CCBC-Net Archives

[CCBC-Net] HP7

From: Beth Wright <bethlibrarian>
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 17:00:19 -0700 (PDT)

One thing Rowling has done particularly well throughout the HP series is create magical objects and spells. Polyjuice Potion, the Mirror of Erised, all Fred and George's joke items, and of course the Horcruxes and Deathly Hallows from the last two books are immensely creative (and they have great names as well, another testament to the author's creativity). I've also appreciated the way she has explained the magic behind these items, because when authors do that it often interrupts the flow of a book. Generally Rowling has managed to let her characters explain the magic to each other as a natural part of the story and then moved on with the plot.

That's why I was a little disappointed with the "true master of the elder wand" revelation. This was the climax of the entire series, and there was a lot of explication, and I still found myself saying "Huh? What just happened?" and then flipping back through HP7 and rummaging around my shelves for HP6. This was a big interruption in flow for me as a reader. It just seemed unnecessarily complicated.

Of course, I got over it. The faithful always do.

In contrast, I thought the moment when Neville got the sword out of the sorting hat was sublime. I was glad there was no explanation of how or why it worked. Neville deserved it because of his Gryffindor courage, and so it was there.

Beth Wright Youth Services Librarian Fletcher Free Library Burlington, Vermont





       
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Received on Tue 14 Aug 2007 07:00:19 PM CDT