Final Harry Potter book sparks frenzy
Fans form lines at Borders here and bookshops worldwide to be among first to learn about their hero's fate
By Nur Dianah Suhaimi (ST,22 July)
TEN years after the publication of the first Harry Potter book, fans finally learnt their hero's fate when the seventh and final instalment went on sale yesterday.
Part-time student Christina Chan, 22, who started queueing outside Borders bookshop in Orchard Road at 6.30am, spent the entire day reading the book, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, at home.
She said that she resisted diving straight into the last chapter to find out Harry's fate. 'I don't want to kill the suspense.''
She finished reading the book at about 4pm and did not like the happily-ever-after ending, which she found 'too cheesy''.
University undergraduate Shahida Hassim received the book at 8.30am - delivered by SingPost - and locked herself up in her bedroom to read.
She switched off her mobile phone and turned off the television set and radio so that she would not learn about the ending.
Fans praise final book, series
'The book was fantastic. It is amazing how the author manages to bring closure to this long series so easily and insert interesting twists and turns.' - Cheah Hui Yi 'This has got to be my favourite book out of all seven. The pace was perfect; the book keeps you engrossed the entire time because the excitement starts from the very first page. After six books, J.K. Rowling still manages to inject magic into her final book, making the wait for this book worthwhile.' - KEVinZeee
The 19-year-old emerged from her bedroom at 9pm with a smile on her face. 'I loved how J.K.Rowling tied up all the loose ends from the previous books so ingeniously!''
But one fan could not wait. Sixteen-year-old Adela Wong zoomed in to the last chapter minutes after paying for the book.
Like Ms Chan, she did not like the ending. She had expected a darker finale. 'The ending makes it a typical book for kids,'' she said.
The book, which went on sale at bookshops at 7am, was given a reception usually reserved for pop stars.
At Borders, more than 1,000 fans - many dressed in wizard robes, conical hats and carrying wands - formed a line that snaked around Wheelock Place.
The first person in the queue, 16-year-old Nicole Mok, had set up camp outside the bookstore since 9am on Friday. Like in 2005, her parents had booked a room at the Royal Plaza Hotel nearby and brought her food so that she would not lose her place in the queue.
She said: 'I just have to be the first one to get the book. I cannot wait any longer.''
Others such as Raffles Junior College student Kristine De Los Reyes arrived with sleeping bags and pillows. Said the 17-year-old who went to Borders straight after school on Friday: 'I feel tired, sleepy and dirty.'
As the hour of the book's release drew near, the crowd screamed in excitement.
Chants of 'We want Harry!' from some prompted a Cisco officer to comment: 'Really gila, lah!' Gila is crazy in Malay.
The crowds at other bookshops were more subdued. Kinokuniya bookshop staff in Ngee Ann City were greeted by 50 customers when they rolled up the shutters at 7am.
Popular Bookstore, above Orchard MRT station, was quiet at noon despite the presence of a staff member dressed up as Dumbledore. At MPH bookshop in Novena, customers bought their Harry Potter books without having to queue.
National serviceman Damien Yeo, 19, could not understand all the fuss being made about a fictional character.
Caught peeping at the ending of the book in Kinokuniya yesterday, he said with a grin: 'I'm going to buy only when the cheaper paperback version is out. I don't mind being a few months late.'
Some Potter Facts
The first book in the series, Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, was published in 1997.
The first six books have sold over 325 million copies and have been translated into more than 63 languages.
For Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, publishers have ordered a record-breaking first print run of 12 million copies in the United States.
The first four Potter films collectively generated US$3.5 billion (S$5.3 billion) in worldwide ticket sales for Warner Bros.
The fifth and latest film about the boy wizard raked in an estimated worldwide one-day haul of US$74 million in ticket sales when it came out earlier this month.
Author J.K. Rowling is Britain's richest woman -- the first billionaire author - according to Forbes.
The Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida is building the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, an 8.1ha theme park scheduled to open in 2009.
Rowling works her magic again <
By Stephanie Yap, Books Reporter
IT WOULD be hard for Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows to live up to all the tremendous hype it's been getting. Yet somehow, it does.
From the start, we are plunged into a dark world where Voldemort grows ever closer to fulfilling his plans for world domination, especially after he manages to seize control of the Ministry of Magic.
In Hitler-esque fashion, he and his henchmen, the Death Eaters, go about oppressing and harming not only Muggles (non-magic people), but also Mudbloods (magic people born of Muggles), and intend to eventually cleanse the planet of anyone who isn't a pure-blooded witch or wizard.
Of course, Voldemort still has to reckon with our hero, Harry Potter.
As Harry's 17th birthday approaches - meaning the end of the protective spell that keeps him safe at his relatives' house - his friends contrive a daring and risky rescue operation to get him out of Privet Drive.
There is a humorous and poignant farewell with at least one of the dreadful Dursleys - though not the one you'd expect.
Things soon turn ugly and bloody, and from then on a sense of doom pervades much of the book, aided by the fact that J.K. Rowling has no qualms maiming and killing likeable characters from the get-go.
That said, she does none of this lightly, and this reporter, for one, had her first cry barely a fifth of the book in.
As expected, Harry and his two best friends Hermione and Ron drop out of Hogwarts to find those mysterious Horcruxes - which is just as well since an apparently evil Snape has been installed as its headmaster.
Running around the country on a quest much aided by Hermione's encyclopedic knowledge and lots of Polyjuice potion, they are put through trials and tribulations which are heart-stopping not only because we have come to know and love these characters so well, but because Rowling has a wicked gift for suspense and pacing.
A small quibble is that hard-core fans might groan at the paragraphs of references to past events which characters occasionally seem obliged to make - Rowling's way of accommodating readers with less knowledge of Potter lore, or just short memory spans.
Yes, R.A.B, whose initials turned up unexpectedly in the last book, is indeed the person all fans have already suspected him to be.
And of course, we do learn about those deathly hallows.
Though the name seemed to come out of nowhere when the title was announced, you have to give it to Rowling that they are rather elegantly introduced into the tale.
Though this is essentially a tale of good versus evil, what is wonderful about Rowling is that she refuses to have her good characters be purely good - though it is a little disappointing how her bad characters are almost all one-dimensionally evil.
We learn about a beloved character's less-than-pristine past, part of it through an absolutely sensational book by Rita Skeeter, the reporter we love to hate.
And the good guys do display moments of petulance, cowardice and downright stupidity that will have you tearing your hair in frustration.
Yet there are breathtaking moments of bravery, loyalty, friendship and, yes, Dumbledore's favourite magic - love.
There is nothing very surprising about how it all turns out, though the means by which Rowling gets there and ties up all the loose ends is compelling and at times pure genius.
Yet, it is her obvious tenderness for her characters, whom she and whom we have followed for so long, that makes the ending feel wonderfully, poignantly, faithfully right.
No comments:
Post a Comment