. I guess as a fanficcer (though I’ve never written HP and only read a little), I’m more aware of it than normal people.
I really would have preferred to decide for myself how Harry and the gang dealt with the fallout of seven years of extreme soul-numbing fear and horrific battle. It’s uppity of me to feel that way, but...nope, don’t have an excuse. I’m uppity.
Everybody ended up dead or happy. After a few books of extreme darkness, it didn’t jive for me. Maybe after the first couple of volumes it would have worked, but after all that it just seemed too pat.
I keep reminding myself that it is a children’s book. The complex and ambiguous narratives I crave now would have left 12-year-old RB seriously annoyed. At that age I hated everything that didn’t end with a Disneyfied ending. But then, with its impressive death toll, Deathly Hallows isn’t your typical kids’ book—does this mean it has more or less excuse?
Things I Did Like:
Snape—Shallow of me perhaps, but I’m glad he got to claim his Tragic Hero title and fulfill the angsty wet dreams of fangirls everywhere. You know, I always trusted him. And Alan Rickman is going to be fantastic.
Lupin—I was glad he died. Don’t get me wrong, I love him; he’s one of my favorite characters. I’ve been hoping he’d die since Sirius’ death. I think it’s the closure since he’s the last Marauder that appeals to me. It’s just too poetical. I only wish we’d gotten to see him go out. And that he hadn’t married Tonks (that always seemed way out of left field).
Harry—I liked the person he became. I appreciated the quite grace and acceptance of his (not so) final sacrifice.
Ron/Hermione—I squeed out loud when they kissed. I’m not an HP shipper (except for some reflexive Lupin, Sirius, Snape slash) but I found them charming.
Confession:
Don’t laugh, but it was a real and serious concern of mine that I would die before reading the last book. It wasn’t even that I was an uberfan—it was just a vague but persistent concern. I mean, I don’t have any real goals, like climbing Everest or seeing my grandkids and my family all knows I love them. If I’d kicked off, the greatest If Only would have been not knowing what freakin’ happens. So now, I guess I can die, if not happy, then at least without feeling hard done by.
Whew. I feel better now.
no subject
It makes sense that Lupin would die: he was the last real father figure for Harry, and he had to be killed to allow Harry to become his own man. However, I thought we readers deserved a bit more than just one sentence about his off-stage death.
The epilogue felt perfunctory, as if JK or the publisher felt it was necessary to provide the obligatory "happy ending." I totally agree with you about the happiness = married w/ kids idea being rather ham-handed. Also, it felt as if nothing had been learned from all the sorrow: Hogwarts was still sorting kids into houses and promoting factionalism, and Harry and Draco's kids are set to repeat their fathers' senseless feuding. WTF?
no subject
*nods* Exactly. I guess filling in those holes gives fandom something to do with itself.
Also, it felt as if nothing had been learned from all the sorrow: Hogwarts was still sorting kids into houses and promoting factionalism, and Harry and Draco's kids are set to repeat their fathers' senseless feuding. WTF?
That's totally it!--you say these things much better than I. And also the secrecy and racism towards Muggles, which will only breed new Voldemorts. Le sigh.