I finished this 2 days ago; I was disappointed with the ending/epilogue. I thought it was way too cheezy and predictable.
My SIL and I had an ongoing argument about Snape; I thought he was good, she thought he was bad… I’m glad I get to say I TOLD YOU SO when she finished it (which could be months from now, knowing her).
I also thought all the hype about main charachters dying was misplaced. Of course ron hermoine and harry were going to make it… duh. I wasn’t shocked at any of the deaths, really.
I did LOL at the3 part where Mrs. Weasley says “NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH!” Up top that point I was furiously reading, captivated with the story… then that happened and i thought it was so hilarious, it ruined the mood for me.
I liked the ending and while the epilogue might have been predictable it was one way for JKR to end their childhood at Hogwarts making it harder for someone to do sequels. If she had left the ending as it was I think there could have been problems down the line with that.
I agree with Jan! There definitely could have been problems down the line if she had not done the epilogue. Yes it was a bit predictable and I would have enjoyed it being longer but in all I think JKR wrapped most everything up pretty well.
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkorchid]That seems to be the assumption. We know that she’s James’ cousin and with such an obvious French name… :lol:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
So is Percy headmaster? Or why was he announcing stuff at the train?
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkorchid]I think he was just lecturing his kids as is Percy’s way. :teehee: I wouldn’t the Headmaster wouldn’t be at the train station…[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
I cried alot in this book, like when Dobby died, when Snape died… and when I found out that Harry was going to die I was really sad…(obviously for no reason…)
I wonder if Snape didn’t get a picture because he was placed Headmaster by Voldemort’s gang and it was a “take-over” move… But either way I thought he should get one given his role.
I loved the humanizing of Dumbledore.
I have a friend who is getting the book today. She begged me to tell her who died or she would read the end first.
So I told her Harry died… :teehee:
She didn’t ask who lived! :teehee:
Her comment? “What’s the point of reading the book then!”
The current Entertainment Weekly magazine - “Goodbye, Harry” - proposed the theory that maybe J.K. Rowling is a huge LOST fan. I would have never thought of that! Here’s a link to the online version of that article: The Quibbler (the article title in the print version)
The print version of the magazine also has a little tribute section on the same page, of both the good and the bad guys, using the promotional photos of 12 characters from the movies. Oddly enough, I think the one death in the book that bothered me the most was that of Colin Creevey. I was terribly sad about Fred, Snape, Dobby, and Hedwig, but their deaths didn’t bug me in the way Colin’s did. Maybe it’s just the idea of a cute little spazzy kid getting snuffed out so soon in life.
My personal theory about Ron and Hermione’s kids names are that Ron spent the whole of his childhood with hand-me-downs, buying second hand, and rarely having anything new (not that that’s a bad thing). But it would have been in keeping with Ron’s character to have given his children “new” names. Just my two cents. :teehee:
Thanks for the links - those were some interesting interpretations
I loved the book - like everyone else, cried and gasped and cheered my way through it. Loved Kreacher, and both Snape and Dumbledore were handled perfectly! Cried and Harry dug Dobby’s grave… and Fred…ohhhh Fred…But the best moment of all was Mrs. Weasly turning into the mother bear protecting her cub!
I feel a little bereft that the story is over… (actually - I read the last book so quickly as I was so afraid of stumbling on a spoiler that I am re-reading it again now to savor it! LOL)
I just finished, it was so good!! I’m sad that its over but I think it was a great way to end everything. I have to say it took a lot for me not to look at this thread, I haven’t gotten to read most of the comments yet, so I can’t wait to see what people thought.
Just finished!:yay: As a read each book, I paraphrase what is happening for my husband; he has never read the books, but has seen every movie and is always asking me questions and coming up with his own theories. I tell him he should read the book, but he claims he is not interested. I stopped giving him a play by play once I got the “The Battle of Hogwarts”. I figure if I withhold information maybe he will read them. I know he is a closeted Harry Potter fan:teehee:.
