review of Harry Potter...good to the last drop...soooo good

[evanovitch]

i have had to read the last couple chapters a whole heap a times since mi finish di book di fuss time...

i am hoping dat she has left an out fi another series wid di item in di enchanted forest....

kudos to dis lady...from welfare to well being , she deserve it fi real

[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/proud_jamaica.gif[/img]

[WitchyOoman]

Re: review of Harry Potter...good to the last drop...soooo good

Hi, evanovitch.

See it here first (tomorrow it will be in the <u>Newark Star-Ledger</u>)...
(not joking, btw; it will be in the paper with other mini-reviews of the book, all reviews must have been 250 words or less - and you KNOW how hard that was for me!)



A mini-review with no spoilers of <u>Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows</u>:

Despite raising all sorts of new questions throughout the first three- quarters of this final book, by its end, Ms. Rowling has tied up all of the major loose ends of the series.

The epilogue is just that - a rough peek with few details into the future, to see how the youngest generation of major characters have done.

Action-packed, fast-paced, and very different in tone from the other books of the series - due to locale changes without that of familiar Hogwarts - this book is likely to be either the one that readers love or hate the most. The very fact that it is so different from the others will please as many as it displeases.

Another major difference between this book and the previous six is that, in this one, we now see the adults of the series through Harry's newly- adult eyes.

I sobbed my way through much of the book, but I find myself most saddened by the life story of Severus Snape. I was sobered by Albus Dumbledore's life, too, but in many ways, Dumbledore might have been happier, if only he'd allowed himself to be. Both men led lives of misery brought on by their own choices and actions, but it seems that Snape was far more "trapped" by the consequences of his choices than Dumbledore needed to be by his. That said, perhaps that in itself is the true tragedy. Dumbledore himself said, "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are…"



I read it straight thru, from lunchtime Saturday 'till breakfast Monday. I then went back to re-read the las few chapters, just to be sure I didn't miss anything, and to make sure it all sank in. (was in too much shock the first read)

Now (yesterday & today) I'm re-reading the entire book once more. Should be done late tonight.


Hey - evanni... Did you figure out who is "the person who does magic quite late in life" that Jo Rowling was talking about in public interview a few weeks back?

Do you know what I'm even talking about?

Sorry, but even on three 'reads'/'read-thrus', I seem to have missed it... and so has everyone else in Potter fandom. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/confused.gif[/img]

Or must we now wait for her to write the Encyclopedia she just promised us publicly on television yesterday?

[WitchyOoman]

Re: review of Harry Potter...good to the last drop...soooo good

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
i am hoping dat she has left an out fi another series wid di item in di enchanted forest....</div></div>

Sorry, but Jo has already said a few things regarding your hope...

She will not be writing anything more about Potter peeps, other than the Encyclopedia (which is how she will give us the rest of her notes and backstories of the other characters, the stuff that never made it into the books). She had satted for a while ow that she would only consider doing that; She confirmed it yesterday, saying that she will, indeed, write the Encyclopedia -- because that's already begun (partially written). (all of her notes)

Jo also said explicitly (think it was on Monday?) that Harry was NOT going to ever consider uniting all three of ... those objects. She further said that her epilogue 'proved that'. (I don't see how, but she says it did. *shrug*)

She says that the Encyclopedia will show us some of the other survivor characters' futures, or at least, some glimpses.

And, Jo says that the item you are talking about "is lost forever ... on the forest floor".


Looks like you'll have to write your own fanfic. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]

She has implied (but not yet outright stated) that she has deliberately left "wiggle room" on some things, for her fans to continue to write fanfic about. Yet - she has closed the door firmly and most permanently on some things, hasn't she? *sigh*


I don't mind The Death That Broke My Heart (you know which one I mean) nearly so much as I mind HOW it happened. (ie: pointlessly - he didn't have to die for the reason V killed him)
That really ticks me OFF!!

