Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Hello Gentle Readers,
My reading time: 48 hours
My fiance did it in 12 hours (Wow. That’s what you get when you are going to marry a PHD student who reads for a living).
Okay, so why is this a blog instead of a review? Good question. I guess because I value a review of a book differently that I value a review of other entertainment genres. For example, when I read video game reviews, I generally don’t care what the review says about the story or the characters, I only care about the problems (camera issues, clipping, fog, unnecessary jumping deaths, etc). If there are few problems and I like the genre, then chances are I’ll like the game.
However, with a book, the level of investment and how a person interacts with it, is considerably different. Whereas I read HP as soon as I could finish, there will be loads of people savoring it by reading a chapter at a time. If a book is read in small bits, the reader’s impression of pacing won’t reflect my own. Whereas, with a movie review, pacing is essential. As Joss Whedon says “film is all about momentum.” If a film drags in the middle, it can sour an audience’s enjoyment.
Well, the good news is that Deathy Hallows will make a hellovah movie. The whole story is action and its structure is considerably unlike the previous books (with very little taking place at Hogwarts). But I don’t want to worry about spoilers so, let me just say that doing nothing but read for 48 hours was a wonderful gift. I was filled with a youthful excitement as I hurriedly flipped pages. I laughed, I cried and when I was done I felt a true sense of satisfaction. Rather than write a review of a book, I’d rather review my experience. And as RW of the DA says, it was bloody brilliant.