Harrysteria

'Deathly Hallows' So Popular It Took Away Business From 'Order of the Phoenix' Film

Author and Book World contributor Elizabeth Hand was online Tuesday, July 24, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final volume in the fantasy series.

SPOILERS: Hand will be taking questions about the entire book, including the end.

Read Hand's Review: Harry's Final Fantasy: Last Time's the Charm ( Post, July 22)

Full Coverage: Hogwarts Hub

"I was out of the country for the last two weeks in London and Finland, and got to see some of the global Harry Potter excitement first-hand. My gut feeling is that the book's ending appeals to older readers, especially parents, more than younger ones. I think that J.K. Rowling has finally come into her own as a novelist with this book, and I'll be really interested in seeing what she does next -- and hearing what readers would like to see her do next," said Hand in an e-mail interview with washingtonpost.com.

Hand is the author of numerous works of fiction, including the recently-published "Generation Loss" and "Saffron and Brimstone: Strange Stories." She's been a contributor to Book World since 1988.

A transcript follows.

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Elizabeth Hand: Welcome, everyone, to the Post-Harry, Post-Hogwarts World. Or is this just the beginning of a new era for J.K. Rowling and her fans?

I'll be here for the next hour to discuss "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," along with any other Pottermania that you care to bring up. One Cautionary Note: we'll be talking about the Grand Finale here, so anyone who doesn't want to know how it all comes out should wait until s/he closes the book on Page 759.

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Cabin John: Two questions/comments, please:

1. Do you agree that this book proves JKR is "She Who Must Not Be Edited," since if a courageous editor had been able to get her to take at least 50 pages out of the many camping scenes, 50 pages out of the overly drawn-out ending (without saying what that is), and another 50 pages at other various points, this would have been a much better book?

2. Dickens? I mean really, Dickens? Now that you've had time to reflect/calm down, do you want to modify that analogy?

Elizabeth Hand: I did feel that the book relied too heavily on magically-induced flashbacks and coincidence to promote the action. But, I have to admit that reading it as a reader, without my critical hat on, this didn't bother me much.

I stand by the Dickens Defense. I spent all day last Friday reading and rereading Dickens to prep myself for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," in particular Peter Ackroyd's immense biography and Norman Page's A Dickens Companion. Like JKR, Dickens was a master of the serial form and possessed an extraordinary ability to tap into the popular imagination and the pop culture zeitgeist. I felt that "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" showed JKR making a real leap forward as a writer, those coincidences & flashbacks notwithstanding. I don't think JKR is much of a stylist, but then neither is Tolkien, really. But fortunately we live in a world where one can read Rowling and Nabokov and Kafka and Dickens and even J.T. Leroy, and derive pleasure, if not necessarily enlightment, from the experience.

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Fairfax, Va.: In your review you write, "Beloved figures die in this book." Do they? Who? From what I could tell, they were all pretty minor characters that readers didn't invest nearly as much emotion in. How would you rate them in terms of most beloved?

Elizabeth Hand: Well, I personally know several kids (and adults) who were very upset by Hedwig's death. And Fred's. And Lupin's. And Tonks'.

And Snape is the guy I loved to hate, and whose redemption I longed to see -- I thought he was the best-drawn and most complexly interesting character throughout the series. I found his fate extremely poignant -- he reminded me of Dickens' Magwitch and Scrooge.

But honestly? I wasn't too broken up about Dobby.

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Oakland, Calif.: Do you think that Severus Snape will be known as one of the great tragic/romantic figures of literature, rather like Heathcliff? I was just so happy that JKR "redeemed" Snape in the end.

Elizabeth Hand: I love Snape -- I think he's a brilliant character, and of course Alan Rickman's portrayal in the film versions will make him truly immortal. And I, too, loved his redemption -- hadn't thought of the Heathcliff connection.

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The Wand: I didn't quite follow the chain-of-command of the Elder Wand. How did Draco factor into the equation? Can you explain it?

Elizabeth Hand: I also had trouble following that part, but I had to read so quickly to file my review on time that I couldn't go back to figure it out. Anyone out there have an easy fast answer?

Presumably if there's a continuity error in there, it will be fixed by the next edition.

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Hogsmeade, U.K.: To what extent do you believe that the growth of the Internet during the last ten years -- the ten years since Book One was introduced -- fed Harrysteria? I love this book series but I wonder if it would have reached, of if any book could have reached, the complete insanity of the Harrysteria it has reached without the chat rooms, fan fiction, web sites devoted to the cause of all things Potter.

