Impressions of The Book

[jducoeur]

Finished Deathly Hallows late yestereve. The no-spoiler summary review: a good book on its own, and a good conclusion to the story. The Jim Dale audiobook version was, as always, great.

Above all else, I really liked the way this tied the whole series together. I've got a lot of respect for the fact that most of the key hints were in the previous books; this mainly tied them together, in a way that was mostly very natural, even obvious in hindsight. This was especially the case for "The Prince's Tale", which basically just said that everything we'd ever been told about Snape was correct: he really was one of the good guys, and really was working for Dumbledore all along. Simply by adding one small, apparently unrelated detail -- the fact that Dumbledore's wasted hand was the sign of a fatal curse -- Snape's actions in book 6 made considerably more sense.

It'll be interesting to see how they make this one into a movie. Not only is this book just as long as the rest, it's denser than many of them. Heck, the special-effects extravaganzas alone will take up a good chunk of a two-hour movie: I'm sure that they will milk scenes like the escape from Greengott's, the fire demons in the Room of Lost Things, and the final Battle of Hogwart's for all they're worth. I suspect they'll squeeze it all in by entirely dropping the B-plot (the history of the Dumbledores) as they've done in some previous movies, which is a real pity, since it is where the depth of the book lies.

On the flip side, it was fascinating to see how much this novel was influenced by the movies. A bunch of physical descriptions snuck in, that I'm fairly sure came from the movie interpretations in the first place. (That is, I didn't remember the descriptions from the previous books, but they match the movie renditions precisely.) And I think Rowling's style has gotten a bit more cinematic, with a better sense of what *looks* dramatic working its way into the book. The final showdown, with Harry and Voldemort circling each other, wands at the ready, should be absolutely delicious when it gets filmed.

I'm not sure whether I'm imagining it, but I was very struck by the number of scenes that seemed to echo other cultural artifacts -- literature and movies. There was "the Excalibur scene" in the frigid lake; the "Aslan scene" of Harry voluntarily going to his death, and Voldemort's misunderstanding of how a willing sacrifice works; the "2001" scene in King's Cross; and so on. I'm not sure that any of them were intentional -- they're all very primal scenes, and none were really direct ripoffs (except maybe the Aslan one) -- but I can't remember the last time a book had so *many* of them.

The Masonry question that I raised earlier falls into this category. I'm still very struck by the fact that the sign of the Deathly Hallows is described so much like the eye in the pyramid, is used as a sort of shibboleth, and is associated so specifically with the subject of death and resurrection -- very Masonic topics. But again, it's just an echo of Masonry, subtle enough that I *could* be entirely imagining it.

Anyway -- overall, a very good book. The last third, in particular, was the dramatic high point of the series (as it should be). I have to say, though, for my money, the climax of the story -- the moment that deserves the dramatic slo-mo in the movie version -- isn't Harry at all: it's the moment that Neville pulls the sword from the hat and lops off the snake's head. To those of us who have been rooting for Neville throughout the series, it was damned satisfying...

Comments

[johno.livejournal.com]

Not only that Neville cut the snakes head off, but that he was able to take the flaming curse to the hat, then just shake it off in a calm smooth motion.

Showing that Neville is not just excellent dualist (as he developed in the DA) but that he really has the confidence and courage to take on Voldy himself.

In a way I expected him to end up as Hogwart's Headmaster, but he definitly belongs as the Professor of Herboligy.

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

It is possible that the fire did not harm him (or the Hat), due to their being protected by Harry's willing sacrifice (as Harry claims a bit further on, during the final confrontation). Of course, even non-harmful fire would have to be pretty intimidating, and he still is to be commended for his quick thinking and heroic actions.

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

It'll be interesting to see how they make this one into a movie.

While we were reading it, kestrell was often heard to say, "That's going to make a great scene in the movie."

Actually, the fire demons could go, I think. They're just not that essential to the plot (imho). If JKR had paid off the Malfoy subplot with a more impressive reformation -- or even a final decision to join the Dark Side, for that matter -- then this scene would remain significant. But as is, the whole Malfoy end of things just kind of fizzles. I'd cut it down to cameos, if I were writing a screenplay.

And I think Rowling's style has gotten a bit more cinematic, with a better sense of what *looks* dramatic working its way into the book.

Indeed. Very few scenes that were merely talking heads; always some sort of motion or incidental details to catch the eye.

the number of scenes that seemed to echo other cultural artifacts

Such as the gold-colored jewelry object which used to belong to the Dark Lord, which the hero and his friends take turns wearing, and which makes them all irritable and grouchy. Even to the point (following the movies more than the books) where the dumb-but-faithful member of the party ends up separated from the others for a while, but eventually comes back and saves the heroes life again. I saw *lots* of LotR echoes, both in the plot and even in specific phrases used from time to time.

kestrell also called out "King's Cross" as a pretty blatant use of Christian symbolism, especially after the Aslan bits you referenced.

(Personally, I found it a bit disappointing that we *still* had a "Dumbledore explains everything" scene after he'd been safely buried for a year. OTOH, I though JKR did a good job of allowing the reader to believe that this was just Harry's subconscious putting together facts he already knew.)

the sign of the Deathly Hallows

Check out this post from cvirtue.

