Review (2nd prize): Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Most of the characters of this book are the same as in the other books. Some new characters have also been included. The characters are portrayed in a pragmatic manner. This book delves into the human behavior and character. Dumbledore’s character shows that a person is not always positive or always negative but a mixture of both, that the choice lies with us so as to what do we want to become. This deepness in the characters has made this book very appealing.

The best thing about this book is its style. The story is narrated in third person. The focus is mainly kept on Harry and sometimes on other characters or events. This third person narration technique serves best here as the events that are taking place simultaneously in different places can also be told which cannot be done if first or second person narration is used. There are perfect details and toning of places, events, scene and characters. A laudable performance has been done by the author in depicting the emotions of the characters. While one reads through the book he comes to know how meticulously this series has been planned. The time when Harry caught the snitch for the first time had been important only to win the match, but no one ever dreamt that it would be used to accommodate the resurrection stone. There are many such twists that dominate this book. The adequate use of sarcastic humor helps in breaking the monotony of the events. The dialogues that are used couldn’t have been more life-like. This type of story writing is sufficient to satisfy anyone’s literary appetite.
A book does not become popular only by its style; a brilliant and mesmerizing story should be there, which this book has. Harry is determined to complete the wok which Dumbledore has left for him. Along with Ron and Hermione he sets out to search for the horcruxes. He finds them too. He fights his way through many obstacles (often life threatening) and manages to find out three horcrux. But he also finds about the Hallows and discovers that he already had two of them. He is torn between the desire to search for the Elder Wand rather than the horcruxes. Then he finds out that one of the horcrux was in Hogwarts. And then starts the most interesting part of the book: - The Battle at Hogwarts. The Death Eaters fought against the combined forces of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore’s Army and the other students and supporters of Harry. Harry finds out that to kill Voldemort he has to die himself. He comes back to life after he was killed by Voldemort (Voldemort kills his own soul that was residing inside Harry). And then he kills Voldemort. There are many deaths in this book too, Fred, Lupin, Tonks, Dobby, Snape to name a few. It is very intelligent of the author to end the book by giving an account of the later life of Harry. But here she should have told about the latter life of all the characters of the story. There are still some unanswered questions that remain untouched; like how come Harry reaches the King’s Cross when he was struck by the killing curse? So, there still lies a sense of incompletion. But apart from that the book is the best among any other book in this genre.

This book is aimed at the people of the age ranging from 11-18 but it has successfully attracted all age groups. Initially it may ward off readers with the bulging size it has. But it would attract one’s attention from the first page itself. Though the book is pricey (Rs 975) everyone who likes reading and would want to get lost in this magical era must buy this book.