Friday 6 November 2009

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows [Audio]


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
Narrated by: Jim Dale

Category: Young Adult Fantasy

Synopsis: In the final book of the Harry Potter series the three friends choose not to return to Hogwarts but instead set off around the country in search of the mysterious and dangerous Horcruxes. The most evil of magical items must be destroyed in order for the evil Lord Voldemort to be defeated. The journey is both exciting and frightening.

My Thoughts: I have mixed feelings about this final book. It can drag at times, but at the same time I think that this shows the journey the friends take. The constant movement from place to place and the dreary conditions and the frustrations that this causes amongst the protagonists is mirrored in the readers wish for something, anything to happen. I think that if I was not invested in the story of Harry and his friends I would have given up on this book before the end, it was to depressing and it dragged. However, the part of me that almost incescently needs to know what happens next to characters I like was quite happy with the book. Even the sad aspects seem to fit with the book and the mirroring of real life. In real life sometimes even the "good die young".

I am not sure I need the epilogue. I think the end of the story was fine as it was without it. I can see why some people might need it but I didn't. To me it felt forced. But that is just me.

**SPOILER ALERT**

My favourite part of the book is probably when Snape dies. Him needing to see Lily's eyes one last time really hit home to me how much he loved her. I thought it was beautiful.

Despite some of my misgivings with this book and my previous problems with the audio version (I won't rehash it again but you can find them here and here) I would still recommend this book to others and especially if you have read the others. 

3 comments:

Amanda said...

I agree with you. I had mixed feelings about the book, too. It had my favorite chapter ever (the Prince's Tale), my least fav (King's Cross), and the creepiest in the whole series (Bathilda's Secret). Ultimately, this book sits right in the middle for me in terms of which HP books I like. #3, 6, and 5 are above it, and #1, 2, and 4 are below. In that order, except 3 and 6 are tied for first.

Zee said...

Yeah the King's Cross chapter is just weird and a little bit disturbing. It doesn't do anything for me. And like you I are both can't decide which one I like the best 3 or 6. They are both excellent.

Anonymous said...

This was my favorite of the entire series (well maybe tied with HBP). I thought Kings Cross was a brillant chapter and summed up the main points from teh entire series.

I am guessing you were not an obsessive fan if you didn't need the epilogue...and you won't be getting the Scottish book when it comes out. The epilogue had been written since the beginning of the series (she did make some changes because people survived who she was originally going to kill).

The only places where it might have dragged was the camping, but it was still important because it showed them planning and trying to figure out what to do in a world full of uncertainty. IT really helped them become adults and I thought it was great that we got to see it. Yes, the book was depressing but the world was depressing. War is depressing.

I loved this book and am currently rereading it for the third time.