The final Harry Potter novel sold over 8.3 million copies in the United States in its first day of publication. It deserves every one of the sales, and many more.
My wife and I purchased our copies, and one for our daughter, a few minutes after midnight on Saturday, at a Barnes and Noble a few minutes from our house (our son and his girlfriend bought their copies around the same time, in the city). When we left the store, kids with their copies were sitting in front, eagerly reading. I should have taken a picture.
I finished the novel around 5 this morning. My family had finished about a day earlier (hey, I had to leave a little time for watching television - but I also like to read at a leisurely pace).
There were so many things I loved about the novel. I'll go over some of them here. But consider this review a work in progress.
The interactions among the magical species were better than in the any of the previous novels: The banking, sword-making goblins, in particular, were fleshed out, and played a crucial role in this story. So did house elves, and the giants and centaurs put in good appearances, too. Harry, Hermione, and Ron even got a chance to ride another dragon.
All the beloved elements of the series got a great workout: Whether you like Patronuses or Nearly-Headless Nick or the magic of wizardry painting (enabling the people in portraits to talk to viewers, move to other frames in their vicinity, or even migrate to other portraits of themselves, wherever they may be - as a media theorist, I especially like that) - they're all here.
It was good to see radio in the picture: Harry, Hermione, and Ron spend an amount of time on the run, cut off from knowledge of what is happening to their friends and enemies. As I was reading a heart-warming, riveting section in which Ron is able to tune in a pirate radio station - Potterwatch - I realized that only someone from Britain could write this so effectively. When that country teetered on the edge of falling to the Nazis at the beginning of World War II, it was Winston Churchill's voice on the radio that kept it going. Harry Potter is in many ways a uniquely British contribution to the world - at once British and universal. Much like the Beatles, it reflects the special genius on the other side of the Atlantic for entertaining and educating the world.
Article comments
1 - Jill Warner
Good review! I did like the epilogue - and even wanted more info though!
2 - Paul Levinson
Thanks, Jill! I was sort of getting at the same thing with the Epilogue - I would have loved a whole chapter set in that time. But, as it was, it was just a quick teaser.
3 - Nash
I just finished reading the book...
I didn't like how she used more adult language (when I say that I mean like... "sycophantically" and such), this is a book mainly aimed at children. how many children know what sycophantically means?
I did love the book though.. I cried heaps... even just seeing the "Nineteen years later" page made me cry :| i think it was the realisation that it was the end :P
x Nash
4 - Paul Levinson
Hey, Nash - I guess the language was just another indication that everyone had grown up...
5 - Paul Levinson
And for those who enjoy the spoken word, and a shot at the New York Times for its poor treatment of Harry, I just put out a 15-minute podcast on the above, with a little more...
6 - MISS
LOVED IT! I liked the Epilouge, it was a nice closure and brings a glimmer of hope that the books could continue with the Potter children! Oh and "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH" was also my fav line! It made me want to cheer!