Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
November 4, 2009 by lifestyl
Filed under Books, Oprah's Book Club
Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Readers beware. The brilliant, breathtaking conclusion to J.K. Rowling’s spellbinding series is not for the faint of heart–such revelations, battles, and betrayals await
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in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that no fan will make it to the end unscathed. Luckily, Rowling has prepped loyal readers for the end of her series by doling out increasingly dark and dangerous tales of magic and mystery, shot through with lessons about honor and contempt, love and loss, and right and wrong. Fear not, you will find no spoilers in our review–to tell the plot would ruin the journey, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an odyssey the likes of which Rowling’s fans have not yet seen, and are not likely to forget. But we would be remiss if we did not offer one small suggestion before you embark on your final adventure with Harry–bring plenty of tissues.
The heart of Book 7 is a hero’s mission–not just in Harry’s quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man–and Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself. Attentive readers would do well to remember Dumbledore’s warning about making the choice between “what is right and what is easy,” and know that Rowling applies the same difficult principle to the conclusion of her series. While fans will find the answers to hotly speculated questions about Dumbledore, Snape, and you-know-who, it is a testament to Rowling’s skill as a storyteller that even the most astute and careful reader will be taken by surprise.
A spectacular finish to a phenomenal series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a bittersweet read for fans. The journey is hard, filled with events both tragic and triumphant, the battlefield littered with the bodies of the dearest and despised, but the final chapter is as brilliant and blinding as a phoenix’s flame, and fans and skeptics alike will emerge from the confines of the story with full but heavy hearts, giddy and grateful for the experience. –Daphne Durham
A stunning and thoroughly satisfying conclusion July 21, 2007
T. Burger (Chicago)
596 out of 666 found this review helpful
This is arguably the most “hyped” book in history, and if J.K. Rowling had to sneak down to the kitchen for a glass of red wine to calm her nerves while writing The Goblet of Fire (as she said she did), one wonders what assuaged her while writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The collective breath of tens of millions of readers has been held for two years…and now…was it worth the wait? Did Ms. Rowling live up to the hype? (For that, amongst hundreds of questions, is really the only question that matters.)
The answer, most assuredly, is YES.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is told in a strikingly different style than the previous six books – even different from The Half Blood Prince, and, I daresay, it’s a better written, better edited, tighter narrative. And while the action is lively and well paced throughout, Rowling found a way to answer most of our questions while introducing new and complex ideas. What fascinated me was this: Some people were right, with regard to who is good, who is bad, who will live, who will die – but almost nobody got the “why” part correct. I truthfully expected an exciting but rather predictable ending, but instead was thrown for a loop. We’ve known that Rowling is fiendishly clever for years – but I didn’t think she was *this* clever.
Not since turning the final page of The Return of the King twenty-eight years ago have I felt such a keen sense of loss. My love affair (indeed, everyone’s love affair, I imagine) with all things Harry began somewhere in the first three chapters of The Sorcerer’s Stone, and has lasted, on this side of the Atlantic, three months shy of nine years. For all that time we have waited and wondered – was Dumbledore right to trust Snape? Will Ron and Hermione get together? What’s to become of Ginny and Harry? What really happened on that tower, when Dumbledore was blasted backwards, that “blast” atypical of the Avada Kedavra curse as we’ve seen it when used throughout the series. So many more questions than those listed here, and so many devilishly well-hidden hints. The answers, as I hinted above, will shock and awe you.
When first we met Harry Potter, he was “The Boy Who Lived”, with an address of “The Cupboard Under the Stairs”. Who could help but bleed sympathy for Harry, treated abysmally – abused, really – by the only blood relatives he had, and forced to live under said stairs by those awful Muggles, the Dursleys? It was a sensationally brilliant introduction, one that ensured that our heartstrings would be plucked and enchanted to sing. He was The Boy Who Lived.
