It’s been waited for expectantly all year long, ever since the date was announced back at the first of the year that the seventh and final Harry Potter book would be released on July 21st. I meant to get this review written and posted on Monday and for those of you, who might have been waiting, please accept my apologies. I received my copy at about 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 21st and I didn’t get to sit down and read it until about 12. I finished the book around 7:30 pm. It is 759 pages – but it’s ten years of storytelling coming to fruition. There are some spoilers contained within this review, so do not read further if you wish to remain unspoiled to read the novel.
The Story Is Dark
There are many complaints from some areas that the Harry Potter books became very dark, but it is important to note that there is a war brewing and from the moment Voldemort returns at the end of Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire — that war moves to the forefront of this coming –of-age tale. Make no mistake, for all the magic, all the wizards, witches, dragons, ghosts and spells – Harry Potter is very much the story of The Boy Who Lived.
From the very beginning of the story, all the way back in Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone (or Philosopher’s Stone for our cousins across the ocean) Harry’s life was ‘marked’ by tragedy courtesy of the dark lord, He Who Shall Not Be Named – Voldemort. Voldemort murdered Harry’s parents when the boy was just a year old. He turned the killing curse on the infant Harry and destroyed himself in the process – leaving Harry with a lightning bolt scar and a reputation in the wizarding world.
Harry was then placed, by the man who would become his mentor, into the ‘care’ of the Dursleys. The Dursleys are a terrible couple and despite the fact that his Aunt Petunia was Harry’s mother’s sister, they do not want anything to do with Harry and he grows up loveless and very much alone. But despite this upbringing, Harry is a kind and compassionate boy who has no idea of his history or place in the wizarding world – that all changes on his 11th birthday.
The Dursleys
This book, like all the others, begins in the summer time with Harry’s 17th birthday rapidly approaching. The 17th birthday is very auspicious for wizards as it is a time when wizard children come of age. It’s also the summer after Dumbledore’s death and a year since Sirius died and two years since Cedric died – all casualties in the war being waged by Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters against the rest of the Wizarding World.
The tension is thick in the Dursley household, but this time – it’s not about disagreement and war between the Dursleys and Harry – instead, it’s because Harry and the other wizards have arranged a safe haven for Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley to be taken to prior to Harry’s 17th birthday. This is important, because all these years, he has been protected by the charm of his mother’s sacrifice and the fact that her blood (Petunia) still sheltered Harry. That will end on the 17th birthday, so it’s important that the Dursleys are taken somewhere safe – to protect them from becoming pawns of Voldemort in his campaign against Harry.
To say there are hard feelings would be greatly underplaying this remarkable set of scenes. Harry could never please these people – his ‘family’ – and he doesn’t particularly like them; yet he also wishes them no harm. When it comes time to say goodbye – there seems little to say. Until Dudley steps up and wants to shake Harry’s hand and wish him luck. This is a very profound moment between these two boys who have spent their childhoods in opposition in personality, treatment and existence – yet in this moment, they are cousins, brothers and while they may never be close, you cannot say that Dudley doesn’t care about Harry anymore.
It’s very bittersweet.
The Novel
From the moment of the Dursleys departure, the bittersweet moments fill the pages of this book. It’s a testament to the dark times as war brews, builds, boils and overflows. Death is very much a reality for all the people in the book as Harry loses many more that he cares about – beginning, and forgive me for warning you, with his beloved owl Hedwig. I cried, because it was so quick and so brutal and so much about collateral damages that you feel angry and bereft and heartbroken for Harry. Hedwig was the first real gift he ever received and the first ‘friend’ he had when he made his entrance into the Wizarding World.
This book breaks with the traditions set by the previous six as Harry, Ron and Hermione forgo attending Hogwarts to complete the task that Dumbledore gave Harry prior to his death. He must destroy the Horcruxes that Voldemort created prior to his defeat 16 years before. The Horcruxes are magical devices that house pieces of Voldemort’s shattered and corrupted soul, until they are all destroyed – Voldemort himself cannot be killed fully and would only just return once again.
Harry takes to heart the trust Dumbledore placed in him and confides his plans only to Ron and Hermione. They tell no one else, not even the other members of the Order of the Phoenix. The adults, especially Molly Weasley, still want to protect them, but Harry knows as do the readers that the time for Harry to be sheltered and hidden away has ended. This is Harry’s time and this is Harry’s battle.
There are a great many reveals made throughout the book from the secret of the scar to the issue of Snape’s loyalty and whether or not Dumbledore’s predictions about Wormtail come true. There are many deaths both in the world of the Muggles and the Wizarding World. No one is left unscathed in this tale.
Parents beware, this series has matured with the readers and this book is really meant for those age 12 and older. Younger children may read it, but only if they are very mature and can handle the war content. I cannot stress this enough, because this book is about war – open battles being waged, torture, destruction and tyranny.
But it is also about love, faith, friendship and ultimately about compassion and perseverance. The friendship formed so long ago between the three principles is sorely tested as Ron and Hermione’s flirtation becomes more real for both of them and Harry is forced to face the fact that in following him – his friends may very well die. But he cannot do this alone and together, they are far stronger than they will ever be apart.
So while there is death and sadness, there is also life and joy. There is fear and pain, but also courage and peace. The past is laid to rest and the future is sowed. The Boy Who Lived will journey and one way or another, the battle that has raged since before he was born – will come to an end. Does Harry live? That is for you to discover as you read it.
One Major Quibble
I do have one major quibble with the book and in all her other books, J.K. Rowling has delighted me or devastated me with the twists and turns of the storytelling – but in this book, I hated the last chapter. The last chapter was one that we have heard about for many years. She wrote it years ago and kept it secreted away. No one was privy to what this final chapter contained. After reading it, from a personal preference, I would rather it had stayed hidden away.
There will be readers that disagree with me, but the final chapter detracts from the rest of the book in my opinion. It seems jarring and ill-fitted. There is something extremely prosaic about the final moments of the penultimate chapter that are diluted by the addition of the last chapter and I could wish it weren’t true.
But here’s to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Snape, Hagrid, Draco, Ginny, Fred, George, Mrs. Weasley, Dobby, Percy, Bill, Charlie, Neville, Lee Jordan, Luna, Padfoot, Prongs and Mooney and to dozens of other wonderful characters that populated Harry’s world for the last ten years. Thank you very much, Ms. Rowling for inviting us to visit Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, the Ministry of Magic and of course – Number 4 Privet Drive.
Thank you very much.
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