We’ve told three stories and swallowed a night
July 19, 2007
Over the weekend, after fielding questions for some hours at the uni fair I forgot that meeting the guitar folks usually is us barking like sea-lions across the table because that’s just how we roll. Then I had a lot of Indian food yesterday – surprised I still have my throat. This hardly happens, I am not a chatterbox.
My internship came to a close; I bought cake for the department, played chess for the first time in maybe ten years, cracked open my first Sandman volume (Brief Lives) and feel like I lost my head somewhere inside between those intensely packed pages – I still have the strange sensation of seeing into somewhere not-quite-here if one just looked out of the correct crack of an eye.
I saw the Potter movie again and no longer hate it with the passion of a thousand suns, but still can’t place it anywhere near the other movies. Why is Sirius’ character so poorly developed, he does die in this, after all, how are any of us supposed to feel anything if he persists in being as flat as cardboard? Why is Hermione a mere caricature of herself (when she blossomed like anything in the book)? Why does Percy pop out of nowhere – one example of Yates’ irritating habit of going “Haha see how this alludes to the book? But we have no time for significant development that might help the plot in any way, so let’s take to our heels and dash on.”
Yet apparently actor-who-is-Percy was a stupid ass but still had one more Potter movie on his contract, so he was stuffed in anyhow. It would also have been far too ironic for pretty Emma Watson to spout a line like “It might have been a good idea to mention how ugly you think I am.” O Hollywood!
My internship came to a close; I bought cake for the department, played chess for the first time in maybe ten years, cracked open my first Sandman volume (Brief Lives) and feel like I lost my head somewhere inside between those intensely packed pages – I still have the strange sensation of seeing into somewhere not-quite-here if one just looked out of the correct crack of an eye.
I saw the Potter movie again and no longer hate it with the passion of a thousand suns, but still can’t place it anywhere near the other movies. Why is Sirius’ character so poorly developed, he does die in this, after all, how are any of us supposed to feel anything if he persists in being as flat as cardboard? Why is Hermione a mere caricature of herself (when she blossomed like anything in the book)? Why does Percy pop out of nowhere – one example of Yates’ irritating habit of going “Haha see how this alludes to the book? But we have no time for significant development that might help the plot in any way, so let’s take to our heels and dash on.”
Yet apparently actor-who-is-Percy was a stupid ass but still had one more Potter movie on his contract, so he was stuffed in anyhow. It would also have been far too ironic for pretty Emma Watson to spout a line like “It might have been a good idea to mention how ugly you think I am.” O Hollywood!
July 24, 2007 at 5:42 pm
Re: newspaper spoilers, omg yes! I was on the plane on Friday when my mother, The Newpaper in hand, turns and says, “Look, Harry Potter” and the headline said “How Harry Potter Ends – An advanced review of the final book” (Or meets his end?? My eyes did not linger long enough to remember) and I shrieked in horror, 1) How the heck did they get an advanced copy; 2) How dare they!!!!!
Also, I will never forgive the news for reporting in 2005 on prime time on the day the book was released that Sirius died, via interview with a little boy who I suspect hadn’t even read the book but turned to the final chapters to see. Fool.
July 27, 2007 at 9:58 am
I just finished reading! You know, just sayin’.
July 29, 2007 at 4:11 pm
OHH I loved the book!! SO exciting I almost had heart failure and I’ve never really cried reading Potter but I was positively sobbing at the chapter The Wandmaker (when they were burying ____).
Anyway, it will probably end up as my favourite but I can’t decide yet, I need to read it again, plus I haven’t read #4 in years and I remember loving it a lot and when I reread #5 last week I didn’t like it as much as last time. I can see why you ranked #6 lowest though, my feelings toward it are equal parts love and hate. Nonetheless! I can’t believe Potter is over!
July 29, 2007 at 6:13 pm
Okay I might not have been *sobbing*, but the tears were flowing a-freely; it was just so sad! Maybe because the whole death was being dealt with, unlike when other people died, they just fell over and that was that. hahaha what a CRUDE way of putting it, mamz!
(SPOILERS)
I loved basically all of the chapters except the ones involving the Ministry and Gringotts. The Ministry bit especially with Magic is Might and the magical eye and crazy coordinated Orwellian type workers was such an uneasy read! Or maybe I have something against Polyjuice Potion. You know what I found weird, though, King’s Cross, and the way the two kept going in circles in the climactic end like some kungfu movie!
My absolute favourite chapters, though, were The Silver Doe and Malfoy Manor/The Wandmaker, followed by the Kreacher bit, The Elder Wand/Prince’s Tale and The Forest Again. And I liked Aberforth too, and I LOVED Ron in this book, but Crabbe and Goyle in the Room of Requirement annoyed me so much I wanted to punch them.
I’m a little guilty about this but I read the first two chapters via pre-21-July Internet leaks (I saw the files on my brother’s computer and I couldn’t not read) before I left for Jakarta, so for five days my impression of the book was pretty normal and sedate, then I got back and suddenly I was reading The Seven Potters and it was such a pleasant, heart-stopping surprise. Like Potter suddenly became a really awesome James Bond movie.
It’s totally random, but the most disturbing bit for me was Voldy flying!