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J.K. Rowling goes Beyond the Epilogue


J.K. Rowling has announced in a new interview with that the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was vague on purpose. She admitted her original epilogue was "a lot more detailed," but now that Book 7 is in our hands, J.K. no longer has to hold back any information about Harry Potter, and has now given us a lot of new details about the story and the characters.

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Reader Comments: (Page 12)

To Roy Dennis from Berwick,

She indeed uses a lot of historical elements. I like them. I've always liked the tale of Romulus and Remus in the first place, and when I first read the third book, I immediately connected the name Remus Lupin with a wolf, or werewolf, seeing as he appeared human. I mean, names tell pretty much in the world of Harry Potter, don't they? They can be misleading, of course, but over the average... I was convinced of Remus being a werewolf when Snape let the students read the chapter on werewolves...

I must say I'm surprised by the amount of people being disappointed.. It's an opinion, of course, but personally I look at it from Rowling's point of view. It's not easy, writing a book. Even a story isn't easy, which I do. And especially with large books, 7 in total, plus all publicity and pressure - she can't satisfy all her fans, obviously. She did what she thought was good, writing a epilogue which doesn't tell all, allowing us to dream on...
I'd LOVE to have more info, though. So far my preach, for I am one of those I write about. I wasn't disappointed by the book. It takes a lot to make me disappointed about a book.

However, I would really like to know more about it. I don't really care about the children in the epilogue. I mean, good they're there, nice, interesting perhaps, but I'd like much more about the characters we know already. Harry, Ron, Hermione, the other Weasleys, Ginny, Draco, everyone. Everyone who's had a role in the 7 books and maybe the 2 extra books... They, after all, are the ones the books are about.... Therefore, I'd like to know more about the Marauders and their schooltime. I'd like to know more about what Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny did in those happy days after Voldemort's . Were they worshipped, did they escape that, or embraced it? What about their family and friends? So many things...
I noticed that in the interview it says that Victoire is Bill and Fleur's eldest child, meaning they've got more children...
I also noticed that everyone here, including myself and JK Rowling, discribes and talks about the books as if it's something which as actually happened. Rowling has created a world very different from ours, thought sometimes intertwining, and yet made it so real that most feel very bad about this world 'finishing'- closing. It's like you could see through this little hole into Diagon Alley and the hole has closed now, and you can only re-see it in your memory.
Creating such a thing is an extraordinary thing. I don't think many writers can do it(although I have it a lot of times that I just imagine to be the main person in a book), for 7 thrilling books and even after it.

Posted by Diantha from Noord-Holland, Holland on July 30, 2007 12:48 PM

I liked the epilogue, but did still have questions like everyone else. I'm looking forward to the encyclopedia in a few years, and in the meantime I love the additional information JKR is giving us in these interviews. The Bloomsbury webchat one (transcript online and summarized by Dave Haber when he updated this article -- THANKS DAVE!) was particularly insightful.

I'm so glad George has Ron at his side!

Posted by Beatrice from Abilene on July 30, 2007 12:59 PM

Roy Dennis from Berwick, PA - Yes, I made that connection because of History and Goegraphy classes! A myth/legend has it that Romulus and Remus were raised by a she-wolf and basically, they founded Rome! I too love the way JK chooses to name her characters, they always have more meaning to them than just a randomly chosen name! Even Remus Lupin reminds you of werewolves and the moon!

Posted by Rashida from Northants, England on July 30, 2007 1:51 PM

I don't get it. She gives different occupations in the two parts for both Ron and Hermione. Was Ron an Auror or a part-owner of the joke shop?

Posted by ReignMan27 from Illinois, U.S.A. on July 30, 2007 2:21 PM

Are we still waiting for Harrys seventh year at Hogwarts?

I'm sure I read that JKR said there would be a book for each of HP seven years at school. Clearly he needs to complete the previous year (along with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Dean, etc). Whilst HP fame may cut some slack - what about the less so characters. JRK herself has said that Marcus Flint had to do an extra year.

I dont think prequel would work (look at star wars) but a final book (say a comedy, JKR very good at this) would resolve many issues. Also I can see some form of syndicated work happening with all proceeds to charity. This would work well for 11 year olds using the new generation children (james, albus, rosie etc). Titles along the lines of "JK Rowlings Hogwarts: The Secret of....." (Very like Nancy Drew and the hardy Boys - giving my age away) As stated for youngsters and very light, with good morals.

