Hallelujah! Hallelujah!! Can you hear the chorus sing?!:::warning, spoilers within:::
It took me a while, ok, one year to be exact, and honestly, I don't know how I avoided hearing what happens throughout the book since my best friend finished wayyyy before me and heck, everyone finished it wayyyyy before me...But I did it! I completed the entire Harry Potter series - ending with the final chapter, this afternoon, 12:25 pm.
And guess what? I'm a wreck.
I have a theory (do I say that often?) that I languished over the final book, spreading it out as long as possible, because I knew it would be painful to see HP come to an end. I sensed this empty feeling would come, filling my soul with a resounding heap of rigid, cold, nothingness.
J.K. Rowling published the first novel in 1997 and I believe I was hooked about a year or two later, making HP part of my life for roughly ten years, like a behind the scenes lover - always there when you need him, ready to provide you with the escape and satisfaction you so desire.
We've been through a lot, HP and I; from envying Hermione for her brains and magical abilities, to the excitement of Harry's first kiss with Cho, to the crush I developed for Severus Snape and his dark and mysterious relationship with Dumbledore, Harry and Draco (most of that crush probably came about from Alan Rickman's portrayal of Snape in the movies, but still...). I cried when Dumbledore died. I cried when Harry came to the realization that he had to die to defeat Voldemort and I cried when Dumbledore cried reliving his misguided youth and the death of his sister. But I cried most of all when Harry won and we knew he would live, because that meant the story had come to a close.
HP took me everywhere I wanted to go, through every emotion and every action and reaction. Toward the end I began looking for holes, or discrepancies in the writing, only to find nothing. Rowling is a master and I applaud her for it. She is an absolutely amazing writer.
So it's the end of an era. I thought it would be similar to how I felt when Friends ended, because I grew up with the show. And I know you can't compare film, TV and books, but they are all just stories, done in different media. But HP took me places Friends could never and I think that has something to do with the written word allowing you to use your own imagination, creating the characters within yourself, so much so, that they become part of you. Like Voldemort being part of Harry. It made his ultimate goal of snuffing out Voldemort akin to killing a part of himself...and who really wants to do that? I mean, would who you are change? How complex? How...brilliant? And in a young adult novel.... I'm blown away.
You would think it would depress me when it comes to my own writing, but I've found that it has made me hopeful. Hopeful that I might write something as wonderful as HP in my lifetime. It may be a different story, but even if I capture an ounce of Rowling's ability to breath such life into my characters, I'd be content.
At least there are three more movies to savor. Again, they aren't books....but anything to satisfy my HP fix.
Goodbye, my lover.....
grand total: 47001
Quote of the Day: Don't be too harsh to these poems until they're typed. I always think typescript lends some sort of certainty: at least, if the things are bad then, they appear to be bad with conviction. ~Dylan Thomas, letter to Vernon Watkins, March 1938
2 comments:
I loved Harry but It's good for him to grow up and have a normal (okay, as normal as a wizard can have) live.
Glad you finished the series, there is no way I could have waited that long. (I practically stole the book from my sister-in-law-to be. She bought it and I was asking her every day, "are you done yet? can I have it now?") But now that you brought it up, I miss HP!
I, too, was very disappointed that the series came to an end. But I think that's part of what makes it so great. If she had gone on any longer it may have lost something. Remember that old show biz saying "Always leave them wanting more?" I think that rings true for series books as well.
I ran out at midnight and got the last book and read it in three days. I wish I could have savored it as you did, Dyann, but I was terrified someone was going to spoil the ending for me. I am sure I will be re-reading it sometime soon, this time at my leisure. I loved it well enought the first time but I bet I'll pick up on things that I didnt the first time around. I've read all the other ones more than once, too.
And you are so right, J.K. is a master storyteller. It was all the nuances and details she put in that made it so rich. I, too, would love to have a mere ounce of her skill and talent.
I did find one flaw, though. Not that I was looking for it but it just sort of jumped out at me as I read it. Spoiler Alert!!: In the Goblet of Fire, she had Harry's parents come out of the wand in the wrong order. But she fixed it in later releases of the book. At my library, they have an older book and a newer one and it's kind of neat to see them side by side with the different text. I'm guessing those first ones with the mistake will be worth big money some day.
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