I have to admit, I picked this up after reading a preview of the film. And I am so glad I did -- this novel is just fantastic. I've just spent ages writing the Harry Potter review, and I'm hungry, so I'll just say that Stardust is clever and creative and well-worth the read.
Next Up? For once, I have no idea. I have more than a few books sitting on the shelf, but I'm not sure what I'll pick up next. Hmm...
Saturday, August 11, 2007
#14: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling
My hands are tied on this one: I raced through the final installment so quickly in the hopes that I wouldn't find out a thing from someone else first (and I didn't), so in turn, I'll try to be vague and hope that I don't ruin it for anyone else. Looking at amazon.com, I see that by an overwhelming majority, readers loved this book -- and frankly, I'm shocked. I thought it rambled on and on and on, and the ending was ultimately unsatisfying. Multiple nights I fell asleep.
The main flaw is that clearly this tome is not a book for children (both through the high and random death toll and thematically), and the book is marching along to this mature conclusion until Rowling makes a U-turn and sanitizes it. Presumably for the children, who should have stopped reading around page 5. In that respect, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was far superior; Rowling made the tough choice, but committed to it. It's the same reason why The Lord of the Rings works, and I mention it because obviously Rowling drew inspiration from Tolkien's masterpiece. The point is, in both books, good is not only a choice, it is the most difficult choice. That's why, at the end of LOTR, Frodo is broken and leaves Middle Earth; would you really believe that the battle between good and evil was so important if the main characters came out of it completely unscathed, as if it never happened?
More than anything though, I wish I could be more specific. It's a real shame that the fastest-selling book in history cannot actually be discussed.
The main flaw is that clearly this tome is not a book for children (both through the high and random death toll and thematically), and the book is marching along to this mature conclusion until Rowling makes a U-turn and sanitizes it. Presumably for the children, who should have stopped reading around page 5. In that respect, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was far superior; Rowling made the tough choice, but committed to it. It's the same reason why The Lord of the Rings works, and I mention it because obviously Rowling drew inspiration from Tolkien's masterpiece. The point is, in both books, good is not only a choice, it is the most difficult choice. That's why, at the end of LOTR, Frodo is broken and leaves Middle Earth; would you really believe that the battle between good and evil was so important if the main characters came out of it completely unscathed, as if it never happened?
More than anything though, I wish I could be more specific. It's a real shame that the fastest-selling book in history cannot actually be discussed.
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