Since reading that first book, we have enjoyed Rowling’s spry sense of humor – portraits that spoke, stairways that moved at any given moment, Hagrid jinxing Dudley so that a pigs tail grew from his behind, Fred and George’s fantastic creations, etc, etc., etc., and more etc’s. There was a sense of wonder and magic in Rowling’s writing, so thoroughly captivating that the recommended age group of 9-12 in no way resembled the book’s actual audience. It was common to see adults walking about with hardcover copies of the latest book, sans dust jacket (to hide the fact that they were reading a “kids” book, I suppose). It was also common to hear of eight year olds sitting down with a seven-hundred-plus page book! By themselves! If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.
As for Harry, we admired him. He wasn’t afraid to stand up for what he felt was right, even if he found himself in detention for it. He was brutally honest, and immensely courageous and loyal. Harry came to embody, at times, who we would like to be. He wasn’t perfect, of course. He suspected Snape of being the one who was after the Sorcerer’s Stone, and in The Chamber of Secrets, he thought that Malfoy was the heir of Slytherin. This didn’t diminish Harry in our eyes – it made him more human, more real, and even, perhaps, more enviable.
Endless fan sites have been erected. For an adult to go to any of them, and find that thirteen year olds are having an easier time parsing out the books plots, subplots, and mysteries, was (for me at least) humbling, but yet also a testament to Rowling herself, and her remarkable creation. She encouraged an entire generation of young readers to read and to think for themselves.
But the time has come to say good-bye, for this is truly the end.
So good-bye, Harry. Good-bye Hermione, Ron, Professor Dumbledore, *Professor* Snape, Professor McGonagall, Professor Hagrid, Ginny, Fred, George, Neville, Dobby (and all the house elves), even Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. We will miss all of you, every character we encountered, from Muggle to Mudblood to hippogriff and owl, and everything about the world you all so vibrantly inhabit. And to Ms. Rowling: know that you have brought immeasurable joy to millions and millions of Muggles worldwide, and know that we cannot possibly thank you enough. What a tremendous gift you were given. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Nice CD set! July 21, 2007
Julie Neal (Sanibel Island, Fla.)
86 out of 101 found this review helpful
This 17-disc audio version of the final Harry Potter book is a worthy way to experience the story without reading it. It features the rich baritone of narrator Jim Dale, who tells the tale with just the right understated touch, supplying all of the characters’ voices.
As for Dale’s accent, it’s appropriately British but not at all too thick. Each word is clear and easy to understand. If you’ve bought any of the earlier Potter audio CDs you know what to expect: Dale narrated all of those, too.
By the way, note that this is an UNABRIDGED audio book. Listening to it all takes 21 hours!
The story is dark, and too violent for younger kids, but overall one of the best in the Harry Potter series. Nothing seems forced or thrown together. Author J.K. Rowling wraps up her many plot points and reveals the fates of her characters in ways that almost always surprise you, but afterward seem inevitable.
And how she does it is so inventive! Many throwaway moments and whispered remarks from earlier books foreshadow what happens here, and devices that had little importance before, such as Sirius’s flying motorcycle, now play key roles. While creating yet another gripping tale, the author also ties her entire epic together with the skill of a true literary master. As a writer myself, I really admire her skill. (Last time I checked, Rowling was outselling me by about, oh, a billion to one.)
In addition, the book treats its title character with the complexity he deserves. It portrays the (now) young man as disillusioned, full of doubt, overwhelmed — a tortured soul who, though a responsible leader in an all-out war, often seems to yearn to do nothing more than sweet-talk Ginny Weasley.
Parents should know, however, that this one is a real creepfest, with the most explicitly violent scenes of any book in the series. It’s way too brutal for grade schoolers. Also, unlike the earlier Potter tales, the far-reaching vocabulary requires about a 6th-grade education.
