[olmue Posts: 4,250 Status: Offline WWW]

 I really liked some of the past UK covers, but this one (which I have) makes me think, "Harry Potter and the Wheel of Fortune!!" Fuse#8 thought a nicer idea would have been to show the doe patronus in the forest (and having seen a picture of said forest, at the link I posted earlier, I quite agree). Ah, well.

Despite its ambiguity, I find the American cover beautiful. (Although I can never quite rid myself of the doctored version that appeared on the Blueboards somewhere, with Harry and Voldemort each holding a guitar in their outstretched hands...)

[Kim]

FYI: Here are images of the two covers: http://gallery.the-leaky-cauldron.org/dh


Now that I've read the book, the US cover seems to be the exact moment where Harry is calling the Elder Wand and Voldemort's curse is backfiring. I had wondered about the fact that I couldn't see wands in the image.

[writermom Posts: 2,111 Status: Offline Wishin' and hopin']

HB,

You said everything I wanted to say!

[TinaMack]

I see what you mean about the American cover being ambiguous.

Kim, that's a good guess. You're right about the wands though. If Harry's dueling Voldemort with Draco's wand and the Elder wand is mid-air, we should still be able to see Draco's wand in Harry's hand...shouldn't we?

[HB]

If you want to see all the covers, go to Google Images and search on "Deathly Hallows."

I don't like our Canadian/UK cover. I find it too cartoony for what amounts to a dark YA novel. Not to mention, you can figure out that at some point in the book, they break into Gringott's.  The U.S. cover is a better, but I still don't think it truly matches any particular scene from the book. I like the UK adult version, with the locket. It is relevant to the book, without giving away any spoilers. My favourite though, and I don't even know which country it's for, is a close-up of Harry's face, with blood running down it, looking very Christ-like.

And thanks, Writermom. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so.

[TinaMack]

I agree that the Canadian/UK cover isn't a great fit stylistically (although I didn't/don't consider it a spoiler), but I do like it better than the American cover image, which is ambiguous, relatively soft and flat, oddly framed in what looks like stage curtain legs, and depicts a Voldemort who is hardly fear-inducing. Plus, there's Voldemort's left hand...what's going on with that?

I like the UK adult cover best too. Maybe it's all a matter of marketing to different age groups. It makes sense to me that I would like the adult covers best.

[KirstyAnn]

Personally I prefer the US cover as well (despite it making no sense to me) I still think the artwork is much better.  I have noticed though that the US and UK covers of many books (not just Harry Potter ones) are so different.  It is all for marketing and I think it's interesting that different cultures respond to different types of artwork.  So much for the saying 'Never judge a book by its cover'.

Not that it takes anything away from the book for me ... Harry rules!!   :

[MandyT]

Thanks for posting the link, Kim.  I think I am on the side that prefers the American cover.  It seems obvious to me this is the moment where Harry is about to catch the elder wand and Voldemort is falling back in defeat.  Little details being incorrect don't bother me.  The enchanted ceiling accurately reflected the dawn sky, and as for the arches, they may not have been accurate in terms of the exact Great Hall, but brought to mind the whispering arch at the ministry Sirius disappeared through when he died.  I really like how this was portrayed in way that still didn't give away the very last moments. 

I was absolutely certain Harry had to truly die once he saw Snape's memory.  I walked through that forest with him believing it as much as he did!!  The cover art was the farthest thing from my mind at that part.  So congrats to both author and illustrator for such moving and effective work.

[Kim]

These are hard to wade through, but here are links to covers from around the world: http://gallery.the-leaky-cauldron.org/category/363.

[Amy Spitzley]

That's so funny, Mandy--I never once believed Harry would actually die. I was mildly concerned there, but to me it was always the Luke Skywalker syndrome. The cool, semi-whiny, traumatized hero just doesn't die. Not in things of this magnitude, anyway. (grin)
Interesting how differently we read the same stuff, isn't it? (grin)
AMY

[Kai Posts: 94 Status: Offline I can't want to! WWW]

PW gave the link to the transcript for the online chat that Rowling did.

http://www.bloomsbury.com/harrypotter/default.asp?sec=3

In this detailed online chat with Rowling she explains that Ron first helps George with the joke shop THEN a couple years (I think) later goes on to the Ministry to work in the Auror department.  Very plausible in a 19 year period, I think.

