Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling delivers an emotionally-charged, action-packed, and completely satisfying conclusion to the magical Harry Potter series.
Rowling seems to have evolved her characters along with her storytelling. Each book saw Harry, Ron, Hermione and friends changing and growing older, as Rowling's style matured in tandem. There’s no doubt that she's grown as an author over the course of the series, but the evolution seems more like an intentional effort to have the complexity of the book itself mirror the state of the characters and the world they live in. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the culmination of all this. Far from the simple story of an orphan boy living under the stairs, we've now come to an epic showdown between the forces of good and evil. Appropriately, Hallows is a very different book than any of the previous ones. The sense of humor, wonderment and charm that are present in many of the previous books is largely absent here. There are light moments, of course, but the time for cracking jokes about booger-flavoured jelly beans is over. This is war.
Rowling's writing style reflects the gravity of the events in her fantasy world, as she takes an overall get-down-to-business approach with her prose. That's not to say the book is overly straight-forward. There are certain passages, like the conversation between Harry and another character ‘at the close’ that read more like poetry than something out of a modern-day fantasy novel.
The book is 36 chapters, 759 pages in total and seems to be presented in 4 movements. The action begins with Harry's departure from the Dursley's. We then follow Harry, Ron and Hermione on a quest through the English countryside, hiding from Death Eaters and in search of Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes. The action then turns to the mystery of the Deathly Hallows – a trio of legendary relics that have fascinated curious wizards for ages, including Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald. Finally, the action comes to a gut-wrenching, edge-of-your-seat climax with the Battle of Hogwarts. Blood is shed, lives are lost and Harry and Voldemort face-off once and for all.
We had high hopes that Rowling would leave no stone unturned in this last installment. Sure enough, she manages to answer every single question and illuminate the secrets behind every mystery. What's the deal with Snape? Does Dumbledore have one last trick up his entombed sleeve? You'll find out.
Beyond just resolving outstanding issues, the author brings the entire series full circle by giving most of her memorable characters from the saga some sort of role to play in the finale. Everyone from Buckbeak the Hippogriff to Professor Trelawny sees some kind of action. Even after wrapping things up with a fine finish, Rowling delights by including a flash-forward epilogue that further satisfies our curiosity with a 30-something glimpse of the surviving heroes. She does all of this without ever making it feel cliché or forced.
In the end, things turned out a lot like we had anticipated, but Rowling kept us guessing right up until the very end. To her credit, Harry's world is one where the specter of death looms over everyone – just like our own – and we're never entirely sure about the safety of anyone.
The conclusion of Harry Potter's story is a masterfully told tale of love, loss, hope and the triumph of good over evil. With this paramount work, J.K. Rowling secures her place in the pantheon of classic fantasy authors like J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.
By J.K. Rowling