[jducoeur]

Actually, the fire demons could go, I think. They're just not that essential to the plot (imho).

Oh, I wasn't thinking about the plot. I'm simply assuming that the producers will insist upon including such a CGI-worthy scene.

Such as the gold-colored jewelry object which used to belong to the Dark Lord, which the hero and his friends take turns wearing, and which makes them all irritable and grouchy.

I *knew* I was forgetting something! Yes, of course that was the first one I noticed, and from then on I was sensitized to it...

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

Although the "necklace actually strangles you" bit was a nice/new touch, at least starting from LotR. (I'm sure I've read it in some other fairy tale; it will come to me in a while.)

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

The "saved from drowning" imagery evoked the end of the Fellowship of the Ring (movie) for me. YMMV.

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

I forgot to mention earlier that Kes and I were occasionally struck by the *lack* of a literary allusion which we had expected. Both of us were expecting a St. Crispin's Day speech before the big battle. And both of us were also expecting the dragon to come back and help, a la Androcles and the Lion.

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

Hmm. A list of "mythical archetypes that could have been larded onto the plot" would be amusing.

King's Cross

[lauradi7.livejournal.com]

KC never would have occurred to me as Christian symbolism - maybe it's because I've spent so much time in the station. As
kestrell pointed out in the discussion on gyzki's page about the epilogue, Harry's real journey began (and with the kids on the way to school) ends at King's Cross station, waiting for the Hogwarts Express.
But there were Christian references more apparent in the book this time, I think. They've always celebrated Christmas but this time there was mention of people going to church on Christmas eve (noted while lurking in the graveyard), bells on Christmas morning, a school break for Easter, plus a couple of interjections of "Thank God" and Snape mentioning prayer.

Re: King's Cross

[dlevey.livejournal.com]

Personally, I'd say that "Thank God" and prayer references aren't specific Christian references per se. Perhaps by implication at most.

Re: King's Cross

[lauradi7.livejournal.com]

True enough. I guess I was going with the default idea of Great Britain as an officially Christian nation (with Muslims and Jews and Sikhs and lots of other religions around). Church attendance in England is fairly sparse, but a large majority of the folks self-describe as Christian (which is true here, too, but we don't have a state church). I presume the Dursleys, at least, would have been parishioners of the C of E, if only to keep up appearances.

Re: King's Cross

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

That's for proving that Harry Potter isn't an instruction manual for Satanism, doncha know. They're all Godfearing Christians. Honest.

Re: King's Cross

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

The Christian symbolism Kes was talking about was mostly the business of "white-haired old man (who may or may not be a figment of your imagination) sets up his 'son' to willingly sacrifice his own life in order to save the world."

The whole religious angle is a fraught one for these books. On one level, it seems clear to me that JKR wants religion to be a non-existent force in the wizarding world. There must logically exist some muggle-born wizards who were raised in a strong religious tradition and who still believe, but I don't think we ever encounter any. JKR spends a lot of time denying the possibility of an afterlife, and promoting the notion that one must accept the finality of death.

Yet at the same time, she can't seem to help writing in plot elements like ghosts, Priori Incantem, and Resurrection Stones, all of which serve to undercut the finality of death. And then the references to "moving on" suggest that maybe there *is* an afterlife after all.

Sadly, it seems that her weak world-building extends to the metaphysical as well :(

Re: King's Cross

[lauradi7.livejournal.com]

Are the people in the portraits ghosts as well? They confuse me. Nearly Headless Nick clearly is a ghost.

Re: King's Cross

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

Knew I'd forgotten something. Yeah, I wouldn't call them "ghosts", as they seem to follow very different rules, but they are yet another form of pseudo-afterlife.

Earlier reference? And other comments

[dryfoo.livejournal.com]

> the "Aslan scene" of Harry voluntarily going to his death

Uh, "Gawaine and the Green Knight" anybody? As an example of a Christ-like willing self-sacrifice in literature, I think that is a little earlier precedent than C.S. Lewis. No?

I will agree with you about Neville and the snake. I'm particularly looking forward to seeing that on the big screen. Another moment to savor was Harry's sudden appreciation for McGonagall, and that it was someone spitting in her face that effectively pulled his trigger at Hogwarts. It's about time such a brave lady got her props. (Wouldn't you have liked some mention of her, perhaps as a godmother, in the epilogue?)

As someone who first saw all of the movies so far without reading the books (No, don't get on me, I have just spent the past few weeks rectifying that situation, including reading 6&7 over the last three days) -- I have to wonder if the movie of Deathly Hallows will be at all coherent to anyone who hasn't read the books. Think of the levels of detail that will have to be elided, blended, or simply ignored in order to fit the whole thing into a movie of any reasonable length.

Re: Earlier reference? And other comments

[jducoeur]

Yep and yep. Indeed, while I'm fond of the movies, they're really a very different experience, since most of them have had to cut out large swathes of the books. My guess is that they'll make the movie of Deathly Hallows coherent by slicing out nearly all of the subplots, and just concentrating on the basic Horcrux hunt, and the final battle. Unfortunate, but I'm not sure there's any alternative -- the book's just too large and dense to manage it otherwise.

(And you're right about Gawaine. Mea Culpa, but I do tend to think mainly in terms of more modern popular literature in this context...)