P

[Cassandra Posts: 2,096 Status: Offline]

What a wonderful chat transcript! Thanks for the link, P!

[Barbara Etlin Posts: 2,354 Status: Offline WWW]

In Publisher's Lunch today: Sales of DH are at 14 million, in just under three weeks.  :

[Juliarts2003@yahoo.com Posts: 1,628 Status: Offline Truth, Puffin/Speak, 1/19/2012 WWW]

PW gave the link to the transcript for the online chat that Rowling did.

http://www.bloomsbury.com/harrypotter/default.asp?sec=3

In this detailed online chat with Rowling she explains that Ron first helps George with the joke shop THEN a couple years (I think) later goes on to the Ministry to work in the Auror department.  Very plausible in a 19 year period, I think.

P

Fantastic!  Thanks!

[wolfie712 Posts: 269 Status: Offline Teacher, Writer, Up-All-Nighter WWW]

Oh, what a fabulous transcript!  Thank you!!! 

For my part, I loved book 7.  I thought the epilogue was a bit odd and out of place, but other than that, I thought the writing was excellent.  I was, of course, really sad to see Hedwig, Fred, Tonks, and Lupin die, but I knew that some of our favorite characters would have to die in the end.  I was really glad Ron and Hermione survived.  It would have been torture to lose one of them.  I wish JK Rowling would have included a scene where Harry finally gets to embrace Ginny and tell her how he feels about her.  My guess is that his love was implied and Ms. Rowling would have felt it rather trite and cliche to include it.  Still, I would have liked that scene.  I also really liked learning about Snape's history.  I had a feeling he was a good guy (there had to be a reason Dumbledore trusted him!), but I thought his story was genuine and heartwarming. 

A wonderful end to a wonderful series.  I'm just sad that it's over.  :'(

Laura 

[KirstyAnn]

Am I the only one who thought the epilogue was just fantastic??   

After reading the whole book with my heart in my throat and worrying over the fates of Ron and Hermione, Neville and Luna and the Weasleys (I was never of the belief that Harry would die) it wasn't until the Headmasters' portraits cheered that I started to relax and it was just such a relief to have such a lovely ending!!  I suppose at the time of reading I was just too busy cheering that Harry and Ginny ended up married with kiddies that I never paused to think the epilogue was anything but perfect!  Harry sending his kids off on the Hogwarts express was so touching and felt it just completed the circle for me from the time poor Harry was rescued by Hagrid from his life under the stairs.  And reminding his kids they had to have afternoon tea with Hagrid was just the perfect touch.

I also felt that Harry giving his son the middle name of Severus showed how much Harry has matured.  From the beginning Snape saved Harry many times but Harry would never accept that Snape had any good in him.  While Snape's motives were somewhat self-serving, I still think that for Harry to see Snape as a 'lost boy' like himself and Volemort showed real maturity on Harry's part.  And we all know that Harry is somewhat hot headed from time to time (to put it midly lol)

Still I felt the ending was just perfect.  I do see how some people could see it as a bit 'too sappy' or 'too perfect' and yes it did jump 19 years into the future but it would have taken a whole other 19 books to complete the story otherwise!  The story that we hear about of Harry's life starts from the day his life changes (when his parents died) - straight to the next part when his life changes (when he starts Hogwarts and commences his battle against Voldemort) to the end of that part of his life (when he defeated Voldemort). 

I thought as writers that is what we are supposed to do?  We don't tell the whole story of someone's life - aren't we supposed to jump in when the action starts and finish the day our MC defeats his foe, solves his mystery, overcomes the particular challenge?  I think it's a testament to the world J.K. built that we all want more, more, more!  I don't know, for me personally I thought the epilogue was just fantastic and even though she didn't owe it to us I thought it was generous of her to give it to us.  I mean I don't know that my MG that I'm currently working on will have millions of people around the world crying out at the end of the book "But who does the MC marry?" "What job did they grow up to get?" etc etc

Would be nice if they did though!! 

