my new plaid pants: Just Finished!

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Just Finished!

Tell me what y'all thought in the comments!
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57 comments:

Jason Adams said...: For the record, I literally set the book down ten minutes ago, having finished, but my eyes are still swollen with tears.

Can't believe it's over!; 2:23 PM
DL said...: Well, for the most part I loved every stinkin minute of it. Around the time when Mrs Weasley kills Bellatrix, I was actually crying and grinning at the same time. And the whole revelation about Snape's character was really beautiful and quite sad.

But then, BANG, Harry kills Voldemort, they celebrate, talk to Dumbledore, everything's fine in the world, THE END. Like, what?

So yeah, the denoument could have been a little better for sure. But otherwise, I'm pretty pleased with how everything turned out.; 2:31 PM
Jason Adams said...: I had to set the book down and take a break when Snape died, I quite unexpectedly started to sob. Loved the chapter giving us his whole history after that. And then I started crying again when Hagrid was carrying Harry's body and everyone saw him playing dead... awful. And then when Neville killed the snake! And Mrs. Weasely's "Not my daughter, YOU BITCH!" scene was AWESOME, I've loved Molly for soooo long and was so happy it was she who got to kill Bellatrix!

But yes, the denouement was a little fast... but then, knowing myself, I could use an entire eighth book as a denouement, so hard it is to see it end, so probably best for JK to sever it as fast as she could.; 2:40 PM
John T said...: I cried actually several times, to be honest. Hedwig dying, McGonagall and Sprout deciding that they would give up their lives for Harry, Snape dying, Bellatrix asking Harry if Draco was alive, Harry talking to his son about Severus (I'm getting choked up just thinking about it).

And I would like to point out, the "YOU BITCH!" part, I found myself cheering outloud for Molly Weasley.

I was curious, though, was there anything anyone wanted settled that wasn't? I desperately wanted to learn more about Aunt Petunia and Lily's relationship, I wanted to know if Snape's portrait was there, cheering for Harry, and I wanted to know what happened to the Malfoys in the end. I was ecstatic that some of my minor characters got send-offs (McGonagall, Kreacher, and Lupin).; 5:20 PM
Jason Adams said...: You're one-up on me, John - Snape's portrait never even occurred to me. Damn, oportunity missed, that.

I too really wanted more on Aunt Petunia, and was let down by its absence; I really wanted more from the goodbye with the Dursleys. I really expected something more when Petunia was left alone with Harry for that brief moment. Alas.

I read somewhere else that JKR's talked about doing a sort of encyclopedia on all the famous wizards and witches and think she could tie up a lot of loose ends with that if she did.; 5:36 PM
John T said...: My brother and I just finished a two-hour discussion of the book, and we both agree about the Aunt Petunia thing. The memory from Snape, though, told a lot, and I would have loved to have read that letter she wrote to Dumbledore, and the (obviously kind) response that he gave.

I'm sure it's blasphemy, but was there anything about the book that you didn't like Ja? For me, the only (very small) problem I had was that all of the mystery of Dumbledore. I mean, if all of this was as common knowledge as it seemed (judging by Aunt Muriel's knowledge of it), shouldn't Hermione, Draco, or perhaps even Lucius, have discussed it in a previous book. It's more of a wonder why Rowling didn't hint at it in other books, when she so obviously hinted at everything else in other books (it's magic in and of itself that she managed to so neatly plan out all the plot points without the reader guessing too many).; 7:19 PM
Barry said...: Didn't it just come out!!??; 7:54 PM
Jason Adams said...: It's not blashphemy, John, I had a few problems with the book; it's not to say that I didn't enjoy it tremendously, and I think JKR did a smashing job on gathering so, so, sooooooo many strands together in the end; there were so many things I'd even forgotten about that found their way into the book that made me very, very happy - it's a rewarding surprise for those who paid attention to the little details.

But she does have plotting problems - the midsection was super-dreary and repetitive - and it couldn't used some things trimmed, while other really could've used fleshing out - the wand business came outta nowhere, and it took me a couple of reads to get what she was getting at with that as well as the whole "Kings Cross" chapter with the reciprocating blood trade thing going on between Harry and Voldemort. And the Hallows should've been made mention of before this book too; as is they felt really crammed in.