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Gap Creek : The Story Of A Marriage (Oprah’s Book Club)
February 27, 2009 by lifestyl
Filed under Books, Oprah's Book Club
 CLICK PIC FOR BEST PRICE Editorial Reviews: Amazon.com Review Product Description There is a most unusual woman living in Gap Creek. Julie Harmon works hard, “hard as a man” they say, so hard that at times she’s not sure she can stop. People depend on her. She is just a teenager when her brother dies in her arms. The following year, she marries Hank and moves down into the valley. Julie and Hank discover that the modern world is complex, grinding ever on without pause or concern for their hard work. To survive, they must find out whether love can keep chaos and madness at bay. With Julie, Robert Morgan has brought to life one of the most memorable women in modern American literature with the skill that led Fred Chappell to say “Gap Creek is the work of a master.” |
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The words pack emotion, from the first word to the last. That what it’s all about. A must read. A real joy.
“Whatever man marries you will be the lucky one,” Papa once said to Julie, “For you’re the best of my girls, the best one.” Papa had gotten gravely ill, and Julie hated that all the heavy work on the farm just naturally fell to her. Sister Lou helped some, but Rosie stayed in the kitchen, and young Carolyn was spoiled by everyone. The very young, only brother, Masenier, had recently died of a misunderstood and grossly disturbing condition. Because of hard life on the farm, Julie had not been around boys much. But the first time she saw Hank she thought he was the handsomest she had ever seen. She was too embarrassed to speak, she says, but uncharacteristically she boldly looked right back at him and couldn’t take her eyes away. Mama invites Hank to church. And afterwards, to dinner. In a very funny scene Julie, all nervous and clumsy, splashes hot coffee on his knee, thinking she has “ruined everything.” Not so. Less than a month later, they marry, and leave Mama’s mountain home in the North Carolina, and walk to a valley called Gap Creek, in South Carolina. They move to a farm there and a house owned by Mr. Pendergast, who still lives in the front bedroom. Rent is the meals Julie fixes and the wash she does for him. The young married couple’s first night together is quite tender and humorous. As one might expect, the house situation becomes quite horrendous, even more so when Hank’s mother, Ma Richards, comes for an extended visit. In relentless, elemental, unbelievable detail, Robert Morgan portrays the whole gamut of the human condition, in a year of strife, fire, death, deception, theft, raging flood, famine, and childbirth. Yet it is not without understanding, resilience, and unexpected reliance. What came to my mind on finishing the last page, were the words of the Preacher (Ecclesiastes 1.9): Still there is hope and promise. A stirring exposition.
It made me want to get off the couch and get work done around the house!
Normally, I search out Oprah’s book club books just because 9 out of 10 are a good read. I’m a big reader. This one held me to the end, and really had me wanted another installment. If you are a fan of any of Jodi Picoult’s novels, Anita Shreve, or 9 out of 10 of those Oprah books – get this one. |
Breath, Eyes, Memory (Oprah’s Book Club)
February 27, 2009 by lifestyl
Filed under Books, Oprah's Book Club
 CLICK PIC FOR BEST PRICE Editorial Reviews: Amazon.com Review With Sophie’s transition from a fairly happy existence with her aunt and grandmother in rural Haiti to life in New York with a mother she has never seen, Danticat’s roots as a short-story writer become more evident; “Breath, Eyes, Memory” begins to read more like a collection of connected stories than a seamlessly evolved novel. In a couple of short chapters, Sophie arrives in New York, meets her mother, makes the acquaintance of her mother’s new boyfriend, Marc, and discovers that she was the product of a rape when her mother was a teenager in Haiti. The novel then jumps several years ahead to Sophie’s graduation from high school and her infatuation with an older man who lives next door. Unfortunately, this is also the point in the novel where Danticat begins to lay her themes on with a trowel instead of a brush: Sophie’s mother becomes obsessed with protecting her daughter’s virginity, going so far as to administer physical “tests” on a regular basis–testing which leads eventually to a rift in their relationship and to Sophie’s struggle with her own sexuality. Soon the litany of victimization is flying thick and fast: female genital mutilation, incest, rape, frigidity, breast cancer, and abortion are the issues that arise in the final third of the novel, eventually drowning both fine writing and perceptive characterization under a deluge of angst. Still, there is much to admire about “Breath, Eyes, Memory,” and if at times the plot becomes overheated, Danticat’s lyrical, vivid prose offers some real delight. If nothing else, this novel is sure to entice readers to look for Danticat’s short stories–and possibly to sample other fiction from the West Indies as well. –Alix Wilber Product Description At the age of twelve, Sophie Caco is sent from her impoverished village of Croix-des-Rosets to New York, to be reunited with a mother she barely remembers. There she discovers secrets that no child should ever know, and a legacy of shame that can be healed only when she returns to Haiti–to the women who first reared her. What ensues is a passionate journey through a landscape charged with the supernatural and scarred by political violence, in a novel that bears witness to the traditions, suffering, and wisdom of an entire people. |