Is this a book that could only have been this big right now, at this place and time?

Elizabeth Hand: This is a great point, and I think you're absolutely right -- this is something we would not have seen, certainly not on this scale, in a pre-Internet world. It's an exponential explosion of the phenomenon (perhaps apocryphal) that supposedly accompanied serial publication of Dickens Old Curiosity Shop, when avid American readers were said to meet British ships at the NY and Boston docks and shout out "Is Little Nell dead?"

So yes, I think we've witnessed a perfect storm of publishing & marketing. And, of course, novelty -- jaded as we are now, it will be hard to top this. Though publishers, online and otherwise, will be tramlping each other to bits in their efforts to do so.

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Frederick, Md.: Like almost everyone, I think this is a terrific read. However, I think she smooshed too much into it. It was just too dense to follow at times! I think she should have written Harry Potter 7, Part I and Part II! And I hope she starts a new series about the second generation at Hogwarts.

Elizabeth Hand: Yes, she certainly left the door open for Hogwarts: The Next Generation. I'd prefer to see her do something completely different. JKR is a lover of Dodie Smith's sublime "I Capture the Castle," one of my all-time favorite novels; I'd love to see her turn her talents to something in that mode. I thought JKR showed a nice touch with Ron & Hermione's burgeoning romance in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

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Falls Church, Va.: SPOILER WARNING:

I was pretty sad that Fred died. To me, I can't see one twin living without the other. Especially considering how connected those two were. I'd like to hear from JKR on that. I would have rather seen Hagrid or McGonagall die. Or even Percy.

Elizabeth Hand: Yes, extremely sad -- though I suppose one could make an argument that Fred lives on in George. Before I read "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," I personally was banking on Hagrid to die, or Arthur Weasley, with McGonagall a close third. It always seemed like one of the Weasleys was doomed, if only because we'd all grown so attached to them.

But while actually reading the book, my money was on Tonks. ...

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College Park, Md.: I thought this book was fantastic! I was certain that Harry, Ron, and Hermione would live, but I still had my doubts, especially when it was revealed that Harry was a horcrux! I don't think the ending could have been any better. (I'm 27, BTW.)

Elizabeth Hand: Yeah, I was really worried about Ron when he decamped. I also thought JKR handled his reconciliation with Hermione really well -- I was expecting it to be all sunshine & light, and instead they acted just like all the bellicose teenagers (and some long-married couples) I know.

One of my Finnish friends predicted that Harry was a horcrux last week, which is so obvious but had never previously occurred to me.

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Columbus, Ohio: What did you think of the epilogue? Too much? The perfect way to resolve those relationships?

Elizabeth Hand: I liked the epilogue -- I felt it said CLOSURE in big blinking letters -- but it seemed a bit contrived for the big screen. Still, I think JKR wanted to underscore a major point about families, and this was her chance for the slam-bang finish. I could have done without it but it didn't bother me that much -- but without that epilogue, I think she would have needed a stronger final sentence. The great S.F. editor Gardner Dozios once told me that something like 70 percent of a story's or book's impact comes from its last sentence, and this one (exclusive of the epilogue) was kind of flat.

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Spinners End, U.K.: Spoilers, if that is acceptable. In earlier volumes, characters were afraid to name You-Know-Who, while Harry and Dumbledore did. This theme -- that undue power not be given to a name -- that naming evil made it less powerful -- seemed to be undone in the final book. Any thoughts on why Rowling negated this theme for the final volume other than as plot device?

Also -- loved the book, hated the epilogue. Felt that she missed the opportunity to integrate the post-Voldemort wizarding world with elves, goblins etc., or actually show more kindness towards them -- a major theme of the story. And frankly, seeing the main characters' children go off to school seemed like a stale cliche. AND WHAT happened to the Dursleys? I would have loved to see that Harry had some family contact with Dudley 19 years later.

Elizabeth Hand: Great point re: Dudley -- I also wanted some sort of closure, or contact, with him, if only to see him standing in line at Starbucks.

Yes, the whole issue of naming Voldemort seemed to get a little soft around the edges with Book 7. LeGuin's "A Wizard of Earthsea" handles this issue beautifully; I kept waiting for JKR to pull off a similar triumph, but no go.

