Wednesday, July 25, 2007

"This is the end; Beautiful friend. This is the end; My only friend, the end..."

At precisely 10:31 pm, I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I'm feeling mixed emotions right now and can barely muster up the enthusiasm to write this entry. Today marks the beginning of the end and since my time is limited now so I must be brief. I'm overjoyed to having finally discovered how the story ends but there is also this deep sadness knowing that there will be no more Harry Potter books and that my time is up.

To me these not just works of literature that you read once and dispose after you turn the final page. The Harry Potter books are quintessentially why I'm still alive. Many people have the Bible as their book of comfort but for me,it has always been the Harry Potter books that. In no way am I suggesting the superiority of Rowling's series over the importance of the bible but I cannot ignore the fact that it prevented me from committing suicide four years ago. I distinctively remember being moments away from doing something truely horrible when suddenly everything changed after seeing a copy of Order of the Phoenix on the ground in my room. At this point in time I had already read all five Harry Potter books and thought they were decent but hadn't really considered them to be anything special and could barely remember anything that happened in them. I'm so glad I picked up the book and started reading at that precise moment because soon after I was convinced that killing myself would result in me not finding out how the story ends. After I finished OoTP in a few days I went back to book 1 and started reading the series again which was an amazing experience. Rowling's universe is so inviting and I loved getting sucked into her world and following the adventures of the boy wizard and his two friends. All of my problems vanished as I read and a huge burden was lifted off my shoulders. My anger melted away (at least temporarily) and nothing else mattered. As long as the Harry Potter books were within my grasp, I was safe. Unfortunately, such great forms of escapism cannot last forever and today is where it all comes to an end. Self-consciously I knew that post-poning my original plans by using the Potter books as a diversion could only last until I had finished reading the 7th book and now that this day has come, its hard not feeling distraught and frustrated.

Spreading my reading across 4 days insteading of rushing allowed me to bask in all its splendid glory. Rowling does an excellent job of wrapping up the series and even includes a bittersweet epilogue which many would find cheesy but was actually quite heart-warming. Bless you J.K. Rowling for writing such an amazing story and reminding me what it's like to be happy again.

7 comments:

RC said...

i hope that now that time has passed...you can find purpose in your life past waiting to finish the harry potter series.

of course, this is a touching epilogue to your reading experience as well.

Jason said...

Yay! Your the first person to visit and leave a message on my blog. I feel so special.

Your definitely right RC and don't worry about me, I'm not going no where anytime soon. :)

Krissie said...

I am such a fan of Harry Potter! And It was a bitter-sweet experience, finally finding out how the story ends (I actually feared for Harry's life, silly as it may sound) but then knowing there will be no more. I finished it in one day but I am currently rereading it, making sure I don't miss anything. At least there are two more movies to look forward to.

Jason said...

Wow, you really devoured the book fast Krissie! Bittersweet would be the perfect word to describe the final book excluding the epilogue which sort of left a bitter taste in my mouth. I could have done without it. I'm going to start reading the series again from the beginning sometime soon.

Who do you think should direct the final book?

Krissie said...

I hope for Yates, I enjoyed OotP very much, but I heard that Cuaron is coming back to direct HBP and I'm just not happy with it. Yes, I know that PoA was the most praised one but it's my least favourite one.
Anyway, I've read all of the books God knows how many times already and I'm sure I'll be reading them again.

Jason said...

Yates is coming back for HBP and it's doubtful he would return to close the series but you never know. I wouldn't be too peeved if he got re-hired. Cuaron hasn't officially signed on to direct DH but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Prisoner of Azkaban is actually my favorite Potter flick so far but with another viewing of OoTP when it comes on DVD, it's possible that it could be replaced. I have a review of PoA on the way shortly if your interested.

Krissie said...

Of course I am! Can't wait.
I thought PoA would be your favourite. But we can discuss it when you post the review.