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So, I just finished the book. Yes, I'm slow. I was taking my time with it mostly on purpose.
So, even though I went out and thoroughly spoiled myself for the book before I got it, it still managed to surprise me a little. Some of them were even pleasant surprises.
I was set to be bitterly pissed off at JKR for killing of Remus, but jeez, she couldn't even bother to give him a fucking death scene? Much less Tonks? Nevermind the fact that she barely spares a sentence for the fate of the latest abandoned orphan she's created. Pretty tasteless in my opinion.
I almost cried at one part near the beginning where Fred was talking about how when he gets married he's not going to have all the claptrap. Fred's death hit me really hard, I think because that was its sole purpose. To make us hurt. And for me, the thought of George without his twin is pretty good at that; it really rips me to shreds.
It seemed like every time the book was in danger of getting a touch too hopeful, JKR tossed another character overboard. Practically none of the good guys' deaths had to happen, they were all just... for effect. Cannon fodder to help JKR set the mood. And most of it just seemed really unnecessary. The amount of casual destruction in this book, most of it pretty unrelated to Voldemort himself, honestly floored me. It makes me get pretty annoyed at JKR. She goes on about how the books keep getting darker because they have to - but that's not what happened. They didn't get darker, they were just full of more pointless cruelty. That's not the same thing. It was not an overall shift in mood or tone, just horrible events sprinkled around.
I was quite relieved that Harry did manage to get his wand repaired in the end. That might have been the most touching part of the book for me - that after having lost so much: his parents; Sirius; Lupin, his last link to that part of his life; Dumbledore, not to mention nearly having all faith in the man stripped from him; Hedwig, who was more than just a pet, she was the first loving gift he could remember; Dobby; even his damn broom - he finally managed to regain something that was important to him, that was a part of him.
So we finally defeat Voldemort after having lost so much... and then JKR tacks on the epilogue, like that's supposed to make everything better? I can almost fathom the train of thought. She probably wanted to show that the wizarding world can recover, bounce back even from the harshest of blows, wanted to give everyone a happy ending. But it's so... shallow and so casually cruel to the characters she already tossed aside like they didn't even matter, it really burns me. If she really felt she needed an epilogue to prove that everything was really going to work out okay despite how much she fucked up everybody's world, I really think that was not the right tone to take with it. Something a few months after the final battle, hopeful but at least acknowledging the losses, acknowledging the fact that everything that happened changed people in some way. Instead, the world they live in is apparently exactly the same, untouched, just minus one evil overlord.
Mostly, I am incredibly glad that I don't live in JKR's world, where you're expected to sacrifice every single thing of importance in your life to be considered worthy of a so-called happy ending. Because obviously getting married and having babies that you can send off to Hogwarts is the most anyone could ever hope for. Right.
Lest my extended bitter diatribe against JKR confuse you, for the most part I enjoyed the book. I really did like it and I'm glad I read it. But that epilogue... I think I'm just going to pretend it doesn't exist and write my own in my head, thanks.
And at least, now that the series is over, fans can set out and fix it once and for all without danger of JKR creating more fuck-ups to take care of.
One last thing: Percy! I love you, Percy! I'm so glad that she didn't forget about you, and equally sad she waited so long to let you come back and be the Gryffindor you always were.
Entirely aside from all that, I had a great time at the book release party. Hanging out with fans who all have a common purpose is so... warming. ♥
Now I'm going to go catch up with my f-list that I've been avoiding while gathering my own thoughts.
So, even though I went out and thoroughly spoiled myself for the book before I got it, it still managed to surprise me a little. Some of them were even pleasant surprises.
I was set to be bitterly pissed off at JKR for killing of Remus, but jeez, she couldn't even bother to give him a fucking death scene? Much less Tonks? Nevermind the fact that she barely spares a sentence for the fate of the latest abandoned orphan she's created. Pretty tasteless in my opinion.
I almost cried at one part near the beginning where Fred was talking about how when he gets married he's not going to have all the claptrap. Fred's death hit me really hard, I think because that was its sole purpose. To make us hurt. And for me, the thought of George without his twin is pretty good at that; it really rips me to shreds.
It seemed like every time the book was in danger of getting a touch too hopeful, JKR tossed another character overboard. Practically none of the good guys' deaths had to happen, they were all just... for effect. Cannon fodder to help JKR set the mood. And most of it just seemed really unnecessary. The amount of casual destruction in this book, most of it pretty unrelated to Voldemort himself, honestly floored me. It makes me get pretty annoyed at JKR. She goes on about how the books keep getting darker because they have to - but that's not what happened. They didn't get darker, they were just full of more pointless cruelty. That's not the same thing. It was not an overall shift in mood or tone, just horrible events sprinkled around.
I was quite relieved that Harry did manage to get his wand repaired in the end. That might have been the most touching part of the book for me - that after having lost so much: his parents; Sirius; Lupin, his last link to that part of his life; Dumbledore, not to mention nearly having all faith in the man stripped from him; Hedwig, who was more than just a pet, she was the first loving gift he could remember; Dobby; even his damn broom - he finally managed to regain something that was important to him, that was a part of him.
So we finally defeat Voldemort after having lost so much... and then JKR tacks on the epilogue, like that's supposed to make everything better? I can almost fathom the train of thought. She probably wanted to show that the wizarding world can recover, bounce back even from the harshest of blows, wanted to give everyone a happy ending. But it's so... shallow and so casually cruel to the characters she already tossed aside like they didn't even matter, it really burns me. If she really felt she needed an epilogue to prove that everything was really going to work out okay despite how much she fucked up everybody's world, I really think that was not the right tone to take with it. Something a few months after the final battle, hopeful but at least acknowledging the losses, acknowledging the fact that everything that happened changed people in some way. Instead, the world they live in is apparently exactly the same, untouched, just minus one evil overlord.
Mostly, I am incredibly glad that I don't live in JKR's world, where you're expected to sacrifice every single thing of importance in your life to be considered worthy of a so-called happy ending. Because obviously getting married and having babies that you can send off to Hogwarts is the most anyone could ever hope for. Right.
Lest my extended bitter diatribe against JKR confuse you, for the most part I enjoyed the book. I really did like it and I'm glad I read it. But that epilogue... I think I'm just going to pretend it doesn't exist and write my own in my head, thanks.
And at least, now that the series is over, fans can set out and fix it once and for all without danger of JKR creating more fuck-ups to take care of.
One last thing: Percy! I love you, Percy! I'm so glad that she didn't forget about you, and equally sad she waited so long to let you come back and be the Gryffindor you always were.
Entirely aside from all that, I had a great time at the book release party. Hanging out with fans who all have a common purpose is so... warming. ♥
Now I'm going to go catch up with my f-list that I've been avoiding while gathering my own thoughts.
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