Endings

So like a good little sheep member of the capitalist culture industry, I walked out this morning and bought my copy of the Harry Potter book from Kino in KLCC. I essentially walked in, bought it, left, and read it happily all day.

Suffice to say now that I have completed it, it is an excellent book, filled with good scenes and Rowling's well-wrought prose, and it felt, above all things, right.

Now that we've gotten that mini-review out of the way, I want to, because it's my blog, talk in slightly more detail about the book. Said discussion is hidden below, in white text which you can highlight to read.



SPOILER WARNING!!!! READ NO FURTHER IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO KNOW DETAILS ABOUT THE DEATHLY HALLOWS

My favorite parts of the series, because I'm a sop, have always been the quiet unspoken exchanges between characters. Harry Ron and Hermione have forged a friendship throughout the series which is real and wonderful, and while it's full and true, it is however pretty prominently displayed on pretty much every page, so while well written, it's usually quietly forgotten in the foreground.

Some favorites:

The kiss Ginny and Harry share while at the Burrow early in the book. The amount of unspoken emotion in the scene is scintillating.

The Mission Impossible style infiltrations of the Ministry and Gringotts. In my head the soundtrack was glissandi violins and low bass drums as the team concocts and executes.

Harry: 'OI! There's a bloody war going on!'
Ron: 'Yeah, better make the most of it eh?'

Speaking of war, McGonagle's fantastic handling of the Hogwarts situation, and the frankly hilarious way the heads of house organize their individual defenses. A personal favorite: Professor Trelawney. 'I HAVE MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM!'

Rowling's loosening up on profanity. As an individual who's not adverse to swearing whatsoever, it nevertheless raised my eyebrows when it actually came in, not obliquely 'Ron uttered some choice curses' but straight 'What the effing hell are you on about?'

Which brings me to another one of my favorite lines; and not just the humor value of Mrs. Weasly saying, essentially, Die bitch!, but the intensity of the situation involved; the death of Lestrange, one of the primary antagonists, is just as effective and poignant as the death of any other character.

Speaking of Lestrange, the Hermione torture scene... I'll be damned if it didn't make my skin crawl. I think of all the scenes I want to see in the film version, I think this is my 'big one'. Bonham Carter is fucking fantastic, and Watson is always enjoyable. This scene peaks high for me. I cannot wait.


So... who wants cookies?



Regina Spektor is one of my favorite singers. She's the absolute reverse of a manufactured pop princess, her songs are resonant and true. This unofficial video by Jonathon Vardi is heartbreaking beyond all measure.