Ditto on the post-Voldemort world -- I was curious as to how it actually functioned. But then, ideal worlds and times, even (especially) magical ones, tend to make for dull reading, as Tolkien observed in The Hobbit.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Please explain to me about the mass hysteria when it comes to releases of the HP books. Seriously, standing in long lines to buy a book at midnight as if the book will never ever again be available? Pre-ordering months in advance from Amazon? The book will be available for years to come. Why the mad rush as it were?

Elizabeth Hand: Because it was fun. People like to feel they're part of An Event -- I recall standing in line for the original Star Wars movies a million years ago, and more recently did the same thing with friends here for each of Peter Jackson's LOTR films. I don't think anyone takes this sort of thing too seriously (except for JKR's accountants). People do this for rock concerts all the time. It's a hoot to think of it happening for A BOOK.

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Falls Church, Va.: What does it say about the books, JKR and her fans that so many reveals were predicted on the fan sites? Snape loving Lily, Harry as a horcrux, Harry being able to come back from a second death, etc.?

Elizabeth Hand: I don't read fan sites so I came to everything unprepared.

But I think it's a fairly well-known phenomenon that, when it comes to mysteries (and the HP books hew more to the mystery mode than to the traditional heroic quest of fantasy novels, readers and viewers like to feel they are one or two steps ahead of the protagonist who is trying to solve the problem within the book's pages. HP's success would underscore that, and also underscore JKR's uncanny understanding of What Readers Want.

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Falls Church, Va.: Why stand in line? Because the sooner you read it and finish it, the less chance you have of coming across a spoiler!

Elizabeth Hand: Yes!

My sister told me she was at the beach on Sunday, and everywhere she looked, people were reading "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." I thought that would make a great New Yorker magazine cover. ...

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Silver Spring, Md.: I think the main point of the epilogue was not to show us everything that happens, but to show that Harry named his child after Snape.

Elizabeth Hand: Yes -- a real lump-in-the-throat moment there.

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Anonymous: I'm still curious about what happened to Luna. How could JKR leave her out of the epilogue?

Elizabeth Hand: Good question. Maybe she's saving her for the Next generation? An evil Witch, a la the Dark Galadriel alluded to in LOTR when Galadriel is tempted by the Ring?

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<3 Snape: Snape has been my favorite character from Book 1, and I've had fun predicting his tragic end since Book 3. I was pretty gratified -- Book 7 captured almost exactly how I imagined his life went down.

My only thought was that I wish JKR had shown a little more of his charming side. There must have been SOMETHING about him that made Lily stay friends with him for five years, especially in conflicting houses. Since Snape's fate stood out in your review, I wondered what were your spoileriffic thoughts on his life and times.

Elizabeth Hand: Poor old Snape. I guess if he'd been at all likeable, we'd have lost interest -- everyone loves a great villain, and he's really far more villainous, in a human sense, than Voldemort, who suffers from Dark Lord Syndrome -- bring in the SSRI's (Saruman/Sauron Resurgence Inhibitors)!

I think that JKR said once that Snape was based in part on a teacher she knew (and presumably did not like) -- she said she didn't as a rule model her characters after real people, but Snape was an exception. So maybe that accounts for both his humanity and his one-sidedness (if JKR didn't like the original).

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SPOILER HERE: Hi Elizabeth,

The Deathly Hallows' ending clearly allows for sequels. ... Do you think there will be more books, maybe after JKR has had a break?

Elizabeth Hand: Considering JKR's prolific output, I find it hard to imagine she won't write another novel -- Stephen King famously said he'd quit, and look what he's done in the last few years.

I can see this happening: JKR writes a "serious adult" novel, which flops commercially if not critically; then returns to Hogwarts. But as I said earlier, I'd love to see her try something completely different. I'd read it. Plus, while there are new Harry Potter fans born every day, the original readers are an aging cohort, and I suspect they'd be interested in picking up something by her set in a different world.

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Fairfax: Re: the Elder Wand. At the end of book six, before Snape killed Dumbledore, Draco disarmed him -- besting him -- and thus was the new owner. So even though Snape killed Dumbledore, the power of the wand had already left Dumbledore and gone to Snape. Then in the Malfoy Mansion (when the big three were caught and then escaped with everyone), Harry disarmed Malfoy and took his wand. So the power went to him.

Elizabeth Hand: Thanks to everyone for clearing up the Elder Wand bit. Now we need a flow chart, a la one of John Madden's Super Bowl illustrations. ...

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Falls Church, Va.: Dobby's death took a huge toll on me. He was so noble, so brave (especially for a house elf) and having his old mistress stab him like that -- it was shocking. Lupin and Tonks seemed almost natural -- especially once Teddy was born and Harry made godfather.