[Juliarts2003@yahoo.com Posts: 1,628 Status: Offline Truth, Puffin/Speak, 1/19/2012 WWW]

Am I the only one who thought the epilogue was just fantastic??   

...

not at all - I loved it, too!  I love things like that (Jane Austen did small ones of those in her books...movies like American Graffitt, Legally Blond, etc. - I love a glimpse into the future!)

[MandyT]

I concur with the minority here.  I was sooo tense throughout the whole book, and by end I had tears flowing freely, so as I read the epilogue (saccharine as it may have been) it was very satisfying to be smiling a huge smile through my tears and to imagine life going forward at Hogwarts and in the wizarding world.  I am glad it was included, and can't wait to read the encyclopedia for all the extra details that were left out.

[Amy Spitzley]

Okay, so it's an encyclopedia of extra details? My husband heard it was a book that picked up the years between the battle and the epilogue or something like that. I heard it was an encyclopedia of magic stuff, more or less. I'm confused! (grin) Not totally unusual for me, I must admit...

AMY

[buglady5 Posts: 1,393 Status: Offline PATIENCE WWW]

Okay, so it's an encyclopedia of extra details? My husband heard it was a book that picked up the years between the battle and the epilogue or something like that. I heard it was an encyclopedia of magic stuff, more or less. I'm confused! (grin) Not totally unusual for me, I must admit...

AMY

Amy, I'm not sure about the subject matter myself, but I had the impression that it was sort of a fill-in-the-blanks type of book. 

I do, however, think it would be very fitting if Hermione "authored" the book.   


buglady

[MandyT]

Yes, my impression was that JK was going to fill us in on the details of all the characters lives before/after the 7 years we read about in the HP books.  It may also include some other "magic stuff", but she brings it up in interviews when people mention how they want to know more about the characters, their adult careers and families, Harry's grandparents, etc. etc.  So that was my conclusion anyway.

[sunnyleo]

I did something different this time - instead of READING the book, I listened to the audiobook version which I quite enjoyed (gave me time to visualize it).

My original assessment of HP5 + 6 holds for 7 also - too much exposition, too talky, plot moves inconsistently (speedwise), etc. but the series contains fantastic characters you can empathize with, snappy dialogue, and has a solid plot. I prefer the 3rd and 4th books.

I dug out my "Rowling writing template" and found it holds to be true. You truly notice it listening to the audiobook version. She's so cookie cutter in style..

----
How to write like JK Rowling:

<Walk into a new place and describe it> <some action> "<insert great dialogue to advance the plot>," said <some cooly named character> <adverb>, <some parallel action done while the character is speaking>.

<An action, but more likelky summarizing narrative and the odd editorial insight>. "<insert more dialogue>," said <another name> <adverb>, <more parallel action>.
---

Maybe Rowling will go the way of Enid Blyton? Her characters are endearing enough to last and she does deserve the success. No sour grapes. The series was great in the beginning, but found the last 3 books requiring trimming. Fewer talking battles and history lessons please...

[Toothpaste]

Anybody surprised the veil didn't make a reappearance?  I was so sure that it had to mean something.

[AooH]

Anybody surprised the veil didn't make a reappearance?  I was so sure that it had to mean something.

I think it actually did, though it wasn't physically in the story. When Harry and Hermione were in the graveyard, one of the stones they read spoke of death being the final enemy to be defeated.  I don't think I'm going out on too much of a limb here, because I recognized various references to Scripture in DH (as many others have) and I think it was, in a way, referring to the veil being torn at the death of Christ- when His death defeated death.  I couldn't read that part in the graveyard without being pulled back immediately to Sirius' death, and the image of the veil was very much in my mind.  Rowling has a subtle pen.

