Spring Break
7th Potter edition doesn't disappoint fans
By: Aditi Dubey
Issue date: 8/10/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Originally published: 8/10/07 at 3:26 AM EST
Last update: 8/10/07 at 3:25 AM EST
Originally published: 8/10/07 at 3:26 AM EST
Last update: 8/10/07 at 3:25 AM EST
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Editor's note: Spoilers to follow!
So ends the story of the boy who lived. The seventh, final installment of the Harry Potter books by the British author J.K. Rowling was released on Saturday, July 21 and sold 8.3 million copies within 24 hours, according to The New York Times.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has now sold more than 350 million copies worldwide. In this final book, Rowling ties together all the loose ends from the previous books, culminating the events to a near perfect ending.
The book opens with a gathering of Death Eaters in Lucius Malfoy's manor where Voldemort is outlining newest his plans to capture Harry while he is being moved from the Dursleys' house to a safer place. There is tension and uncertainty in the wizarding world after Albus Dumbledore's death, and the Order of the Phoenix is without a leader. Hogwarts is still open, but Harry, Ron and Hermione plan on dropping out and continuing their search for Horcruxes-the objects containing parts of Voldemort's soul-to help Harry fulfill his prophecy.
Paranoia abounds and everyone is under suspicion. Most wizards are aware that Dumbledore left Harry with a mission that no one else except Ron and Hermione know about. Dumbledore's will and its contents are thoroughly searched by the Ministry. Among other things, Ron gets Dumbledore's Deluminator, Hermione is given The Tales of Beedle the Bard-children's book of fairy tales for wizards, and Harry gets the first snitch he ever caught at Hogwarts and the sword of Godric Gryffindor. These add to the existing plot as the protagonists must now discover the significance of these things, and this leads them to the Deathly Hallows. (This book, more than any other, has come under criticism for supposedly encouraging satanic views. The frequent and numerous references in the book to death as a person and the idea of resurrecting the dead have been severely criticized.)
The Ministry of Magic soon falls and a new minister who is being controlled by the Death Eaters is instated to run the affairs. Wizards born in non-wizarding families are being rounded up and asked to register before they can have paying jobs. Non-human creatures like house elves and goblins are being treated with renewed and open contempt, much like the Muggles. There are full court criminal trials for even the most minor offenses, including declaring support for Harry Potter or admitting allegiance to the Order of the Phoenix. Rowling sets a scene of oppression and nearly everything seems to be calling for revolution, much like real life events like civil rights movement. Parallels can also be drawn to Nazi Germany and its oppression of the Jews, including sectioning them off to certain areas and making them wear armbands so differentiate them from others, before shipping them off to concentration camps. There are a number of new characters in this book, an equal number of deaths, new places and subplots. By the time the story ends, everything seems to fall into place and all questions are answered. Despite the speed that Rowling has had to write with to meet the publication deadlines, the book retains the wit, humor, originality and Rowling's signature attention to detail-whether it be spells, rules or Quidditch scores-in the others of the series.
So ends the story of the boy who lived. The seventh, final installment of the Harry Potter books by the British author J.K. Rowling was released on Saturday, July 21 and sold 8.3 million copies within 24 hours, according to The New York Times.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has now sold more than 350 million copies worldwide. In this final book, Rowling ties together all the loose ends from the previous books, culminating the events to a near perfect ending.
The book opens with a gathering of Death Eaters in Lucius Malfoy's manor where Voldemort is outlining newest his plans to capture Harry while he is being moved from the Dursleys' house to a safer place. There is tension and uncertainty in the wizarding world after Albus Dumbledore's death, and the Order of the Phoenix is without a leader. Hogwarts is still open, but Harry, Ron and Hermione plan on dropping out and continuing their search for Horcruxes-the objects containing parts of Voldemort's soul-to help Harry fulfill his prophecy.
Paranoia abounds and everyone is under suspicion. Most wizards are aware that Dumbledore left Harry with a mission that no one else except Ron and Hermione know about. Dumbledore's will and its contents are thoroughly searched by the Ministry. Among other things, Ron gets Dumbledore's Deluminator, Hermione is given The Tales of Beedle the Bard-children's book of fairy tales for wizards, and Harry gets the first snitch he ever caught at Hogwarts and the sword of Godric Gryffindor. These add to the existing plot as the protagonists must now discover the significance of these things, and this leads them to the Deathly Hallows. (This book, more than any other, has come under criticism for supposedly encouraging satanic views. The frequent and numerous references in the book to death as a person and the idea of resurrecting the dead have been severely criticized.)
The Ministry of Magic soon falls and a new minister who is being controlled by the Death Eaters is instated to run the affairs. Wizards born in non-wizarding families are being rounded up and asked to register before they can have paying jobs. Non-human creatures like house elves and goblins are being treated with renewed and open contempt, much like the Muggles. There are full court criminal trials for even the most minor offenses, including declaring support for Harry Potter or admitting allegiance to the Order of the Phoenix. Rowling sets a scene of oppression and nearly everything seems to be calling for revolution, much like real life events like civil rights movement. Parallels can also be drawn to Nazi Germany and its oppression of the Jews, including sectioning them off to certain areas and making them wear armbands so differentiate them from others, before shipping them off to concentration camps. There are a number of new characters in this book, an equal number of deaths, new places and subplots. By the time the story ends, everything seems to fall into place and all questions are answered. Despite the speed that Rowling has had to write with to meet the publication deadlines, the book retains the wit, humor, originality and Rowling's signature attention to detail-whether it be spells, rules or Quidditch scores-in the others of the series.
