Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The wait is over. Finally on the morning of 21st July, 2007 about 50 million (maybe lots more...) people from all over the world thronged the bookstores and formed humongous queues to bag a copy of the legendary finale of the greatest story ever told - the book 7 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, written by the now multi-billionaire and deservingly so, J.K.Rowling. When the prodigious writer came out with the 1st edition of the exciting series in 1998, very few people took notice of the magical world that she had spun over a cup of coffee, but 10 years later and after 6 sequels to the brilliant plot the entire world is "stunned"... literally. Its the final confrontation between Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, the “symbol of hope” for both the Wizard and Muggle worlds, and Lord Voldemort also known as Tom Marvolo Riddle, He Who Must Not Be Named who is the nefarious leader of the Death Eaters. Good versus Evil. Love versus Hate. The Seeker versus the Dark Lord.

To start off, let me make it clear that I am not exactly a Harry Potter freak like some of my friends, but I just used to read the books since it offered me a good read and was something different from the ordinary world. But it would be an understatement if I lay the same claim now, after I have read this final epic which has made me a hard core fan of the entire Harry Potter mania. I mean, there couldn't haven been a better ending to this monumental epic story and even most of the superlatives that I use - God level - fails to describe the ultimate climax that just leaves you wondering if this is really the end. Though I was a wee bit disappointed with Dumbledore's death in the 6th edition, but JKR made up for it big time with the Deathly Hallows. This blog is to salute the insane creativity that the woman has and her innocuous talent by which she planned and crafted such a magnificient masterpiece panning the mind boggling world of wizards and witches, magic and wonder!

With each installment, the “Potter” series has grown increasingly dark, and this one is no exception offering the best of Harry Potter - his bravery and courage, which until now were shadowed by his great mentor - Albus Dumbledore and Sirius Black. This time he faces the supreme forces of evil on his own with the help of his best buddies - Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger who make up for the small bits which Harry Potter sometimes lacks, of course, no one is perfect. While the author effortlessly tells the details whether it is Ron’s adolescent sarcasm, Hermoine's unbelievable brains or Harry’s growing solemnity and instincts, from youthful exuberance to more philosophical gravity, “Deathly Hallows” is a book that marks Harry’s final initiation into the complexities and sadnesses of adulthood. Its the first book that made me think more of Harry Potter as a character and less of the story that revolved around him.

The Deathly Hallows marks a transformation in the character of Harry Potter. From his first days at Hogwarts, the green-eyed boy bore the burden of his destiny as a leader, coping with the expectations and duties of his role while suffering from the early loss of his family. Harry often wished to himself he were not the de facto leader of the Resistance movement, shouldering terrifying responsibilities, but wanted to be an ordinary teenage boy — free to romance Ginny Weasley and hang out with his friends. Gone are the days of the contantly bickering Harry Potter frustrated with Dumbledore's choice of not telling him all the facts about his life, this time its war and he takes up the mantle of an ultimate warrior effortlessly with a steely resolve to manage the mischief called as Lord Voldemort.

In this volume, the losses mount with unnerving speed: at least a half-dozen characters we have come to know die in alternate chapters, and many others are wounded or tortured. Voldemort and his followers infiltrate Hogwarts (Professor Snape becomes the Headmaster) and the Ministry of Magic, creating havoc and terror in the Wizard and Muggle worlds alike, and the members of various populations — including elves, goblins and centaurs — are choosing sides. No wonder then, Harry often seems overwhelmed with disillusionment and doubt in the final installment of this seven-volume saga. He continues to struggle to control his temper, and as he, Ron and Hermione search for the missing Horcruxes (7 secret magical objects in which Voldemort has stashed parts of his soul, objects that Harry must destroy if he hopes to kill the evil lord) he literally enters a dark wood, in which he must battle out the Death Eaters and eventually the Dark Lord himself.

Harry’s weird psychic connection with Voldemort (symbolized by the lightning-bolt forehead scar he bears as a result of the Dark Lord’s attack on him as a baby) grows stronger giving him clues to Voldemort’s actions and whereabouts. One of the plot’s significant turning points concerns Harry’s decision on whether to continue looking for the Horcruxes — the mission assigned to him by the late Dumbledore — or to pursue the Deathly Hallows, three magical objects said to make their possessor the master of Death.

Harry’s journey propels him forward to a final showdown with his arch enemy and sends him backward into the past - to the house in Godric’s Hollow where his parents died, to learn about his family history and the equally mysterious history of Dumbledore’s family. At the same time, he is forced to ponder the equation between fraternity and independence, free will and fate, and to come to terms with his own frailties and those of others. Ambiguities proliferate throughout “The Deathly Hallows”: as we are read hitherto unexplored facts about the kindly Dumbledore, sinister Severus Snape and perhaps even the awful Muggle cousin Dudley Dursley, who are more complicated than they seem, that all of them, like Harry, have hidden aspects to their personalities, and that choice — more than talent or predisposition — matters most of all.

I might propose that J. K. Rowling has almost created a world as fully detailed as J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, a world so minutely imagined in terms of its history, rituals and rules that it qualifies as an alternate universe, which may be one reason the “Potter” books have spawned such a passionate following and such fervent exegesis. With this volume, the reader realizes that small incidents in earlier installments (hidden among a huge number of red herrings) create a breadcrumb trail of clues to the plot, that Rowling has fitted together with the jigsaw-puzzle pieces of this complex puzzle with unparalleled brilliance. Objects and spells from earlier books — like the Invisibility cloak, Polyjuice Potion, Dumbledore’s Pensieve and Sirius’s flying motorcycle — play important roles and characters like the house-elf Dobby, Mr. Ollivander- the wandmaker, the barman at Hogsmeade resurface with a greater role to play.

The world of Harry Potter is a place where the mundane and the marvelous, the ordinary and the surreal coexist. It’s a place where cars can fly and owls can deliver the mail, a place where paintings talk and a mirror reflects people’s innermost desires. It’s also a place utterly recognizable to readers, a place where death and the catastrophes of daily life are inevitable, and people’s lives are defined by love and loss and hope — the same way they are in our own mortal world. Harry Potter rocks..... big time and there doesn't seem to be a distant end to the Potter mania as two more film adaptations of this successful story line are in the offering. I meanwhile, will try to recover from the hang over of scary spells like the "Avada Kedavra" and others. All is well.

P.S.: Review based on the article given in the NY Times and personal experience. Please post your comments about the book/article and feel free to point out any mistake that might have slipped out. And yeah, if you were bored reading this or disliked it... for you, "Obliviate" !