I stood in line at Wal-Mart in McDonough, GA on Friday night to get my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (we were in GA visiting my in-laws). It took forever, because they evidently decided that we couldn't be trusted to take the book up front and pay for it, so they made everyone check out in the back of the store. Unfortunately for folks like me (I was also picking up some diapers for V), they would ONLY check out books at the back register, so I had to check out again for the diapers.
OSC's essay about Snape had me hoping that Snape would be more active in the book than he was (sure, Snape had a lot going on, but it was all in the background or through, uh, flashbacks). There's no arguing that he was crucial to the story, but there was a bit too much whimper and not enough bang.
I might end up changing my opinion on that, though. Like the last two HP books, the Deathly Hallows seemed to go much too fast at the end, and I assume that I missed a few things in my rush to finish the story. Obviously I caught all the major points, but there were probably a few subtleties that I glossed over. So, as I have for the last two books, I'm now listening to the audiobook which will force me to slow down a bit. Jim Dale's reading of these books is truly amazing, and I always feel that I've gotten a better grasp on the whole story after listening to him read it.
So why don't I listen to the audiobook in the first place? Because it's almost a solid day long, and I'm an impatient man when it comes to fiction. But I also love encountering a good story multiple times (I've lost count of the times I've read/listened to Ender's Game), so this process works for me.
Roy | July 26, 2007 10:46 AM
Here is the link to my thoughts on Deathly Hallows. One thing that bugged me that I did not mention in my blog was the inexcusable inconsistiences in the plot. Herimione's speech about modifying here parents memory so that they longer remember having a daughter was one of the most powerful scenes; however, just a couple of chapters later when they are facing the Death Eaters in the diner, she states that she has never performed a memory charm before and only knows the theory behind it.