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“Breath, Eyes, Memory” is the story of a young Haitian girl, Sophie, whose mother travels to New York when her daughter is very young, leaving Sophie in the care of her Tante Atie. Eventually Sophie’s mother sends for her child, and the girl must travel to the United States to start a new life. I thought this book would focus on the struggles of a Haitian girl adjusting to American society, but Sophie’s real demons lay with her family’s tragic history, which unfolds bit by bit as the years go by. Sophie ultimately breaks away from her mother but is unable to escape from the horrors of her past. She eventually returns to her home country in search of answers and redemption. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The subject matter is difficult to read, but this book depicts a lifestyle that was a reality for so many Haitian women. Although Sophie and her female relatives endure many tragedies throughout the course of this story, “Breath, Eyes, Memory” also celebrates strong family ties and the power that comes with being a woman. This is truly an amazing book.
Danticat’s novel is written in a fluent style with a simple vocabulary. Although she won’t send readers digging through their dictionaries, “Breath, Eyes, Memory” will string your emotions as the life of Sophie Caco unravels from her childhood in Haiti to her parenting the early years of her own daughter’s life in New York. As a middle-class college freshman guy, the hardships and joys (although seldom without the accompaniment of the former) are foreign to me. I have not experienced the pains of living without a father, the confines of Haitian culture that emphasizes family responsibility above all else, the horrors of sexual abuse, growing up a fatherless child, or heard the colorful and poetic language of Haiti’s people. And yet, I found this novel extremely compelling. In essence it is a story of life’s most important battles and how where we came from affects the way we deal with them. I highly recommend this short but impactful and page-turning novel to everyone up for a poetic journey through a gamut of powerful emotions.
This book tells of a girl named Sophie who is raised in Haiti by her aunt Tante Atie, and later goes to New York to spend time with her mother. It is a very moving story and it tells about the culture of Haiti. It tells of Sophie growing up and some parts are sad but I really enjoyed this book, and read it in one day. I would read it again. I donated this one to a local supermarket for Juvenille Diabetes Research and it was gone within the hour. I hope that the next person enjoyed it as much as I did. This book was well-written, moving, and easy to read and understand. |
What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day (Oprah’s Book Club
February 27, 2009 by lifestyl
Filed under Books, Oprah's Book Club
 CLICK PIC FOR BEST PRICE Editorial Reviews: Amazon.com Review In less assured hands, such a catalog of disasters would make for maudlin, melodramatic reading indeed. But Cleage, an accomplished playwright, has a way both with characters and with language that lifts this tale above its movie-of-the-week tendencies. In Ava she has created a character who not only effortlessly carries the weight of the story but also provides entertaining commentary on African American life as she goes. Discussing the insular nature of the black community in Atlanta, she recalls, “I’d walk into a reception room and there’d be a room full of brothers, power-brokering their asses off, and I’d realize I’d seen them all naked. I’d watch them striding around, talking to each other in those phony-ass voices men use when they want to make it clear they got juice, and it was so depressing, all I’d want to do was go home and get drunk.” Later, she describes the preacher’s wife’s hair as “pressed and hot-curled within an inch of its life…. Hardly anybody asks for that kind of hard press anymore. Sister seems to have missed the moment when we decided it was okay for the hair to move.” As the trials and tribulations pile on, the experiences of Cleage’s characters prove to be universal: death, love, second chances. Ava’s acerbic, smart-mouthed narrative keeps the story buoyant; by the time this endearingly imperfect heroine and her cohorts have negotiated the rocky road to a happy ending, readers will be sorry to see her go, even as they wish her well. –Alix Wilber Product Description |
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I wanted Ava to continue doing hair – that was much more interesting than her ridiculously perfect romance. I gave it two stars because I did chuckle a few times, and some of the story was original and interesting. Sorry, Oprah, this was a dud.
