Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

So it all comes to an end. After 10 years, 7 books and thousands of words JK Rowling’s saga has been completed, and as my eyes took in those final pages the enormity of it sank in. Like millions of others I’ve lived with Harry for many years now and despite the popularity of the series it has still felt personal, a quality I believe that has greatly contributed to the aforementioned success. The Harry Potter books were not products of some great corporate machine, they were not money spinning sequels, nor have they been specifically crafted for an audience, they are one woman’s vision, her story shared with the world with themes, characters and ideals that have somehow woven themselves into the public consciousness, into modern society itself. Such a phenomenon does not occur often and it may well be only looking back that we realise what it was we were a part of, and what an unusual and magical situation to world found itself in on July 21st 2007, the day the world paused to read a book.

Now what I won’t do is detail the book with a critical in depth review, firstly plenty of people haven’t read it yet, and secondly it doesn’t need it. The book was a perfect end to the series, achieving the seemingly impossible task of providing a satisfactory conclusion, answering questions and defining the series as a whole It is epic, emotional, fast paced, inventive and full of heart, those qualities that have best suited Rowling’s writing so far. What I took away from it more than anything though was Harry as a character, and his journey and how, quite uniquely, we have been able to follow his growth from an 11 year old boy unaware of his place in the world to a fully fledged leader, who has overcome so much to face up to what he knows was his destiny. The qualities Harry possesses and the depth of courage he displays, along with the way that he shows it, affected me greatly, and more importantly inspired me greatly. You see that is what separates these books for me from other fiction, the inspiration I have found in the actions and deeds of these characters, the understanding and application of self, who we are and how the choices we make are what define us.

If the best fiction in any form is to work it must tell us something about ourselves as people, if it is to last then it must exemplify and inspire that behaviour in those who sample it. I know I can't wait to share these stories with my children in the future and they will remain for me something I will return to over and over again, as bizarre as it sounds the truth that is felt behind Harry gives him strength, and his true gift to the world will be to share with generations to come the value of bravery, courage, determination and friendship in even the most hopeless of situations.