Maybe there is still some hope! Over to you David Haber.

Posted by F.E Pyrite from London on July 30, 2007 2:25 PM

I personally think that JK shouldn't have gone on to give details about what happens later...Many authors are BRILLIANT on provoking your thoughts by not giving any details of what happens to their characters later on in their life. Telling what happens to the characters totally takes away from the essence of the book. It makes it too goody goody, and takes away from the soul of the book(s).
The REAL magic should have been what we can come up on our own and to imagine what would happen to the characters.

You don't really see JRR Tolkien continuing stories of what happen when Frodo "sailed on". Christopher did some of that, but not JRR himself. You don't see the author of Narnia go on and on about what happens to the kids of Narnia.

Just a few words. Fantastic site though.

Posted by Nathan Deo from San Jose on July 30, 2007 2:50 PM

I would like to say that i absolutely agree with Diantha about how shocking it was to find out people were disappointed. I think we all had high standards obviously but some...maybe too high up there. No book is going to be absolutely perfect but for jkr to write those 7 books and have all of them be brilliant especially under a ton of stress from millions of fans is just amazing to me.
THANK YOU SO MUCH JKR for putting harry in my life

Posted by erika from california on July 30, 2007 4:03 PM

So Ron has gone from Auror to joke shop owner in the space of a few days! I like the idea of him working alongside his brother a lot better than him being an Auror - it never felt right.

I know JK doesn't see Snape as a hero because Snape would never had done what he did if it wasn't for Lily - but give the man some credit. He watched over Harry for 7 years, he fought against Voldemort too for all that time. We see in the pensieve that in HBP Dumbledore informs Snape that Harry is doomed to - but does Snape give in? Does he, after the 'half truth' that Dumbledore has fed him all these years decide to leave Dumbeldore to the mercy of the DE's at the top of the astronomy tower? Snape releasing Dumbledore from a miserable fate is nothing to do with Lily Evans - it is to do with Snape's compassion and loyalty to Albus Dumbledore.

I think we Harry Potter fans never be satisfied with just these seven books.
I would like - a trilogy of books on Severus Snape,and I would like to see a set of books from when James, Lily, Sirius, Lupin, Snape, Pettigrew etc were young - they could end with either Hagrid removing Harry from the ruins, or Sirius being carted off to Azkaban.
I am happy to leave Albus Severus Potter at school living a happy life - but for everything else I want answers, and I feel that only JKR herself should answer.

Posted by Orlando from England on July 30, 2007 4:22 PM

Lots of us have been wondering who does magic later in life and this morning on Bloomsbury's live web-chat with JKRowling she was asked that question. She said that she changed her mind by the time she had finished Book 3. So, who it might have been is a moot point.

On the continuing saga of the epilogue, I've found it really helpful to do three things: reread it; listen to/read Jo's comments about it; reread it with those thoughts in the back of my mind.

I think on first read, it seems weak because it's devoid of all the details we have grown accustomed to throughout the books. It lacks the passion of the books themselves. But, filtered through the author's perspective, it does seem to take us back to Harry's first encounter with the Hogwart's Express and it does force us to let go. Maybe, a little bit too quickly, but we are told and reassured that after all the traumas, travails, and passions of adolescence, after the vanquishing of Lord Voldemort, now all was well. Life does go on.

Posted by Hannah from Los Angeles on July 30, 2007 4:26 PM

I think it would be interesting if JKR took the HP series on a similar route as Star Wars, where she licensed and authorized historical stories, past, present and future. They could obliviously be small works, with alot of backstory of the characters that have appears in the HP Universe.

How about publishing a collection of the textbooks that were used within Hogwarts?

I personally would like to know more about the founders of Hogwarts; Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin, and how they came to being. What were their life stories and how did they come together to form the school?

Posted by Spineless from Bellevue, Washington on July 30, 2007 4:41 PM

Another interesting thing to note for those of you talking about significance in the names JK chooses, Remus Lupin's last name is close to "lupus" or wolf in latin.

Posted by Naomi on July 30, 2007 7:24 PM

Diantha from Noord-Holland:

Hmm... I didnt connect Remus that way. However, Lupine is the term used for wolves. Sort of like "wolfish", a gramatically correct term, mind you.

And hagrid, what happened to him?

Posted by Vinay from Bangalore on July 30, 2007 7:52 PM

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