Writing a spoiler-free post about the latest, and last, book in JK Rowling’s series about the teen super-wizard is difficult but necessary, so I’ll try. First, this is a very well-written tale, Rowling wordsmithing has definitely matured over the seven volumes. Second, the characters themselves continued to mature in reasonable harmony with events and their supposed age. Third, the ending satisfied me in the way the major questions were answered.
Which is not to say there were no problems. The biggest one, for me, is a sort of deus ex machina conversation just before the end between two key characters that goes way over the show, don’t tell line; that is, one character simply tells the other a number of important points, by far taking the authorial easy way out rather than figuring out how to work the information into the organic story line. On the other hand, while Deathly Hallows is no slender volume, Rowling does use it to answer a number of questions without giving us another thousand page opus.
Some readers, especially younger ones, may feel the middle segment (chronologically covering most of the school term) is overlong and under-exciting though I don’t. For me, by requiring the events to last over so many months and not snapping magical fingers to complete them in a few weeks, Rowling made a choice showing her growth as well as grounding the plot closely to reality.
Under the given circumstances, Harry, Ron and Hermione had to move cautiously and could not, without creating bigger problems, get help from those who would ordinarily jump to do so. The ‘good guys’, and especially Harry, must use their minds at least as much, if not more, than magic.
One thought that occurred to me, not sure if it’s a good or bad thing, is that a number of aspects of the book and, looking back, the entire sequence strongly resonate with Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books. Being specific would give away things I prefer not to tell, but see if you agree.
recommended
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