[evanovitch]

Re: review of Harry Potter...good to the last drop...soooo good

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: WitchyOoman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">[quote=evanovitch]
i

I don't mind The Death That Broke My Heart (you know which one I mean) nearly so much as I mind HOW it happened. (ie: pointlessly - he didn't have to die for the reason V killed him)
That really ticks me OFF!! </div></div>

if u follow the reasoning, he had to kill him...even Harry continued the reasoning in how he was able to do wat he eventually did....

i am in awe of her writing skills in pulling all this together in the vast number of pages she wrote and keeping the reader totalling engrossed and entranced....

brilliant....am awaiting this one translated to the screen...pity i have to wait for Half Blood Prince to be made first...hope they speed both productions up [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/proud_jamaica.gif[/img]

[WitchyOoman]

Re: review of Harry Potter...good to the last drop...soooo good

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: WitchyOoman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I don't mind The Death That Broke My Heart (you know which one I mean) nearly so much as I mind HOW it happened. (ie: pointlessly - he didn't have to die for the reason V killed him)
That really ticks me OFF!! </div></div>

if u follow the reasoning, he had to kill him...even Harry continued the reasoning in how he was able to do wat he eventually did....</div></div>

Yes, he had to die, and most probably by V's hand, yes.

But he did NOT have to die so pointlessly! [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif[/img]

He might have died defending Harry - or any one else, for that matter.

He wound up being one of the heroes of the series. So why couldn't Jo have given him a death with a better purpose?
(at least she gave him a dignified death - and at least she gave him some small measure of comfort. ----- "Look ... at ... me" --- *wail of pure misery*)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">i am in awe of her writing skills in pulling all this together in the vast number of pages she wrote and keeping the reader totalling engrossed and entranced....</div></div>

Yeah. How hard it must've been to answer all of the major questions, tie up all of the loose ends, and to answer all of the new questions that popped up in the last book!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">brilliant....am awaiting this one translated to the screen...pity i have to wait for Half Blood Prince to be made first...hope they speed both productions up [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/proud_jamaica.gif[/img] </div></div>

Not me. Nope.

I'm not going to bother with the last two movies (HBP & DH). This last one - OotP - was SOOO crappy that I've decided not to waste my money again. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/mad.gif[/img]


My review made today's newspaper. It's in the "Today" Section of the <u>New Jersey Star-Ledger</u>. It was well-received. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif[/img]

[evanovitch]

Re: review of Harry Potter...good to the last drop...soooo good

if u follow the storyline, V believed that his command of the wand was not complete because he had not got rid of the last known owner....he wrongly thought this to be S...if he had not believed this, then H would not have been able to do what he was able to do in the end....

this is what i really love about her writing skill...the attention to details, and the absolute validity of her reasoning

i enjoyed the recent movie ....while i dont expect the whole book to make it to the screen, they do an admirable adaptation...the movies r seperate from the books IMO

i enjoy them seperately

[WitchyOoman]

Re: review of Harry Potter...good to the last drop...soooo good

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">if u follow the storyline, V believed that his command of the wand was not complete because he had not got rid of the last known owner....he wrongly thought this to be S...if he had not believed this, then H would not have been able to do what he was able to do in the end....</div></div>

Yes, I think you are not understanding me.

I fully comprehend the plotline. I just didn't like part of it. (my right not to like it, hers - and yours and anybody else's - to like it)

<span style='font-size: 11pt'><span style="color: #FF0000">WARNING! SPOILERS FOR <u>DEATHLY HALLOWS</u> FOLLOW!</span></span>





I personally would have been happier if (1) V had been correct in his erroneous surmising of the situation. (ie: if in fact, killing his 'first lieutenant' would have indeed gained V the whole force of the Elder Wand), or (2) if V had killed his 'first lieutenant' coz he - finally - caught him double-spying and/or helping Harry.

At least, then, it wouldn't have been a "pointless" death.

As it happened (was written) - it was a totally pointless death, coz it did nothing for V, did nothing for his gaining the full force of the Elder Wand.

I knew that the odds were greatly in favor of my fave character dying. I just would have preferred it if his death had given any meaning to anything. As it occurred, it did not.

The manner of death did nothing (positive or negative) for Harry. The memories could just as easily have been shared while SS lived. Harry 'felt' some little twinge of something for SS as he lay there dying... but he would've anyway, at that point, coz Harry had grown up a lot, by then... and it was really no more than a slight twinge, to begin with, anyway.

If Jo Rowling had to kill SS, then the least she could have done was to give his death some meaning. That's all.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">i enjoyed the recent movie ....while i dont expect the whole book to make it to the screen, they do an admirable adaptation...the movies r seperate from the books IMO

i enjoy them seperately </div></div>

I also know there's no way to pack some 700+ pages of book into oe movie.

