I finished HP & the Deathly Hallows on 24th August. I took 8 leisurely days to read it so there’ll be no medals for speed reading for me.
I was shocked to receive my call from our library so soon as I knew I was well down on the list. I thoroughly enjoyed it and agree J.K. Rowling is a genius.
I guessed some of the outcomes but did not predict the final outcome.
I think enough time has elapsed to put spoilers in now as the real fans will have already read it.
[spoiler]I cried when Dobby died. I also shed a tear when Harry died*, despite knowing by that stage that he was coming back. (Don’t get me wrong, I was sad when I read about the other deaths but didn’t shed any tears.) It was Snape’s allegiance that I guessed correctly although his ‘love’ interest was a surprise. I was wrong about who would kill Voldemort as I thought Neville would be the one.
*So, the rumours were correct – Harry does ‘technically’ die. BUT (& it’s a big one), mugglenet.com it states: “And no, he did not die and come back to life – that’s impossible according to Jo.” Well, I don’t know about everybody else, but I’m confused.
How did he separate himself from the Voldemort Horcrux if he didn’t die? Every other story I’ve ever read about death/crossing over/seeing the white light etc., they’ve all said you are dead if you’re at the “King’s Cross” stage & you need resuscitating to bring you back.
So tell me, did you think Harry died? Also if he didn’t die, why go through all that massive story line about possessing the Invisibility Cloak, Resurrection Stone & Elder Wand?[/spoiler]
My eldest daughter is now reading it (I have it for 4 weeks – this is unusual as newies usually have a 2 week limit – I’m assuming it’s because it’s still classed as a children’s book and since it’s so long, kids couldn’t read it in 2 weeks.) She didn’t “buy” it as she has lost interest in Harry since JK (in a previous book) killed off her favourite character.
Overall, I liked it and have now requested from my family (for a Xmas or Birthday gift), the paperback boxed set. It probably won’t be available until late 2008 but that will be good as I’ll be ready to read them all again by then.
Clever lady that J.K. Rowling. Isn’t it wonderful that an author is the richest woman in the U.K.?