Thursday, July 19, 2007

Harry Potter and The Wait for the Last One

Another day and night from now, I could be reading it. The spoilsports are out with the spoilers, but in a nation that can selectively close eyes and ears to the outside world, I am not going to find it difficult to hide from them.

But once I start it, I know I will not put it down until I finish it. And then what? There is this emptiness I have to look forward to. Can I survive in a muggle world for the rest of my life?

I don't think any other book, movie or sitcom has affected me in quite this way. It probably applies to thousands of other folks waiting for the stroke of midnight. I remember eagerly waiting for fauji's next episode or the weekly magazine for the next part in a story, but nothing was close to this. I have heard of people waiting for Sherlock Holmes or Les Miserables. But we are living through this one. It is a kind of temporary monomania. Borderline OCD. Imagine a decade or two later, we can tell people we lived through this phenomenon. The anticipation for the next book is something only we will feel. The future generations will read them like we do Tolkien. All at one time. Where is the fun in that!

I haven't yet decided whether I will do the midnight queue or the early morning one. If I am back from the party early, it is going to be morning. If the party turns wild till 11ish, I might as well get the book on the way back. My kids will have to fend for themselves this weekend.

This is it. The grand finale. Denouement. Will it be, is the question? Will she tie all the knots? Or would we need a glossary or an appendix kind of book to answer unanswered questions?

Once I finish the book, I am going to go back read everything once more. Carefully. To make sure it all ties together. She is good at that. Connecting point A in book 1 to point B in book 3 or point C in book 5.

Can you tell I am excited?

14 comments:

anantha said...

I am planning to hit one of the local B&N stores just to see what the fuss is about during the midnight opening.

I mean, I read HP and all, but wondering if the hype will be worth it, avalodhaan...

Btw, last weekend I got a chance to do a one on one with the lead of one of your fav NBC shows (by your own admission) and got to ask him about the whole Aishwarya Rai angle. Apparently that was news to him as well and he had to call up Tim Kring to clear it up. And he was forced to do it because he was inundated with calls and emails from desi friends that he had not seen/heard from in years ;)

Munimma said...

Anti:That was a hoax. If you had read the comments, you would have known ;-) Shanti died young.

who, who? tell me tell me? Senthil? You know him? I want deets.

Yesssss, me too firsssssst time midnight party attending. Sometimes the hype is more fun than the real deal.

Villain said...

i read it already.. check the internet you can get the book easily right now. and i wont ruin it for you but the end was quite diff from what i expected.

Munimma said...

intha villain velai ellam 2 naal hold-la podu!
exam-la bit adicha pazhakkam epdi konnaanthu vitturuchu paaru!

Villain said...

ya thats so true... ;-)
But done so in a true SRM tradition.

Villain said...

But tell me, if i email you the book, lets see if you can really hold up till tommorrow night.. I just couldnt resist my temptation to read it when someone sent it to me.

Munimma said...

I don't know if the temptation can be resisted. :-)
Probably can.

SRM paera kedukkathey (iruntha thaaneynnu kekkatha)

Villain said...

ok, shall i mail it... shoot me an email madhu.venkatesan@gmail.com and i will send it to you... ;-)

Munimma said...

I am resisting :-)

Villain said...

alright but if not, let me know and i will send it over right away.

Balaji said...

can't do the midnite party since we're off on a weekend trip early sat. morning :( so i ordered the book off amazon. hopefully i have it in hand by tuesday atleast!

happy reading :)

rads said...

aw muni, excited is understating it :) Enjoy it!

Anonymous said...

Exactly my state. And yesterday nite when I watching the movie, (5th one) I was trying to remember his prophecy so that I can connect the dots. Started reading the 6th book to get more info.

anantha said...

No no.. I realized it was a hoax. But I went ahead and did ask Sendhil (yes yes.. Sendhil only). I don't him, but i got to play "journalist" recently and got like 15 mins with him one on one.