My gripe with this last movie, however, is that they wasted film & time with minor plot points that were unnecessary to the series (overall) AND, at the same time, they omitted what are some very crucial points to the overall plot series.

Now, knowing what crucial plotlines were omitted, I know what will not appear in the last two movies. (can't, since they weren't brought up in this movie)

Even Jo wasn't overly thrilled at the way they cut OotP movie from the book. She has stated that she hopes that they won't continue that trend with the last two movies.

But, really, I don't think she's got much say left, now, on things. (movies)
Before this last book came out, they HAD to run things by her, so as not to screw up potential future canon plotlines, but now, they can read the same as we did, so they no longer need to confer with her on things. I bet that they won't, either.

Like I said, I won't bother to pay to see the last two movies. The books are wonderful. The last 3 of the movies will obviously leave a lot to be desired.

Each to his own. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]

[SandiF]

Re: review of Harry Potter...good to the last drop...soooo g

Just finished reading the book. (I had to avoid this post at all costs during the week.) I was thinking of the snitch left in the forest being some hope of a continuation but it doesn't seem that way. Brilliant ending to a great serial. Kudos to JK indeed.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">i have had to read the last couple chapters a whole heap a times since mi finish di book di fuss time...

i am hoping dat she has left an out fi another series wid di item in di enchanted forest....

kudos to dis lady...from welfare to well being , she deserve it fi real

[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/proud_jamaica.gif[/img] </div></div>

[evanovitch]

J Rowlings on Dateline tonite

so i am watching her being interviewed on Dateline...she loves the movies , she says,and refused to allow them to be made unless they kept the characters etc true to what she had written...she didn't want the characters to be a franchise wid sequels that did not match her books, as she had not written them all at the time she signed off on the movie deal

she says that the promise of two additional ones, will give her a chance to still be a part of Harry Potter and if she needs a fix she will go to the sets an bother them

she is also looking forward to the theme part that is being built..she says at least one ride will be for kids and she is looking forward to taking her three kids there when it opens

[ILP]

Re: J Rowlings on Dateline tonite

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">she is also looking forward to the theme part that is being built..she says at least one ride will be for kids and she is looking forward to taking her three kids there when it opens </div></div>

I dont think the theme park is a good idea. that is just a bit over the top in the commercialism department.

[ILP]

Re: J Rowlings on Dateline tonite

Finished the book on the drive to Chapel Hill this weekend. It was a great series. I dont think I am feeling the SS memories chapter. It did explain A LOT (bwoy daht V is one wicked smaddy, man). The D and Harry at Kings Cross didnt do much for me either.

The final battle in the Great Hall was halarious with Mrs. W and Bellitrix [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/704555_dwl.gif[/img]

I found it interesting that it is the Mother Malfoy who ultimately betrays V.

It is good to know that Harry lives "happily ever after".

Anyway, kudos to JK, again, she had an excellent run.

[evanovitch]

Re: J Rowlings on Dateline tonite

she says she is going to write another book..juss dat wid dis series being ovah, she can write at leisure, wid no deadline to meet...

di theme park is being done by the parent company weh own NBC

she not involve except dat dem haffi pay har fi use di Harry Potter name etc....

she seh dat di name Potter was from some neighbours of har chilehood, but di son of dem weh claim seh is him she pattern Harry after is way off...the ongle ting she used was di Potter name....she also seh dat Hermoine is patterned on her...she was not a popular chile an she use to always try hard in class etc etc

it was a really nice interview indeed

[evanovitch]

Re: J Rowlings on Dateline tonite

oh she says dat Harry , Hermoine and Ron all work in the Ministry of Magic...that is how she visualises it....this kid asked her why she ongle gave Neville a job...so she answered dat way...she say that the three of them revolutionised the Ministry...Harry as head of Aura...Hermoine in charge of Dark Arks an mi figet whe she seh Ron would have done

an yes, she seh har faith is shown in part in the book...she seh she would like to still believe dat har faith is relevant

[evanovitch]

Re: J Rowlings on Dateline tonite

When J.K. Rowling sat down with NBC's Meredith Vieira, the two discussed Rowling's life pre-Potter, how the Harry Potter franchise changed her life, and the decision process in killing off a character. Ever wonder what Rowling would re-write and what "almost" happened in prior Harry Potter books? Read excerpts from the interview below and tune in to NBC Sunday for a one-hour special.