And I agree with you on Dumbledore too; there should've been hints before this book about his history... I thought JKR did a better job on that front though than say the Hallows business, though, because it made sense to me, the digging/dishing of dirt only once he was dead. That I could believe; I mean, Hermione, even though she certainly stuck her nose in many a book, never really had any reason to look up info on Dumbledore, and Rita Skeeter made mention that hers was the first book on him. I think Aunt Muriel was just an old gossipy busy-body and that that older generation knew about young Albus' history but it hadn't much trickled down yet.; 8:13 PM
Jason Adams said...: Oh, and did anybody else's mind wander during the scene where all his friends used the Polyjuice Potion to turn into Harry as decoys and JKR made a point of them all getting undressed in front of him and how free they felt showing off his body? Jinkies! You KNOW Hermione snuck a peek!; 8:20 PM
Anonymous said...: I'm so glad people appreciate the awesomeness of the Bellatrix Mrs. Weasley throwdown. When they make this movie, I can't wait to see Julie Walters and Helena Bonham Carter go at it.

All I found missing from the epilogue was some Luna...that's all I wanted.; 9:01 PM
Jason Adams said...: I know! Why couldn't Luna have drifted by the Potter/Weasley group at the train station with her identical quintuplets (you know that'd be what she'd have).; 9:24 PM
Anonymous said...: I kind of got the Luna/Dean vibe...I wanted them to turn up. They could all be a mess, and I'd love it. Damn, oh well

And it should have been Percy.....; 9:27 PM
Jason Adams said...: When Fred bought it, I was sad, but it immediately occurred to me that Fred's death essentially meant Ron was 100% safe, because JKR just couldn't kill two Weasley sons, and I was okay with it being Fred.

The whole Percy thing was another thing that felt terribly rushed; I get that it was right in the middle of the ever-heightening action of the final chapters and to have it be a big deal right then would've killed the momentum, but... he just pops outta the wall, says he was an ass, and all's wonderful again within the space of about half a page? Wha?; 9:34 PM
John T said...: Re Luna: I was hoping that Harry would open up The Daily Prophet and read editor-in-chief Luna Lovegood's expose on recently discovered Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.

And the Harry Potter duplicate scene where everyone was sneaking a look, I thought that was a riot (perhaps Rowling wrote that part during Radcliffe's Equus stint).

I think one of the book's greatest attributes, possibly the series greatest attribute, has been the way that she fleshed out the villains like few children's novels that I have ever read (in fact, like few adult novels I have ever read). As the book drifted to a close, the Malfoys, Voldemort, everyone with the exception of Bellatrix and Delores, all had a touch of humanity (or in Voldemort's case, human failure). One of the most moving scenes in the entire book for me was when Narcissa Malfoy clung to Harry Potter, desperately asking about Draco, and then lying to the Dark Lord to protect her son. It said so much about herself, and had a nice parallel to the Lily Potter sacrifice.; 9:38 PM
John T said...: It couldn't have been Percy, though, because had he died, he would have never been able to apologize to his mother, father, and to rejoin the family. It had to be one of the other brothers.; 9:40 PM
Jason Adams said...: That scene with Narcissa was incredibly powerful, John.

And then there's Snape! Talk about teaching kids the gray areas. JKR basically gave kids a lesson on assisted suicide!

On the other end, thank God for Bellatrix and Dolores, because sometimes you just need somebody totally hateful to throw your Molly character up against and get that cheering moment.; 9:50 PM
John T said...: Yeah, the Snape thing is really wonderful. He may have ended up being the most complex character in the book (and I'm including Harry in that assessment). The assisted suicide thing I was kind of shocked by, but there are lots of other non-PG things she throws into this book: I mean, aside from the "bitch" comment, did anyone gander a guess at what Ginny's present for Harry was going to be?; 9:53 PM
Anonymous said...: You KNOW you secretly love Bellatrix.......; 9:54 PM
Jason Adams said...: Wait - was Ginny gonna give Harry a hummer??? It didn't even hit me til you just asked. She totally was, wasn't she?!?!? That whole "something to remember me by" or whatever it was she says... god! Dirty little girl! hee.

And Ron said "effing" a lot, which I took notice of, besides the oh-so-memorable "BITCH" usage.

Oh I LOVE Bellatrix, as a villain, she was fantastically evil and I can't wait to see HBC rip into the stuff in the film of this. I mean... SHE TORTURED HERMIONE. That shit... that just ain't done. And killed Dobby! Poor Dobby. I hated Dobby before but JKR wrung me dry with his death.; 10:04 PM
John T said...: Yeah, I think Bellatrix is one of those divatastique characters who probably is more love-to-hate in the film (I was far more intrigued in a love-to-hate way by her in the film than ever in the books). However, I agree with Ja, she was slightly too evil to pull a love-to-hate way. And ain't nobody going to mess with Hermione!