Elizabeth Hand: I know a lot of kids who loved Dobby, but he always annoyed me. But he died a hero's death, and did his part for the war effort.

I did like Kreacher's redemption. Maybe JKR will publish a cookbook and we'll get his recipe for onion soup?

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Ginny disappoints: I was quite disappointed with JKR's handling of Ginny Weasley after the opening chapters of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." The Ginny we've come to know and love would never have submitted meekly to being shooed away from the final battle because, "You're underage." And JKR also failed to show us any genuine connection between Ginny and Harry in the epilogue (same for Ron and Hermione, come to think of it). Your thoughts?

Elizabeth Hand: Yes, Ginny got relegated to being the Good Girl, shunted off to the side during the final battle. She was kept in the shadows for so long earlier in the book that I thought Harry & Hermione were going to get together, once Ron took off into the woods.

Actually, Harry & Hermione might have made a better couple, really, more like Shakespeare's Beatrice & Benedick; sparring intellectual equals, capable of generating a few more sparks than Hermione & Good Ol' Ron. But, by marrying Ginny, Harry is like Laurie marrying Amy March in Little Women -- though everyone knows Laurie REALLY should have married Jo -- since by doing so Harry becomes part of the Weasley family, which he's wanted to be part of since Day One.

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Washington, D.C.: Why didn't Harry die? Can someone please explain that?

Elizabeth Hand: I think it would have been extremely problematic for the author to let the hero of such a long series at the end. Everyone dies at the end of C.S. Lewis's "The Last Battle," and it's a real downer, those heavenly green pastures notwithstanding. Even Tolkien eluded this issue, by sending Frodo to the Grey Havens rather than having him kick the bucket at Bag End.

Anyone remember the old 1960's slogan FRODO LIVES? We now have HARRY LIVES!

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World building vs. characters: Elizabeth, I've been a fan of HP since early on. My sense is that JKR is much better at world-building than at developing and sustaining characters. The whole wizarding world is so delightfully and believably detailed that I and many people I know would gladly move there in a heartbeat, Voldemort and all. But JKR doesn't seem to be able to keep readers emotionally invested in characters over a long period of time. For example, the Neville of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" bore little resemblance to the Neville of previous books. Sure, it could be argued that adversity brings out the best in some people, but having Neville develop completely off-screen lacked believability. Same for others -- McGonagall, for example, was a huge factor in the earliest books, but had dwindled practically to a non-entity by the end.

Since you write fantasy, I'm interested in hearing your reaction.

Elizabeth Hand: As I've said, I don't think JKR is much of a stylist, and that includes her ability (or lack of same) in creating nuance, both in her prose and, sometimes, in characters. She does this when she wants to -- Snape is a wonderfully ambiguous creation, Harry is more broadly drawn but still manages to change; the Weasley twins, again broadly drawn, are still delightful throughout.

I think she just had too many loose ends to tie up. I thought Neville was going to play a much more major role in this book, and was disappointed when he did not. JKR is a mistress of plotting and narrative drive, which is a considerable gift, and obviously more people read for plot than for subtle characterization (the numbers bear this out). She created a huge canvas, and in order to complete it had to use primary colors and broad, sometimes unrefined, strokes to get everything up there. I think she pretty much succeeded -- I mean, honestly, would we have wanted another three hundred pages of subtle characterization? Exhausting just to think of it.

Phillip Pullman produces that, and Paul Park, among others. I will also recommend here a marvelous fantasy first published in the 1970's, Joy Chant's "Red Moon and Black Mountain." Any young (or older) reader going through HP withdrawal should find it and read it. A gorgeously written noel, sad and wise, and with three beautifully drawn child characters.

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Fairfax, Va.: Excuse me?!? To the person who worried about Ginny being sidelined, weren't you there when Bellatrix was fighting her, and Mama Weasley came off like a lion protecting her cubs? Yeah, Ginny had been told to stand aside, but like other under-17's, she snuck into the fight. They were right to attempt to protect her, but I was happy that she came back to fight. Yes, she could have traveled w/ Harry, Hermione, and Ron, but then so could Lupin, the whole Weasley family, the Order of the Phoenix, etc. The author had to cut the parade off somewhere!

Elizabeth Hand: Yes, absolutely -- a real problem with such a sprawling book, giving everyone equal air time! Plus, maybe JKR felt a certain responsible as a parent, not to encourage younger teens to pick up weapons. Give Mom a chance to brawl!

