The Book Tower

My apologies to Pat Barker for temporarily putting her new novel Life Class to one side. After letting my daughter tear open the Amazon packaging for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows yesterday and officially declare its arrival in our house I have been unable to resist starting it. As hefty hardbacks with crisp, unspoilt pages go, this is one of the most attractive that’s fallen into my hands for a long time. And Rowling really does appear to be on top form.

On a shopping trip yesterday I wandered into Waterstones and was amused to see several people picking up copies of the book and reading the last page. Amusing because how could such a crazy action go anywhere in the region that is called enjoyable? I avoided these people and followed my tracks back into Marks and Spencer to find my family. There I spotted one or two people sitting on the floor, blocking out all the noise and mayhem and engrossed in the new Potter book. Surrounded by shoppers in a Summer sale frenzy, I wished I’d brought mine to read…

Two members of my family have already finished Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows – I’ve retreated into self imposed exile to finish the book and am a slow third of the way through. I’m saving all of my thoughts for a spoiler-free review, coming hopefully before the end of the week…