10 responses so far ↓

• 1 reyhan // Dec 21, 2007 at 5:19 pm

  For the record, and because I’m feeling more than a little frustrated by the tenor of the complaints, I want to say: JKR rocks. And she has never rocked more brilliantly than she did with Deathly Hallows. There are chapters in there which are so well constructed and written that she can take her place in my pantheon of best beloved authors.

• 2 revgeorge // Dec 21, 2007 at 7:25 pm

  I too loved Deathly Hallows. Probably tops my favorite list right above COS & OOTP. DH is brilliance at work.

• 3 reyhan // Dec 21, 2007 at 9:03 pm

  The only thing I can fault her for is her complaint that she only had a ridiculously small bottle of champagne (from the mini-bar) to celebrate with after she finished writing DH at the Balmoral Hotel. I’m pretty sure that the proprietors would have shipped in a Nabuchadnezzar of Krug Grand Cuvee Brut had they known.

• 4 Johnny // Dec 21, 2007 at 10:36 pm

  I agree with everyone here that JKR rocks and Deathly Hallows was one of my favorites. I enjoyed the clip and I cannot wait to see the documentary in full. I’m hoping that it’s available to view online since the documentary is airing in the UK.

• 5 colorless.blue.ideas // Dec 22, 2007 at 2:38 pm

  Count me as one who found Deathly Hallows to be very satisfying.

  As for the documentary clip, my first impression was, “Wish I could type that fast”!

• 6 Eeyore // Dec 22, 2007 at 3:09 pm

  I’ve always said that I loved Deathly Hallows. For anyone who still says they don’t, they should re-read all the books. Now that I am, I’m seeing how well she tied everything together. There are so many set-ups for the final book even in the first and second ones. It’s great.

  Anyone know if Canadiam TV will be showing the special? I’m hoping so–I would like to see it without having to watch bits and pieces on You Tube.

  Pat

• 7 reyhan // Dec 23, 2007 at 12:42 am

  The videoclip gives the impression that JKR finishes writing DH on camera.

  I don’t think that’s exactly what happened.

  For one thing, her description of what happened - she finishes writing, celebrates with the champagne from the mini-bar, writes a piece of grafitti on the base of the statue of Hermes (?)- doesn’t match what we see on camera.

  For another, I don’t think that anyone could write very effectively with people watching. You could write simple stuff - like e-mails or comments on blogs like I’m writing now - but not the end to your story which you’d lived with for seventeen years. Also, wouldn’t it be defeating the purpose of holing up in a hotel room to get away from people to actually bring a camera crew with you?

  For another thing, I notice that her hair is stringy and she looks very drained, which is what you’d expect after a marathon writing session, but that there is lipstick on the empty coffee cup. I don’t think she’d be putting on lipstick to write. She might put on lipstick if she were going to be interviewed or filmed.

  I can see several possible scenarios.

  The first one is that they had a camera in the room while she worked. The camera actually caught the writing. Once she was done, and she did her victory jig, knocked back the champagne and wrote the grafitti, then the interviewer came into the room and talked to her.

  The second one is that they re-enacted the finale to the book afterwards, giving JKR a chance to put on lipstick and have a cup of coffee before talking to the camera.

  Another possibility is that they combined the two: a camera filmed JKR working, and they put that with the footage of the interview which was shot later.

  Must confess, I have very mixed feelings about the video clip. I have a great deal of respect for the act of writing, and I feel it cheapens it somewhat to bring a camera and interviewer to witness it. On the other hand, it is a historic occassion, and in a way glamorizes something which is, in itself, as glamorous as stringy hair and an empty coffee-cup.

  So this is what she’s done for the world, our own JKR: she has
  made writing into a performance art.

  Impossible, one would have said, until one actually saw it.

• 8 Travis Prinzi // Dec 23, 2007 at 9:51 am

  reyhan, JKR writes by hand first. It could be that she was just putting on the finishing touches to he typed version, or perhaps a sort of re-enactment of that last moment.

• 9 SeaJay // Dec 24, 2007 at 6:12 pm

  …it looks like what we see on screen is JKR finishing off the chapter in which Harry speaks to the ghost of Rowena Ravenclaw. And that may well be the final piece of writing that she had to sort out.

  I think that the ‘tears and champagne’ celebration took place in private after completing the final chapter - which is not the same thing. After that JKR then probably went on to tidy other aspects of the book and finally put it to bed.

  Just my interpretation of events.

• 10 Nzie // Dec 24, 2007 at 7:33 pm

  wow, great clip! thanks for the link.

  The title is “a year in the life” of JKR, so I’d rather guess someone would get used to cameras and just learn to ignore them or not let them bother her. She may also have gotten used to putting lipstick on because of the cameras- documentaries that follow folks around don’t have optimal lighting, making it easy to look washed out. Also, for me personally, lipstick is something I put on a a whim- sometimes it’s ‘therapy’– ‘I feel tired, drained, overworked, and entirely unfeminine- thus, I must wear make-up to feel more human and a woman.’ Sometimes it’s just fun. Make-up is an incredibly psychological thing at times.

  anyway, thanks for the clip and for pointing out the Classic Tales podcast. I actually just said the other day I needed to reread A Christmas Carol, but listening will be more fun.

  Merry Christmas, all!
  ~Nzie

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