Decided to give myself a bit of quality mind improving time and took the better part of the day off today. Bought myself a copy of "Harry Potter and Deathly Hollows," the grand finale to the Harry Potter series. Have finished it and I've got Potter on the brain so to speak. Each and every one of the books has been utterly spell binding, which is quite appropriate when you consider the hero is a wizard and we're talking about the world of magic. JK Rowling deserves every penny of the billion plus dollars that she has earned.
What makes Harry Potter so readable is the fact that although it's essentially a children's story, it's packed with very deep and serious thems. Think of the Dementor's, beings that suck out all the happiness - hey, people who suffer from depression have the joy sucked out of them.
The seventh book is wonderful. She ties up many of the lose ends from the previous six books and somehow, you are left with the feeling that you need to reread the previous six. The themes of evil, love, power and magic are well presented.
For the sake of those of you who have not read the book, one of the characters who's been fairly unpleasent in the prevous six, is finally revealed to be a courageous and decent person. What was his motivation? The answer is "Love." He loved someone for most of his life and that love drove him to become a ....hero!
The second aspect of the story is the fact that you find the past of one of the more "Holy" characters. This is a character who is considered the greatest wizard of his generation, a leader of his people. Yet, in stead of seeking higher political office, he remains a mere headmaster. Finally, you know why. The character makes a point that those who make the best leaders are not those who seek power for its own sake but those who have leadership thrust upon them - they somehow find the qualities that they never thought they had and they maintain the ever moral compass, which those who seek power for its own sake tend to lose. (Think of 2000 campaign when GW Bush rightly pointed out that Al Gore was the type of person who would say ANYTHING to become president).
JK Rowling celebrates the rebellious streaks in the young. The Ministry of Magic is shown up for what most bureaucratic institutions are - slow and corruptable - staffed with people who become so "Power-Corrupt" their love for office stops them for doing the things that they know are right.
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