Toddling

Narf and Pauline decided to go on what was ostensibly a vacation but was more of a delivery of sorts, removing Leanne's possessions from my basement and trucking them to Nebraska. Because of their absence it behooved either Maryanne or me to stay home with Sarah. Given that I had more time off available, it was me, and so I spent the last four straight days home with a toddler.

The time was pleasant enough. She wasn't terribly grumpy or crabby, merely uncooperative at times. Structure not only helps a toddler, but helps a parent get through the day as well, especially if it's been taxing ("Only an hour until her nap!").

I was able to get a few things done with my time at home, not the least of which was reading the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. There will be no spoilers here, not even hidden in the full post. Rowling's characters retain their depth and their humanity, where the good and the evil alike are plagued by their own flaws and desires. The body count is indeed high, and a number of main characters are lost in the final conflict. We finally learn the truth about Snape, a topic much speculated upon, and also learn the truth about Dumbledore, Harry, and the demise of Voldemort.

I think I read through the book in around seven or eight hours, though not all at once. Rowling's dialog-driven style reads quickly, bogging down slightly during longer bits of prose or a few awkward "talking heads" scenes, which were fewer in this last book. The book came to a satisfying conclusion, with a few surprises, some pleasant and some unpleasant, and a few things long coming -- I'll say no more lest I give anything away.

One reviewer lamented the lack of a moral decision in the final installment of the series. I disagree. Harry makes what is perhaps his greatest moral decision near the end of book six, choosing to face Voldemort, even knowing he might die, because it is the right thing to do. This is perhaps the main moral decision of the series taken as a whole. That said, though, Harry does have a decision to make in book seven, and it is a moral decision. Though he may make it more quickly than that made in book six, it just as important, if not more so, than his previous one.

It's doubtful it will stand up as great literature decades from now, but it was a marvelous adventure and an entertaining read.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Led Zeppelin: "Houses of the Holy"