hbp MY IMPRESSIONS

[Sherry Gomes]

No: HPFGUIDX 133003

I've been trying to read everything before posting my impressions, but the
more messages I read, the more arrive!  So, I thought I'd just write down my
overall impressions after my first reading of the book.

First of all, the big question, did Snape act with Dumbledore's knowledge,
or is he truly ESE?  I haven't yet seen my biggest objection posted here.
We were told in great detail about how murder tears apart the soul.  We
know, if Dumbledore's faith in Snape is justified--ok, we know anyway either
way--that as a death eater, Snape would have killed and would have a damaged
soul already.  I cannot believe that Dumbledore would ever have asked Snape
to kill him because of the damage it would do to Snape's already fragile
soul.  I would think that if Dumbledore felt he had to be sacrificed for
some as yet unknown purpose, he would have found another way.  It seems
inconsistent with everything we know of Dumbledore to think he would
conspire with Snape to have Snape kill him.  Also with Draco's future
hanging in the balance, and Harry frozen and invisible but still in great
danger, it seems a very incomplete and dangerous thing to have done.  I
don't for one minute believe Dumbledore was pleading for Snape to kill him,
either as an assisted suicide thing or as part of a plot.  I wondered if the
pleading was a case of either, Please don't reveal yourself as my man with
these death eaters present, or even, please don't betray me.  The saddest
part of this scene to me is that if Snape is truly ESE, Dumbledore's last
thought would have been that he was betrayed by someone he had trusted so
completely and fiercely.

And yet, I think it's a good lesson to us, as readers that Harry should
learn to trust his instincts, as much as he should learn to trust some
advisors.  i think listening to wise counsel is crucial, but also knowing
when to trust your own judgment is crucial too.  I also think that if
Dumbledore's faith in Snape was so seriously misplaced, that is a good
reminder that Dumbledore was fallible, not omnipotent.

I do believe Dumbledore is dead, that it is not an elaborate hoax of some
sort.  My reasons are Fawkes' lament.  He may have disappeared with
Dumbledore had indeed gone into hiding for some plan, but the lament was
quite definite.  And there is the portrait now.

Am I the only one who found the parts with Riddle's background boring?  I
was reading the audio book, and I actually fell asleep during a lot of those
scenes.  I have already discovered that I have missed important information
by falling asleep and will endeavor to stay awake during my reread.

I have a theory about Mr. Olivander.  Could it be that Voldemort captured
him or something because of the problem of the brother wands?  Just a
thought I had.

I agree with some who have said that it seemed JKR dealt with some of the
issues in fandom in a rather abrupt, let's get it out of the way, sort of
fashion.  Sirius' estate, the ships, Sirius being cleared.  But I think that
the book had so much other important stuff to deal with, that maybe this was
the best way to deal with it.

I was greatly amused by the first chapter, mostly because i don't think any
of us had predicted it.  We all speculated about what this long delayed
first chapter would be, and it ended up being so funny.

My overall impression:  i loved this book.  It may end up being my second
favorite, right behind POA.  I was glad not to have to deal with angry
Harry.  I thought it was well written, held together well, with enough
surprises to have me saying "What!"  I would have liked more Lupin, Luna,
Neville, and where the heck was Moody?  I was grateful not to have any of
Grawp, or at least very little.  Loved Slughorn!  Loved Fleur in the end and
the way she and Molly came together.  

Ok, those are just my first impressions.  I'm sure more will come to me
after reading the rest of the posts here and rereading the book.  Wow, it
was fantastic!

Sherry