I just finished listening to the unabridged version of J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows," the seventh and last in the Harry Potter series, magnificently performed by Jim Dale.
I still think the first book may be my favorite of the series - it was so full of joy and wonder, and wasn't nearly as dark as the rest - but this book was great and it would be a close call. HP7 was definitely a page turner. While many of the other books were either slow to start or had slow portions, this one grabbed me from the start and didn't let go. I am sure that the reason I have been walking so much - every day since I started at least once for an hour and sometimes twice for an hour - is because I found the book so compelling.
Fortunately, I was able to listen to the book before I had heard any spoilers, so all that I will say (in that spirit) is that I thought it was a wonderful way to end the series. As with other book and movie entries, I see no reason to offer summaries, as there are many resources out on the web that have already crafted far better material than I could offer. I have provided a few at the end of the entry.
As with all of the other audio books, Jim Dale gave an outstanding performance. I find it interesting when I see the Harry Potter movies that it is Dale's voices that I think of as the real characters.
While I am sad that the series is now ended, I can understand that there must be an element of relief for the author that this chapter in her life is now closed. I must say that I marvel at the creativity and story telling of J. K. Rowling, and I am very grateful to her for creating and sharing her wonderful world of magic with us.
Harry Potter sites:
Harry Potter - Wikipedia - great overview of the entire Harry Potter universe, but full of spoilers if you haven't yet read all of the books.
J.K. Rowling Official Site - Not much new since release of HP7, but still interesting if you've never visited.
MuggleNet - still actively updated, focused now on the forthcoming movies and on news such as Rowling's pending US book tour.
The Leaky Cauldron - same comments as MuggleNet.
Harry Potter Warner Brothers Website - focused on current and previously released movies, lots of online games.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Standard - Link to a particularly good review (no spoilers) and comments toward the bottom (some spoilers) at Amazon.com
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Posted by David at September 19, 2007 06:00 PM