Spoiler alert: This interview reveals some key plot points in the final Harry Potter book. So if you've haven't finished the book, J.K. Rowling asks that you not read this story.

The one-hour special of J.K. Rowling's interview with NBC's Meredith Vieira will appear on Dateline NBC Sunday, July 29 at 7 p.m./6 Central.

On the release of the seventh installment

Vieira: It's finally done.

Rowling: I know.

Vieira: How does that feel?

Rowling: Incredible.

Vieira: Incredible good? Incredible bad? A little bit of both?

Rowling: At the moment -- it feels great, to be honest with you. It feels -- it's a really nice place to be. Yeah. Feel a big sense of achievement. I mean, I am sad. But I've been sadder. I need to be off ... writing, I felt -- devastated.

Vieira: Really?

Rowling: Uh-huh. Yeah. For about a week. I was hard to live with for about a week after I finished this book.

Vieira: Because -- because you realized it was over or because, I mean, you killed off some of the characters, too. I'm sure that was--

Rowling: I think -- I think the whole thing. It was this amazing cathartic moment. The end of 17 years' work. And -- that was -- that was just hard to -- hard to deal with for about a week. And it was -- and it's very much tied into things I've done in my life for 17 years that brought back a lot of memories of what had been going on in my life when I started writing. So, yeah.

Vieira: Because when you started you were not in the same place you are now by any means.

Rowling: No. And, in fact, when I started actually I was in a bad place. And then they -- then, you know, life has its ups and downs. So, I mean, Harry's been with me as a result. I think it was that feeling more than any other that I wouldn't have that world to retreat into again that was painful.

How far book seven was from her original version

Rowling: It's really close, particularly the last third of the book is as I always wanted it. It really is. The only exception would be the one character appears in that last third. And I thought that character was going to die in Book Five when I started writing.

Vieira: Who was that?

Rowling: Mr. Weasley. He was the person who got a reprieve. I -- when I sketched out the books, Mr. Weasley was due to die in Book Five.

Vieira: So what happened there? Why did he get the reprieve?

Rowling: Well, I swapped him for someone else, and I don't want to say who for the people who haven't -- read. But I -- I made a decision as I went into writing Phoenix that I was going to reprieve Mr. Weasley and I was going to kill someone else. And if you finish the book, I expect you probably know and someone else who is a father.

The toughest part to write

Vieira: Overall, the loss of which character brought you to tears?

Rowling: Definitely the passage that I found hardest to write of all of them in all seven books and the one that made me cry the most is Chapter 34 in this one. But that was -- and that was partly because of the content -- and partly because it had been planned for so long and been roughed out for so long. And to write the definitive version felt like a -- a huge climax.

Vieira: And can you tell us what was in 34?

Rowling: It's when Harry sets off into the forest. Again. So that's my favorite passage of this book. And it's the part that when I finished writing, I didn't cry as I was writing, but when I finished writing, I had enormous explosion of emotion and I cried and cried and cried.

What she’s left out and the future of Harry Potter

Vieira: Were there other things that you left out that -- you wish you could have put in?

Rowling: There have been all through the books, not just in this book. I've said before that -- Dean Thomas had a much more interesting history than ever appeared in the books for me. And you -- you just see glimpses of it. But to write it really would take us into prequel territory. And that does take us into Star Wars territory. And that's not really a place I'm -- I'm planning to go. But -- yeah, so there's always been bits that I knew about characters that didn't make final cuts because they weren't that relevant. And I've said -- on my website I think I said that in a way I had to sacrifice Dean's back story for Neville's back story because, ultimately, Neville's back story was more central to the -- to the climax of the books as I knew it would be.

Vieira: We've also had a lot of e-mails -- from people that -- who have read the book now and have questions so I want to go through some of them, set the record straight. Okay. Number one, 19 years later, who's the headmaster of Hogwarts?

Rowling: Well, it would be someone new. McGonagall was really getting on a bit. So someone completely new. But if I ever do the encyclopedia, I'm promising I will give details.

Vieira: You're going to do that, aren't you?

Rowling: I think I probably will. But I'm not going to do it tomorrow. (LAUGHTER) Because I'd really like a break. So you may be waiting --

Vieira: You mean you haven't started that yet? (LAUGHTER)

Rowling: Well, in a way I suppose I have because the -- the raw material is all in – in -- in my notes. But -- I want to take a break from publishing for a little while. It would be a -- you know, I've still got a young family.

