Friday night I drove to my nearest Borders book store to pick up my copy of the last Harry Potter book. As I waited in line and watched the hundreds of people around me, I realized that Mr. Potter and his friends are more than just characters in a story. They have been a uniting factor for people of all ages across the world who have gladly immersed themselves in that world of witches and magic that coexisted with our own.
Now it's over. I finished reading the story yesterday evening. What was somewhat amusing is that most of the "spoilers" everyone was so upset about were not true to begin with and were probably more in the nature of an enormous publicity stunt. Some of what happened was happily predictable. Some of it left me laughing out loud because all the clues were there and I missed them. All but one of my favorite characters survived. Some I knew must die did. Others I thought probably should die, didn't. In the end, however, it came out as it should and the adventure is over.
Ms. Rowling has said she will not write any more about Harry and his friends, and I applaud her decision as much as I feel a touch of sadness that there will be no more of Harry and his friends. I've seen far too many wonderful ideas taken to such extremes as to become ridiculous. The Frank Herbert Dune books come to mind. Dune itself is a masterpiece. It should have remained a solitary book. It saddens me to see that the series continues long after the original author's death. There are a number of other such series that either should have ended long ago or which should never have become series in the first place. So stick by your guns, Jo. You're doing the right thing.
3 comments:
I confess to not having the slightest clue what any Harry Potter book is about, but my wife has every one - and has refused to read them until she can buy the "last" one, and read them "straight thru" as she says.
The love of good writing, combined with the agony of having to wait for the next book....is without title, but always forever!!
I don't read much fiction and I'm sure that I will never read a Harry Potter book. Let alone pay money to buy one to read.
Trying to figure out reality is hard enough. I'll be damn, TFWY beat me here. :-)
After reading the final book, I agree that she should not write any more. The book is a serious disappointment. What had been a clever and enjoyable children's series culminates in a mish-mash of half-baked, contrived and disjointed ... crap.
I had planned to go see the 5th movie this weekend, but I think I'll forgo that as well. For all the hype, it's a rather sad let-down that the climax was this bad.
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