It would be hard to separate a review of HP7 without launching into at least an overview of the whole series so I hope that you will forgive me that indulgence. In the main I wish to express my opinion on various aspects of the book (and series) to mark the occasion of its existence, at long last, in the literary realm. It is a powerful thing to note that Rowling is one of the most successful authors of all time in the whole world and that millions of readers began reading HP7 on the day it was released.
As a combination of the mystery, coming-of-age and fantasy genre, the Harry Potter series has succeeded admirably in all three. Rowling uses foreshadowing and careful placement of clues to satisfy mystery, the school setting and Harry's adolescence to address coming-of-age and the world of magic for fantasy. I have always believed that mystery provided the narrative drive, coming-of-age the character development and fantasy the means to achieve both creatively.
In HP7, readers of the previous novels will appreciate the resolution of the overarching mystery that has driven the whole series - what will it take to destroy Voldemort? In piecing together the fragments of this mystery, Rowling uses clues from previous books well, some of which may have been guessed in many readers' theories on how the series will end. Along the way, she reveals much about Harry and the people around him that we may have suspected but can't have known, which illuminates the novel's themes and characters to a greater degree than before.
HP7 exercises all of these themes - death, love and loyalty - with amplitude. Death and the acceptance of death is a major part of Harry's quest. We see it in his maturing attitude towards the death of his parents and mentors. That Voldemort is afraid of death and wants to conquer death is important to note. The clash between Harry and Voldemort's attitudes to death form the most dramatic elements of the book and give Harry, as a character, greater depth than we have seen before.
Love is an interesting concept explored in a number of ways. While family, friendship and other relationships remain important, it is Harry's commitment to humanity, his love of the world and his understanding of the concept of the 'greater good', that gives him the most power. All along his mother's love - and her blood in Aunt Petunia - has been protective and it follows that Harry's love can also be protective.
Love also begets a certain kind of loyalty, unseen by Voldemort because he has never known how to love. Voldemort, it must be said, is loyal to no one. However, this remains his greatest weakness as he cannot see how the bonds of loyalty are formed outside of his reign of fear. Readers glimpse several types of loyalty, foremost in Harry's quest as he is accompanied by Hermione and Ron, to whom he has entrusted the secret of the horcruxes, but also in Snape's double-crossing, whose allegiance is satisfactorily resolved by the end of the novel. In the Death Eater camp, Bellatrix's unrequited love for serving Voldemort shows a strange kind of loyalty while the Malfoys choose the bond of family over Voldemort as master. Lastly, Harry proves himself to be 'Dumbledore's man through and through' and it is this loyatly and trust that leads him to the right places at the right time.
Character development is unusually stunted in this book. We certainly gain a better understanding of Harry's maturation but there's nothing new to his personality as much of what happens is expected because of previous indications. Similarly, other well-developed characters don't change much at all. It is up to a few of the main but not major characters to tackle the burden of character development in HP7. Thankfully, I can say that the gradual build up of the importance of Snape over the entire series pays off well for Rowling, as does the ascent of Neville and the role of Kreacher.
Most of the main characters get to have their moment in the spotlight - often a tear-wrenching scene that I would tend to describe with words such as 'redeeming', 'heartbreaking' or 'touching'. The most significant aspect of character to observe throughout the book - and indeed, the series - is the loyalty that any one character has or does not have to another. This is played out to great effect in HP7, causing readers to understand the power of past relationships.
Much of the plot revolves around the capture and escape of the trio (Harry, Ron, Hermione) and it is this method that maintains the necessary tension throughout the book. However, the use of episodes like this gets rather boring, mostly because readers learn to expect their heroes to survive (although there are, admittedly, quite a number of casualties in their escapades). The important thing to note here is not whether they will survive but how? and for what gain? which pushes the sometimes clumsy coincidences out of the way and lets the reader focus on the mystery element of the series.
Some of the exposition is lazy and, well, too exposition-y. The discovery of the meaning of the deathly hallows is handled awkwardly but sufficiently, while episodes involving Snape and Dumbledore are just downright insulting to intelligent readers who would have picked up the same amount of information with either different or more scattered clues and less chunky explanations. The better part of these expositions is the emotional poignancy of them and I can only hope that that was Rowling's main intention over plot development.
Speaking of which, Rowling's decisions, with regard to her writing, haven't changed. It is not a flowery turn of phrase that attracts readers to the Potter series, but the narrative strength that pulls the series along. This is not to say that Rowling writes badly - in fact, her prose is clean and easy to understand, making the world she creates clearer in the reader's mind. But it does means that Rowling has (rightfully, I personally admit) sacrificed more sophisticated use of language for a more compelling plot. This does not change for HP7, which makes the book as accessible to younger readers as each of its predecessors despite the increasing complexity of the themes.
Despite Rowling's linguistic sacrifices, her command of her own fantasy language is undoubtedly excellent, from the sly use of meaningful names to spells with varying origins - plenty of Latin, a dose of Aramaic (Avada Kedavra) and a fleck of French. Linguistic examination of names and spells assist the lost reader in understanding Rowling's world a lot better.
Rowling uses plenty of easy descriptions using a combination of stock adverbs and adjectives but the best part is that she retains her sense of humour throughout the increasingly dark series. In HP7, I spent two minutes laughing out loud at the departure from Privet Drive in Chapter Four (despite a personal quest to devour the book as soon as possible) and some of the little things - such as a well-placed comment by a character (Fred, George, Ron and Luna in particular) - allowed a laugh to escape even when Harry was in the thick of things. This is a mark of excellent pace and timing, but also displays how an intimate understanding of the characters can reward readers, relationships we have forged over the ten years since the first book was published.
Personally, I applaud mystery writers (as I've always admired their cleverness), bow to young adult fiction authors (as they are the most important guardians of literature) and pay my respect to fantasy novelists (as to create a world where there was none echoes divinity itself). The fact that Rowling achieves the status of all three with barely a stumble is a remarkable achievement. I'm sad to see the end of the Harry Potter series but the end was compulsory for the series to remain healthy and I can't pretend that I'm not relieved to know Harry's fate.
Well, we've come to the end of the story of the Boy Who Lived or The Chosen One or whatever he's called now and I must compliment Rowling on quite a tidy resolution to a series known for its many loose ends. Most readers, I believe, will be satisfied with how things end and the journey Rowling takes us on to get there, so cheers JK and thanks for the ride!
Book rating: 7/10 - need to invest readership in the series, some clumsiness
Enjoyment rating: 10/10 - a gamut of emotions but most tellingly relief, satisfaction and the desire to read it over and over again
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