And the "something to remember me by" thing, that's totally what it seemed to imply. God, what would Mrs. Weasley have said, or Sirius, were he alive (definitely different ends of the spectrum as far as reactions would have gone)?; 10:11 PM
Jason Adams said...: Honestly, that scene with Hermione being tortured upstairs by Bellatrix whilst Harry and Ron can hear it but can't do anything, are trapped, is one of, if not THE, scariest scene in the book. Her screams! And we already know only too well how horrific Bellatrix can be. And... it's Hermione! I just could hardly stand it for a couple minutes, I think I must've read that section without breathing. Awful.; 10:16 PM
Anonymous said...: And Ron was freaking out and punching the walls.....man

Bellatrix is one sick twisted mofo.; 10:17 PM
Jason Adams said...: One other little thing that bothered me - why didn't Harry put the locket in that safe-keeping bag that Hagrid gave him? That way he would've at least had some protection from it and it wouldn't have been sitting right on everyone's skin making them all cranky and causing Ron's little hissyfit stomp-off. I get why, as a storytelling device, JKR needed that to happen, it just was a little sloppy.; 10:24 PM
John T said...: I think I may have ripped the page in the book reading that scene, I turned it so fast to see what happened next.

Also, I know this is slightly off-topic, but I totally had the Lord of the Rings soundtrack playing in my head throughout most of this book, for some reason. Possibly because it was the most epic?; 10:25 PM
Jason Adams said...: As an antidote to that bit of criticism, I give you more awesomeness: McGonagall leading a charge of possessed school desks. An image for the effnng ages, that.; 10:25 PM
John T said...: I hadn't really thought of that for the locket, but you're right, if it was right there, they should have used it. Though would it have still affected him?

And what are the chances that the Harry Potter merchandising company will be selling the horcruxes?; 10:27 PM
Anonymous said...: And I will add Trelawney hurling crystal balls at people; 10:27 PM
John T said...: Seriously, I cannot wait to see Maggie Smith sink her teeth into the seventh book. When she was bragging about Potter being in her house, I don't think I smiled so wide the entire book. And when she was talking with Sprout about how they would risk their lives in order to help Harry execute his orders from Dumbledore, well, I had trouble reading what came next cuz I was so teary-eyed.; 10:30 PM
Jason Adams said...: Yes, the crystal balls! God that whole scene with the Battle of Hogwarts, was just nonstop kick-ass. JKR just managed to get everybody in there doing something - the spiders, the giants, the house-elves little attack at the end! Led by Kreacher! Goddamn.; 10:30 PM
Jason Adams said...: My love for McGonagall is entirely based on Maggie Smith and picturing Maggie Smith as her and hearing the words come out of Maggie Smith's lips. Whenever McGonagall would throw Harry a bone like that, and let him and us onto her extremely good interior under the harshness, it's always a golden moment; you never want anything more than to please that great woman.; 10:33 PM
John T said...: Trelawney hurling the crystal balls, that was just priceless. The entire battle of Hogwarts, was, well, breath-taking.; 10:33 PM
John T said...: Oddly enough, I actually pictured Maggie Smith as McGonagall before she was even cast as the professor. It was the only casting decision that they matched up with people that I had initially pictured playing the actors (unless Narcissa Malfoy is miraculously played by Kristin Scott Thomas).

Did anyone else have that same turn-of-events with a character?; 10:35 PM
Anonymous said...: I think Narcissa is rumored to be Naomi Watts...

And When ron and hermione finally kissed in a big way...I went "FINALLY". There was so much tension between them the entire book.; 10:43 PM
Jason Adams said...: I pictured HBC as Bellatrix right off the bat. Perfect casting on that, I thought. I can't remember when I started reading the books, though; I know I started before the first movie came out, but I think just barely. I think I already knew Maggie Smith was playing McGonagall when I read Book 1.; 10:44 PM
Jason Adams said...: Not that I ever haven't loved Ron and Hermione, but I really loved Ron and Hermione here. Their big kiss was wonderful, and funny, and everything it needed to be.; 10:45 PM
Jason Adams said...: I'd heard the Naomi Watts thing too, rj, so she's who I was picturing this time through. I could see KST being a fantastic choice though too, and wouldn't Naomi Watts be off-the-Brit-thespian trail for them? She's Aussie, after all... is anyone else not British in the movies? I'm blanking.; 10:47 PM
John T said...: I had pictured someone else as Bellatrix, no one else famous. I had pictured Mad-Eye Moody as slimmer than Brendan Gleason, Umbridge as uglier than Staunton, and Ron as having a longer face than Grint. I had pictured someone very similar-looking to Thewlis for Lupin, but I must confess that I didn't know who David Thewlis was until the HP movies.; 10:47 PM
Jason Adams said...: I'd pictured Miriam Margoyles as Umbrage, but she already plays Prof. Sprout. She's much toadier looking than Staunton. But Staunton was FANTASTIC, and I was so glad to see her show up again here, so Staunton can rear her devil curls once more!; 10:49 PM
John T said...: I thought that Rowling forbade any non-British actors from playing characters. Watts would indeed be superb (for me, though, I think she will eternally be KST). For English Patient afficianados (all six of us), that would mean that Fiennes and Scott Thomas would be reunited.; 10:50 PM
John T said...: I know, Staunton has to be one of my favorite performances of the film series thusfar (though really, aside from perhaps Quirrell, all of the DADA teachers are plum roles-I also adored both Thewlis and Gleason in their respective perfs).; 10:51 PM
Anonymous said...: Naomi Watts was born in England, I found out, and I think she might actually be British, just having moved to Australia at some point.