“What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day” is the story of Ava, a hairdresser living with AIDS who resides in Atlanta. She used to be a very promiscuous woman and decides that she wants to inform all of her sex partners of her diagnosis so they can get tested, too. The wife of one of her old sex partners reads the letter and comes to her salon and tells everyone that she has AIDS. Embarrassed, Ava decides to visit her sister, Joyce, in Idlewild, Michigan. While she is there, she meets Eddie, a Vietnam veteran and former murderer. Eddie is attracted to Ava, but shows her only subtly. Their relationship begins by the middle of the book. Pearl Cleage created one of the most beautiful literary love scenes I have ever read with these two people (when they have their first sexual encounter.) There are many subplots in this story. Joyce is the foster mother of a crack baby, Imani, and she does any and everything to keep her safe. Collectively, this is a beautiful story and I highly recommend it. Cleage did a very nice job.
I am currently working my way thru this book right now. So far, I am really enjoying it. It is a down to earth, REAL telling of what this woman is going thru. So far, so good. I would def. recommend to a friend. |
Black and Blue (Oprah’s Book Club)
February 27, 2009 by lifestyl
Filed under Books, Oprah's Book Club
 CLICK PIC FOR BEST PRICE Editorial Reviews: Amazon.com Review Product Description For eighteen years, Fran Benedetto kept her secret, hid her bruises, and stayed with Bobby because she wanted her son to have a father and because, in spite of everything, she loved him. Then one night, when she saw the look on her ten-year-old son’s face, Fran finally made a choice–and ran for both their lives. With the repackaging of BLACK AND BLUE and One True Thing, Anna Quindlen takes her place alongside Dell’s Alice McDermott and Rosellen Brown bringing their beloved, acclaimed contemporary classics to a whole new audience of trade paperback readers in Delta editions. |
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But I didn’t really love the book. I liked a lot of it, that’s true. But some parts bothered me quite a bit. The writing is really great – you’re immersed into this world wholly and feel like characters around you are warm and alive. From son Robert to neighbor Cindy, there’s this vivid and clear world. The story runs on a perfectly smooth track, alternating rather well (I felt) between past and present. Meanwhile, I didn’t really like the end. I didn’t like the rather stereotypical situation with the husband and the husband’s character (abusive, possessive cop… overdone perhaps?). The description of abuse was laid on rather well but felt used and kind of dry. I thought main character Fran/Beth could have been drawn better. And most of all, I felt some parts of the book were a bit far-fetched. I really liked the book until the very ending where, though it touched my heart, I felt a bit empty. Perhaps this was the intention, but with other far-fetched moments throughout the book it added up to being simply a four-star book – well-written, much better than most, but still lacking in some places. I enjoyed reading it all the way through and comparatively, it’s a high four or a four-and-a-half, but some parts were definitely weaker. Good side-character characterization, excellent writing, extremely difficult and important topic, and very good presentation means that this book is fairly good. While it’s not a classic, it’s a deep and significant read that I would recommend and one that will lead me to seek out more of Quindlen’s novels.
The title of my review sums it up. Quindlen went all over the map, describing people, emotions and scenarios that were empty. I skipped dozens of pages of yawn-infused diatribe to get to something…anything…that would be interesting. The ending was so predictable it was laughable and an insult to her readers. Not her best effort.
The characters are the best part of Quindlen’s writing. Their emotions seem real, which is the hallmark of good writing. My book club agreed that this is one of the best books that we’ve read recently, like Rabid: A Novel by T.K. Kenyon and The Handmaid’s Tale (Everyman’s Library) by Margeret Atwood. Minna
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