Vieira: Do you -- do Ron and Hermione or Harry ever return to Hogwarts in any capacity?

Rowling: Well, I can well imagine Harry returning to give the odd talk on -- on defense against the dark arts. And – I -- and, of course, the jinx is broken now because Voldemort's gone. Now they can keep a good Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher from here on in. So that aspect of the -- of the wizarding education is now provided for.

About the release of her final ‘Potter’ book

Vieira: Is it -- ending this series for you, is it a relief, or is there a sense of mourning? Or maybe a combination of the two?

Rowling: Definitely both.

Vieira: Yeah?

Rowling: Whole bundle of emotions wrapped up into one. Immediately after finishing writing, I was very ... The first two days were terrible. Terrible. And --

Vieira: In what way? Tell me what you did.

Rowling: Just -- I was incredibly low. I think what – what -- what is probably hard for people to imagine is how wrapped up the 17 years' work is with what was going on in my life at the time. So it all -- it all merges into one. But I was -- I was mourning the loss of this world that I had written for so long and loved so much. I was also mourning the retreat it had been from -- from ordinary life, which it has been. And it forced me to look back at 17 years of my life and remember things. And it was very linked to my mother dying, which happened -- because, you know, a huge -- this big long passage from my life is now rounded off. So inevitably you think about what was happening at the beginning of that passage. Inevitably, you're thrown back in -- you know, I went through the birth of three children. I went through different country. I went through two serious bereavements. Breakup of a marriage. And-- and then lots of happy memories, you know? My -- the birth of all three of my children and so on. But, you know, it threw me back into all that. I kept thinking about all of that. The first two days were tough. But the whole of the -- week after finishing writing, I was quite low. And then after a week, suddenly I felt something different. I woke up on kind of Day Eight and -- felt actually quite light -- light hearted and thought I can write whatever I like. And the pressure's off. And it's not as though Harry's gone-gone from my life because he'll always be in my life.

And -- yeah, I did. I woke up after about a week and thought, "Oh, what an upside." You know? It's -- there is relief. Of course there's relief. All through, even through the depressed phase, this is my favorite book and I think it's my best book of the series --

dateline.com

[evanovitch]

Re: J Rowlings on Dateline tonite

In her only television interview after the highly anticipated release of the seventh and final installment in the Harry Potter series, author J.K. Rowling sat down with NBC's Meredith Vieira in Edinburgh, Scotland.

During the interview, Vieira asked the author about what she's left out of past books and what the future holds for Harry Potter.

VIEIRA: Were there other things that you left out that-- you wish you could have put in?

ROWLING: There have been all through the books, not just in this book. I've said before that-- Dean Thomas had a much more interesting history than ever appeared in the books for me. And you-- you just see glimpses of it. But to write it really would take us into prequel territory. And that does take us into Star Wars territory. And that's not really a place I'm-- I'm planning to go. But-- yeah, so there's always been bits that I knew about characters that didn't make final cuts because they weren't that relevant. And I've said-- on my website I think I said that in a way I had to sacrifice Dean's back story for Neville's back story because, ultimately, Neville's back story was more central to the-- to the climax of the books as I knew it would be.

VIEIRA: We've also had a lot of e-mails-- from people that-- who have read the book now and have questions so I wanna go through some of them, set the record straight. Okay. Number one, 19 years later, who's the headmaster of Hogwarts?

ROWLING: Well, it would be someone new. McGonagall was really getting on a bit. So someone completely new. But if I ever do the encyclopedia, I'm promising I will give details.

VIEIRA: You're gonna do that, aren't you?

ROWLING: I think I probably will. But I'm not going to do it tomorrow. (LAUGHTER) 'Cause I'd really like a break. So you may be waiting--

VIEIRA: You mean you haven't started that yet? (LAUGHTER)

ROWLING: Well, in a way I suppose I have because the-- the raw material is all in-- in-- in my notes. But-- I wanna take a break from publishing for a little while. It would be a-- you know, I've still got a young family.

VIEIRA: Do you-- do Ron and Hermione or Harry ever return to Hogwarts in any capacity?

ROWLING: Well, I can well imagine Harry returning to give the odd talk on-- on defense against the dark arts. And-- I-- and, of course, the jinx is broken now because Voldemort's gone. Now they can keep a good Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher from here on in. So that aspect of the-- of the wizarding education is now provided for.