I loved every moment of my Harry Potter experience. I’m going to reread beginning tomorrow. Maybe I can get my husband to read with me…
[FONT=Verdana]I’ve only cried a few times reading a book but this book made me sob!!:waah: It really got me in Snape’s memories when he produced the doe patronus then told Dumbledore that he always had cared about Harry. And when Harry was going back in to the woods with his parents and Sirus, man that got me!! Especially when he asked if it was going to hurt and they were talking about how proud of him they were. I was crying so much I had to put the book down a few times. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]I thought it was a great twist that Voldie accidentally made Harry a [/FONT][COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]horcrux and there turned out to be 8. [/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]I had thought that Dumbledore told Snape to kill him but I wasn’t sure why. I loved how it all came together that he was a good guy the whole time but it made his death even sadder for me. [/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]All in all I thought the book was great and I loved how pretty much all of the questions were answered. I didn’t feel like I was left wondering anything at the end.[/FONT][/COLOR]
I finished the book at the end of last week, but had a crazy weekend and couldn`t get here to read all the comments. I thought the book was a great finish to the series!!! Some of the escapes were a bit much, SO coincidental, but hey, it´s Harry Potter!!!
I was also wondering about Victoise ( ? sp ) but assumed that it was Bill and Fleur´s daughter. I was so upset by Lupin and Tonk´s deaths, but had a bad feeling when someone told Tonks that Remus was fighting Dolohov and then a bit later they mentioned him again, but nothing about Lupin. I would have liked the epilogue to be a bit more in depth, but I think most of the “loose ends” were pretty much covered.
My one son had also finished it, so it´s nice to have someone here to discuss it with, and I lent my book to a friend here, and I happened to catch up with her when she had finished reading about Hedwig getting killed, and she was all misty eyed. She´s going to be in serious condition by the end of the book… :waah:
I´ve enjoyed reading all the critiques and want to get to the links asap! Love it here on KH!!! :woot: Karen
Yay, what a great book! :woot: Just finished it today.
I loved Kreacher’s turn around, making the house all sparkly, etc., so great! Loved Dobby’s coming to the rescue at the Malfoy’s (and relieved that Olivander wasn’t dead!). Loved Ginny’s goodbye kiss early in the book (I agree, I would have loved to see more of her in this book, what a strong, wonderful character she developed into in books 5 & 6! Definitely my prefered match for Harry!).
I was very impressed and happy with the spiritual integrity of JKR’s vision, and how it played out both in Harry’s final growth as a character, and in the plot as a whole…
I loved Harry’s peaceful calm after Dobby died (I could practically have declared “The End!” after that…it really seemed a remarkable development in Harry’s growth as a hero/character, and it was such a relief after his disturbing obsession over the Hallows). I was so satisfied with the scene in the forbidden forest: again with Harry’s inner peace as he entered the forest, the “in his head but real” connections he felt to the dead, and his peace with the idea of dying (what powerful spiritual statements!). And I loved all of the references to what death was like, including Hermione’s offhanded remark (when discussing horcruxes) about how a soul isn’t affected at all merely by the body’s death (she even remarks how the notion should be comforting–I thought, wow, that really is comforting, way to go JKR for the spiritual wisdom imparted to young readers, and that was just the beginning). I also really liked how JKR portrayed Riddle’s crying-child soul. There was no reference to him “getting his due” from outside hatred affecting him when he died; it was all about how his own inner pain and regret will be his suffering. That was so wise, and beautifully crafted.
Me too! I knew about Snape being good (although I started to have my doubts after he blew off George’s ear). I wondered if, in Dumbledore’s conspiring with Snape to kill him, if he might have managed to fake his death. Seems to me that with advanced planning like that, and cooperation from Snape, that a fake death could have been managed.
I also had my eye out for a possible plot twist where Voldemort might mark Neville as his equal in the 11th hour (I was watching for instance for some kind of mark/scar from the blazing sorting hat) where then Neville could end up being the one to kill him. Could’a happened! Not that I thought it necessarily would, but I couldn’t help wondering if she was going somewhere with that Neville/prophesy reference.
I was most sad with Hedwig’s dying, more than anyone else’s! I think her being upset with him at the time, as someone else has mentioned, was a part of it. Wouldn’t have minded seeing her in the forest among the other dead loved ones reassuring us that all was well. But I did feel that reassurance in general during that scene, and elsewhere in the series, so in a way I didn’t need it. But it was a surprise the way she went. She was painted as so Good, with that bright white glow almost like a unicorn. I didn’t expect her to do some extraordinary angelic act like Faulks, but I would have imagined her in some kind of positive action when she died.
Loved the book all in all. Also loved the epilogue; I can never complain when an author gives any kind of epilogue, it always feels like a great indulgence. Thank you JKR, I love you!