And Ron is just the most adorable character....; 10:52 PM
Jason Adams said...: I have to say that I lost a lot of interest in Lupin and in Tonks when JKR shoved them together; I was CONVINCED that Lupin was in love with Sirius, the implication was heavy before that, and then poof he's holding hands with Tonks - awesome as Tonks may've been, mind you! - and suddenly babies and marriage and I was all, whatever. I think their joint death would've affected me much more had that not hapened; as it was I'd kinda gotten annoyed by their characters.; 10:55 PM
Anonymous said...: To me, Lupin and Tonks' relationship always seemed a little bit....oh, ok. That's cool. Kind of random. Right....; 10:56 PM
John T said...: You know, I'd never put that together, but there does in hindsight seem to be a rather homoerotic admiration between Sirius and Lupin. Oddly enough, that may be the only thing that Rowling never puts in the book: a homosexual character, nor the strong indication of one.; 10:59 PM
Anonymous said...: The movies would be pretty hot if Ron were gay...

but do we really need to give religious fanatics another reason to complain about Harry Potter?; 11:04 PM
Jason Adams said...: Well there was Snape's totally creepy obsession with Harry's eyes and how they looked just like Lily's and how he would often stare into them - his dying words were to ask Harry to look at him! Thats healthy!

Seriously, though, I was really disappointed about the Lupin thing; I didn't think she'd come out and say that was going on, and I didnt think she even needed to, but the sudden cramming of Lupin and Tonks together felt forced, like she felt the need to dispel the rumors. And it turned me off.; 11:05 PM
Jason Adams said...: I'm of the mind that Neville's gay though. Squirrelly lil nerd playing with his plants, becoming a professor...; 11:07 PM
Anonymous said...: I don't necessarily think she put tonks and lupin together to dispell any rumors...I think she had always planned to kill them off and leave another boy whose parents are dead in a weird kind of mirroring....but I just never bought it much.; 11:09 PM
John T said...: I suppose Neville works as the token gay character. Also, did Rowling ever mention if any of the other profs at Hogwarts are married or have children? If she did, I missed it (and I can't think of any teachers at the school who were ever married).; 11:13 PM
Jason Adams said...: I really hope she writes that Encyclopedia thing, I'm a big enough geek to really want to know those sort of things - was McGonagall married? Did she have children? I'd be rapt by that sorta shit. I don't remember if she did ever mention anything about any of the other prof's lives outside of school.; 11:17 PM
John T said...: Yeah, I'd love to know all about McGonagall's love life, children, etc. But I do think it's odd that none of the teachers seem to have had social lives (except perhaps for that rumor about Filch and Madame Pince).; 11:21 PM
John T said...: So, Ja, who do you think should play the remaining few uncast roles? In particular would be Slughorn, but there's also Bathilda Bagshot, Scrimgeour, Narcissa, and Marvolo Gaunt.; 11:25 PM
Jason Adams said...: I think I heard that Bob Haskins might be getting Slughorn? Not a bad choice, though for some reason I keep thinking of Jim Broadbent. Bagshot... I dunno. Some reeeally old lady? Who can snap her head back and reveal a snake? ;-) It'd be great if they got an old actress who's a huge name. Liz Taylor!!! I think Watts or KST would be terrific for Narcissa. And I have no idea why I always pictured, impossibly, David Bradley who plays Filch, as Scrimgeour, I have no idea why, but he was always who I saw in my head.; 11:37 PM
Jason Adams said...: Oh I left out Gaunt. I don't remember enough about what he was supposed to look like, actually, though, to say.; 11:40 PM
Jason Adams said...: This post at MTV's blog has some good suggestions.; 11:47 PM
Joe R. said...: I'm so glad I finally finished the book so I can finally read this post! Add me to the Kristin Scott Thomas brigade -- I have always seen her in the Narcissa role. And since I never got Kelly MacDonald as Tonks, I feel I'm owed.; 2:10 AM
Anonymous said...: i got the book saturday morning last. finished sunday nite. (after working sunday morning) WOW... talk about a roller coaster ride. hello! hated people 2 books ago..now? don't want to spoil for any one. it
s really the best!
C; 5:28 PM