[olmue Posts: 4,250 Status: Offline WWW]

Maybe I'm coming from the same base of religious symbolism as Rowling, but I took the veil as yet another expression of the overall theme, not as an individual item to be built towards. Death is like a veil that divides the living from the dead, and what Rowling seems to say over and over, in so many different ways, is that the dead haven't winked into nothingness, but are there on the other side, helping us in a variety of ways: their memories living in our hearts, their examples, truths we've learned from them, and yes, even their very spirits accompanying us while we're in a moment of greatest need.

At first I thought we'd return to the locked room that melted Sirius's knife, too, but I think we definitely saw the power of love in the last book, even without the clinical MOM analysis.

[laurenem6]

When Hermione is reading about the three brothers, it says that the revived love of the second brother was behind some sort of veil.  I take it to mean the separation between the living and the dead.  Even if they walk the same earth again, they are clearly divided by the veil.

[Ellie Posts: 36 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Well, apparently all of you have been done with the book for weeks now, but I've just finished my 21 hours plus of listening to it on CD.   I've listened to, rather than read, all seven HP books, so I can't go back and reread sections to figure things out.  If I could, right now I'd reread Dumbledore's death scene.  Maybe someone can help clarify my confusion about exactly why the Elder Wand was rightfully Draco Mallfoy's--because he was supposed to kill Dumbledore?  (Since he didn't actually do it, I don't see why he became the wand's rightful owner.)

As I've enjoyed the books but not been a hardcore fan, I was unprepared for how powerfully this last one affected me; I was truly moved many times, especially as Harry seemed about to die and afterwards when Dumbledore called him a "brave man" and when the headmasters/mistresses cheered.  (I agree with those who would have loved to have seen Snape in that scene, too--to have him and Harry finally look into each other's eyes with respect.)  I loved the kiss between Ron and Hermione.  It was about time! :-*

Snape's courage was admirable, but there was still way too much hatred in him to make him truly good, in my opinion.  His hatred of James and later Harry was only slightly overshadowed by his love for Lily.

I found Hermione a strong character despite her weepiness.  She was certainly a big part of the success of the mission.  Even the way she had organized the Save the House Elves group contributed to Dobby's freedom, which later resulted in her, Harry, and Ron's rescue from the Mallfoys' house.  Ginny wasn't boring to me, and I agree that it would have been nice to have seen more of her; she was one of the female characters that I imagine a lot of teenaged girls could relate to.

I would have liked some strings tied up with the Dursleys and especially with Aunt Petunia.  I liked that we glimpsed her as a girl and that we see that she and Lily were once close.

I was sad about the deaths of the various characters, but we all knew some deaths were coming.  To be honest, no truly major characters (Harry, Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, Ginny) died in this one, except for Snape (and of course, Lord V).  No offense to anyone who loved Fred, but he was the perfect Weasley to kill off, as there were basically two of him to begin with.  (I couldn't tell any diff between the twins' personalities.  Could any of you?)  Too bad about both Tonks and Lupin, but little Teddy's tragic orphan similarity to Harry made his being Harry's godson more fitting/poignant.

The whole thing certainly left me feeling like this was the end of a grand epic on the same scale as LOTR, albeit very different in many ways.  I was glad that it ended at Hogwarts where so much of the action took place.  I found the support Harry found there when he returned quite beautiful and was cheering for him along with his friends.

Hats off to JKR for her achievement!

[Anne Marie Posts: 3,029 Status: Offline VAMPIRINA has arrived on Disney Junior! WWW]

  Maybe someone can help clarify my confusion about exactly why the Elder Wand was rightfully Draco Mallfoy's--because he was supposed to kill Dumbledore?  (Since he didn't actually do it, I don't see why he became the wand's rightful owner.)

He didn't have to kill Dumbledore--he had to defeat him.  He used expelliarmus to disarm Dumbledore of the Elder Wand, and apparently that was sufficient to make Draco the master of the Elder Wand.

[Ellie Posts: 36 Status: Offline I love kids' books!]

Thanks, Annemarie.  That makes sense.

[olmue Posts: 4,250 Status: Offline WWW]

Expelliarmus is THE spell, isn't it?