Last Look at Hogwarts

Over the last week so I have digested the whole 7 volume Harry Potter story. To preface, I am by no means a literary critic. Brazen Hussy is the book snob. When I read fiction, it tends to be of fantasy/sci-fi variety. While my tastes have matured (towards female fantasy writers, interestingly enough), I still have a soft spot for the ol' Swords & Sorcery Genre.

Which is why I originally greeted Harry Potter with so much skepticism. Years ago, I rolled my eyes at what appeared to be a very derivative plot rife with cliches and with only a very primitive cosmology. Then I married Brazen and she made me read the first one. And then I read them all. I'm still not a Potter-head (I don't think), but I have enjoyed them greatly.

From my point of view, the Harry Potter series is about a special kind of love. Not self-love (the most common variant), or romantic love (the most popular), or even love of family (although there's plenty of that), but the love grounded in friendship. There's an interesting genre developing these days (Buffy is another example with close parallels to Potter) of maturation themes based not on voyages of individual self-discovery, but collective ones. Harry can't figure out who he is, he can't grow up, without Ron and Hermoine, or even Hagrid, Sirius, Dumbledore, and even Voldemort. We don't grow up on our own - we grow up with others, and as a consequence the existential angst that I and so many others have fallen prey may not strictly speaking be very necessary.

I've generally thought that maturation stories, while frequently pitched to the young, are unsuited to them. They always seemed more appropriate for people who had already grown up. What's fascinating about the Harry Potter phenomenon is that it seems to have resonated with just about everybody. Maybe it's just that the kids are digging the magic and the adults the nostalgia, but maybe not.

Anyway, to the Deathly Hallows itself. To lay out all the spoilers, I think that emotion fulcra of the story are not Harry or Voldemort, but Neville Longbottom and Severus Snape. Both grow and change with the story (okay, the latter is really just revealed). That such unlikely characters should be such poignant heroes is truly moving. I loved how Snape at the end finally recognized that Harry was far more like the mother than the father. Not to take anything away from the nobility of Harry's self-sacrifice, but I was much more affected by Neville's pulling the sword of Gryffindor out of that sorting hat.

I do have some criticisms. I thought that Rowling was too quick to go for cheap death - deaths that do little to advance the plot, but whose primary purpose seems to be to make us cry. I know that - as a story of friendship & growing up - it wouldn't make any sense to kill off any of the Big Three. I always figured that one of the Weasely twins was going to go - in stories like these, if there's twins one of them always dies. But Dobby and Colin's death, and Hedwig's - they just seemed thrown in for effect. Maybe I'm wrong.

One other critique - I thought the whole "possession of the wand" thing was kind of muddled. It was confusing and didn't seem strictly necessary, which isn't exactly what you want for the dramatic climax of the story. And it seemed a bit odd to have 2 big battles where one would do.

That's all Quibbling, of course - small things beside what has been a major literary achievement. In theme, in pacing, in character development, in universality - I think Rowling has done something extraordinary. It isn't "Great Literature," maybe, but I wonder if Dickens in his day was any different. And I have to say that there are very few places I'll miss more than Hogwarts. Even if I do hate Peeves.

The Triumphant Return of Cocktail Mondays: Mint Julep

I hate summer. I really do. I do not like heat, mosquitoes think I'm yummy, and I find sunny days to be oppressive. However, there are a couple of good things about summer, and this drink is one of them.

The Mint Julep

In a chilled glass, put several mint leaves and about a tablespoon of sugar syrup (to make sugar syrup: equal parts water and sugar, boil until clear). Muddle. I've tried this with and without a proper muddler, and I must say, you need a muddler. If you don't have one, go buy one. Seriously. They're really cheap. Here's one.

Then add lots of ice and fill with bourbon. We're drinking Buffalo Trace today. Stir. Mmmmmmm.

Cross-posted at What the Hell is Wrong with You?