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Washington, D.C.: One thing I wonder with the epilogue is what Teddy was doing at the train station? It didn't quite make sense because he would have been 19-years-old at that point. It just seemed like she wanted to speak about him in the epilogue, but it didn't make sense.

Elizabeth Hand: I don't think Teddy was that old, not unless Harry & Ginny married immediately after the Battle of Hogwarts. Which, at their tender ages, seems unlikely. But over these delicate matters let a veil be drawn. ...

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Reston, Va.: Looks like I'm not the only one who was disappointed in the ending. Seemed like JKR killed off Fred, Lupin, and Tonks for no real reason other than, "Well, it's not practical for everyone important to survive." There was more grieving for Dobby than for these three.

Also, I thought the trite epilogue was a disservice to the whole series. It was nothing we couldn't have guessed and didn't give us any information about the post-Voldemort wizarding world other than the fact that Hogwarts still existed. For an author who's been so adamant about not continuing the series, JKR sure left a lot of doors wide open.

Elizabeth Hand: It's funny, when I first read the epilogue I truly didn't think of it was JKR setting the stage for the sequel. Just seemed to me that she was going for the heartwarming Hallmark ending.

Rowling had an impossible task, really -- I can't imagine the pressure, knowing that half the planet is reading your book and waiting for it to be resolved.

As for a sequel, I have no doubt but that time (and the publishing industry) will tell.

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Teddy at the station: Teddy was 19-years-old, but if you read the epilogue again, he was there to say goodbye to Victoire, who was still in school. The timing of Harry and Ginny's wedding has nothing to do with it, as Victoire presumably is Bill and Fleur's daughter.

Elizabeth Hand: Right, thanks. Brain fade on the chronology.

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Bethesda, Md.: Loved "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Only complaints would be that Tonks/Lupin deserved a better death and I really wanted Neville to be the one that took out B. LeStrange given his history with her. Also, I noticed the language was a bit more grown up (lots of cursing, even from Molly Weasley) -- I think that cheapened the scene a little bit.

Elizabeth Hand: I, too, was disappointed not to see Neville and Beatrix go wand-to-wand. I also missed Neville's Granny, though it was nice to hear news of her from afar.

Nice analog between Harry & Teddy and Harry & Sirus, I thought. And I expected to see a lot more of Lupin than we did here, especially given Fenrir's appearance in Book 6. (He had so much in common with Fenris in "The Lion, the Witch & The Wardrobe!")

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New York, N.Y.: Yes, the math on everyone's ages in the epilogue was off, and it should have been caught by the book editor. Basically, Ginny started churning out babies at 22. Let's say she was 15 at the final battle. 19 years later, she'd be 34. Their older son had already been to Hogwarts, so let's say he's ONLY a second-year. That makes him 12-years-old. So by 22, Ginny was a mommy? Harry was a dad at 24?

Yes, Teddy HAD to have been 19-years-old (born before the final battle). ... So what was he doing with Victoire, and how old was she?

Elizabeth Hand: Hmmm. The whole Hogwarts Dating Issue grows increasingly complex. Perhaps this is where the Dursleys should be brought into the gene pool. ...

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Washington, D.C.: Loved it, loved it, loved it! (I'm 37 BTW) --

But I would have liked some more detail on what happened in the 19 years -- to all the Weasleys, Harry's Aunt, Uncle & Cousin, the Malfoys (were Draco and his family shunned at ALL?).

But all in all -- it was great!

Elizabeth Hand: Well, this may be what we see next, after Rowling has a nice long nap!

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Elizabeth Hand: We're out of time, so I'd like to thank everyone who posted here. Obviously the Hogwarts saga isn't finished as far as readers are concerned -- so many questions! So many loose ends! So many Weasleys! But in the meantime there are many, many other wonderful children's fantasy novels out there, and I hope that some of Rowling's fans find their way to them. Rowling's success has led to a boom in quality fantasy fiction, as well as a revival of old favorites (Edward Eager, E. Nesbit, Dodie Smith). So for all those readers who feel a bit blue or disappointed by the end of the saga, check out your local library. There's lots more where this came from.

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Spoiler Alert: My favorite part was Mrs. Weasley battling Bellatrix. Perfect lines, perfect revenge. I was cheering out loud!

Elizabeth Hand: Yes -- that and Madame Trelawney lobbing crystal balls as though she were at Wimbledon! Priceless!

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