Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
By by J. K. Rowling, Scholastic, 2007

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling,

Scholastic, 2007

       The wait is over, the hype is diminished and all thatÕs left is a book. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was, prior to its publication on July 21, arguably the most eagerly awaited book in publishing history. The final installment in the Harry Potter saga, a series of books that has sold to date more than a third of a billion copies, Deathly Hallows had such expectations heaped upon it by the millions and millions of faithful fans (one estimate suggests that two-thirds of American children have read at least one of the books) that there was almost no chance that J.K. Rowling could deliver a final chapter that would make everyone happy; astonishingly, she seems to have done the near impossible. The early buzz is that Deathly Hallows has the right stuff for Potter fanatics, and even those less interested in the series would have to admit that Rowling has drawn her epic tale to a satisfying conclusion.

       In this final book, Harry Potter and his friends Ron and Hermione are engaged in a life-or-death battle from the very first page. Nowhere is there room for the slow build-up of past books – no silly escapes from the Dursley household at the end of the summer, no leisurely trips to Hogwarts on the train, no Quiddich matches or adolescent romances. In fact, the trio does not even intend to return to Hogwarts school for wizards and witches for their final year; having discovered a way to end the evil wizard VoldemortÕs reign of terror once and for all, Harry sets off on a quest with Ron and Hermione stubbornly following along. Before itÕs all over a decisive battle will be joined, and Harry and his friends will suffer losses and struggle against doubts.

       RowlingÕs previous two books, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, struggled with problems of pacing; both hovering around the 800-page mark, the books have been somewhat bloated, limping along, stalling in places, as their plots grudgingly unfolded. Deathly Hallows canÕt be accused of having a slow-starting plot; from a breath-taking battle in the first couple of chapters, the book is one exciting thrill ride for all of its 700-plus pages. Yet HarryÕs quest does spin its wheels for a good part of that time, with false starts, red herrings and failed adventures cluttering things up and making the narrative needlessly complicated.

       Still, Rowling couples the adrenaline with adolescent angst to great effect. Harry is grouchy, erratic, confused, impulsive and selfish. He is a typical teenager. But he is also brave, loyal, kind, persistent and loving. He is an admirable role model, at once fantastic and hyper-real. And although the adults in his world are also typical – they are dismissive, patronizing, and otherwise flawed – Rowling does not make HarryÕs story into an us-against-them clichŽ of teenage rebellion. In HarryÕs world, good comes when everyone works together, regardless of age. The grown-ups may think the kids are na•ve and inexperienced, and the kids might think that the grown-ups donÕt give them enough credit, but until both kids and grown-ups look beyond their prejudices and approach problems with an open mind those problems will not be solved. ItÕs a wonderful lesson, and itÕs only one of many laid out gently – and with a minimum of pedantry – in the book. Deathly Hollows is perhaps the most introspective and morally inquisitive of the Potter books, and it wins its conclusions honestly, by crawling into the trenches and grappling with questions, not by falling back on platitudes and formulaic resolutions.

       Critics and commentators will continue to look for an explanation for Potter mania. They will suggest that the Potter story taps into ancient mythological tropes, the old stories that live in our DNA; Joseph CampbellÕs archetypical heroes get trotted out every time someone tries to categorize a pop-fiction heroic tale. Others will look to religion; Harry Potter is a Christ figure, they will say, or theyÕll accuse the wizarding world as being the refuge of anti-Christian forces. Few, however, will let Harry Potter be just a character in a story. His story is a good one, a story with moral lessons that dare to look beyond the obvious, past the ubiquitous everyone-is-special-and-you-can-be-whatever-you-want-to-be-if-you-only-believe-in-yourself tripe that contaminates most American childrenÕs fiction, turning story after story into meaningless – and boring – babble. Nor is Potter arch, ironic, disingenuous darkness like the countless Roald Dahl rip-offs that fill the other half of the childrenÕs section in bookstores and libraries.

       Potter is better than that, and RowlingÕs series will endure not because a gigantic marketing machine has done its job (gigantic marketing machines, after all, fail every day to turn books and movies into worldwide phenomena) but because it is a good tale well told, a seemingly simple accomplishment that is nonetheless rare these days. Now that the occasional breathless wait for the next book will no longer grip fans (and the sense of urgency surrounding the series perhaps will fade) one can only hope that future generations of kids will discover the books and, more importantly, that their parents will become enthralled right along with them.

       Evan Gillespie is a former Fort Wayne resident living in South Bend.

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