Book Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Finished. Done. Over. At last, closure!

Since I finished it late last night on the plane back from Orlando, Megan and I have been enjoying conversations about this last book of the Harry Potter series. (Note to husbands: I heartily recommend reading what your wife is reading and talking about it with her as a means of keeping your marriage healthy.)

Warning: If you haven't finished the book yet, there are spoilers below. I suggest you wait to read this after you've finished reading the series. (Watching the movies does NOT count!)

First, some of what I liked:

• Neville Longbottom! I'm so proud of that kid. I think he and Luna Lovegood should get married and have weird kids together.
• Rowling's portrayal of our fallen human condition through the imperfect personalities of James Potter, Harry, Dumbledore and so many others. Though the plethora of magical plot devices wore on me at times, I particularly appreciated the way she portrayed Dumbledore's temptation to power. As Jeremiah 17:9 says: "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick, who can understand it?"
• The tragic and trustworthy Severus Snape. His redemption and steadfast unrequited love for Lily Potter are one of the most beautiful aspects of this book. But sad. Really sad. Snape is another of those who so poignantly reflects our fallen-ness back at us.
• Percy's change of heart and subsequent duel with the Minister of Magic.
• Hagrid.
  
• A unique application of the Christ-figure in the characters of Lilly and Harry Potter. I blogged earlier this year that Harry was going to die. Meg pointed out to me that Rowling was very careful with how she handled Harry's death-march to Voldemort and subsequent conversation with Dumbledore in the netherworld. But I still think Harry died. If he wasn't dead, where was he?
  
• Hermione's "Jane Austin" kiss with Ron after he proves the change in his character by his concern for the house-elves.
• A happy ending.
  

Now some of what I didn't like:

• Rowling's view of life and death. A number of times, Rowling says that there are things worse than death, but she never comes close to speaking of hell. Within all the darkness of the book, death is often portrayed as a peaceful, even appealing. It is not. As a Christian, I don't like death. Death is the result of the fall of man into sin. Death is NOT natural. It is alien to God's original good creation and it is a just and terrible consequence of sin. But it will not always be so. Jesus will come again soon to destroy death for good.
  
• Having Christmas presents but never talking about Jesus. Using cathedral-like architecture but never mentioning the church. Holding funerals but never even hinting at the reason why people do not have to grieve without hope. Yep, I'm a Jesus freak.
  
• I still have no idea what Rowling has in mind when she writes of "a well-ordered soul." The idea of splitting a soul is entirely foreign to human experience. We are embodied souls. Horcruxes do not exist. Like so many false ideas that the church has faced over the centuries, Rowling is playing with spiritual ideas that have real moral consequences. I am fearful that many who do not know what the bible teaches about humanity will become even more confused. So many times people who conceive of the soul and the body as two separable parts get into big trouble. Remember the gnostics, the antinomians, the ascetics and the legalists.
  
• With all the right and wrong in the Harry Potter series, there is not a clear understanding of the sinfulness of sin in these books. Too much misbehavior is marginalized as just "what wizards do". Harry and James and many others are poor heroes in this respect. And so much of this magic stuff is just plain selfish and evil.

I'm glad it's over. I'm done reading Harry Potter books.

This is a good series, but I do not recommend the last 5 books for children under 12 or 13. As always, parents must shepherd their children's hearts and watch that magic doesn't replace Jesus in our kids' affections. Have them read the Narnia books before they are 13.

This is a good series, but not a great series like Tolkien's Ring Trilogy. We shall see in about 20 years how this stands this test of time as another generation looks for summer reading.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to taking Megan on a date to the next Harry Potter movie.