The Deathly Hallows Lectures: The Hogwarts Professor Explains the Final Harry Potter Adventure

by John Granger

Book Overview

The fastest-selling book in publication history, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS was a critical success and is loved by fans around the world. In THE DEATHLY HALLOWS LECTURES, John Granger... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972322175
• ISBN13: 9780972322171
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: Unlocking Press
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Difficult but fascinating read.

This book is a deep dive into the background of Harry Potter in general and the final book, Deathly Hallows, particularly. There are some major typos, true, but they are few and far between. My problem with the book is two fold. The author uses some awfully full language, words i have heard used in hardly any context before. Also some of his analysis takes a tack that is far more divergent than necessary. Good dramatic structure is followed in each book: Exposition, development, denouement (final bringing together of all threads). It doesn't have to be all about black, white and red - the author's contention. The symbolism in the book, however, is quite clearly outlined. It explains even small details that relate the book to the Bible, Dante's Divine Comedy and even to C. S. Lewis' Narnia series. I enjoyed the book and recommend it, but I wish he had spent less time plugging his other HP books in the process.

Taking the Deathly Hallows Seriously!

John Granger has provided a gift for those of us who take the Harry Potter series as a whole, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in particular, seriously. The Deathly Hallows Lectures includes the following chapters: INTRODUCTION: Learning the Passwords for the Magical Paintings on Display, CH. 1 UNLOCKING DEATHLY HALLOWS: Five Keys to Open the Last and Best Harry Potter Novel, CH. 2 THE ALCHEMICAL END GAME: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as Rubedo, CH. 3 CHOOSING TO BELIEVE: The Christian Content of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, CH. 4 SNAPE'S GREEN-EYED GIRL: Dante, Renaissance Florence, and the Death of the Potions Master, Ch. 5 THE SEEING EYE: Deathly Hallows' Eye and Mirror Symbolism, CH. 6 TAKING HARRY SERIOUSLY: Learning to Read with Triangular Vision, CH. 7 THE TRIANGULAR EYE: Reading Deathly Hallows on Three Levels of Meaning, and FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: 31 Questions About the Artistry and Meaning of Deathly Hallows. Not only do these chapters shed new analytical light on the meaning and value of the Harry Potter series as fiction in the tradition of the world's great literature, but they also teach the reader skills for interpreting stories on the surface, moral, and alchemical levels that he or she can employ when encountering other works, as well. Granger has a gift for making the abstract accessible, which makes this work ideal for the classroom as well as the home. Those who love literature, intellectual history, and/or Harry Potter owe it to themselves to read The Deathly Hallows Lectures.

Better and better

The Deathly Hallows Lectures reads like...a series of lectures! Yes, that is a plus! If you have had the good fortune to hear John Granger speak (in person or on-line) you know why that is. His humor and knowledge of both audience (Potter-geeks) and subject (as the Hogwarts Professor) make for a perfect mix. If you can read the book straight through in one sitting, then you are either skimming the surface or way brainier than anyone I have met. Taking the time to chew on and digest, you will come away with a greater understanding of and appreciation of the Deathly Hallows and of literature in general. J.G.'s books are just getting better and better!

An "eye-opening" read

You don't have to be an authority on Dante, C.S.Lewis, or William Shakespeare to get your head around John Granger's latest book, *The Deathly Hallows Lectures*. The purpose of DHL is to introduce and enlighten the reader as to the many layers of symbolism in Harry Potter's journey/defeat over Lord Voldemort. The HogWarts Professor writes in an easy-to-read style that combines his quirky humor with the intricacies of literary analysis. John doesn't talk down to his reader. On the contrary, his tone is quite personable. I felt as if I was sitting in an upper-level lit class led by an instructor more interested in making sure I was "getting" the information instead of telling me how much he knew. A word of caution: you may want to keep a dictionary close at hand during the meatier/deeper discussion points! Bottom line, *The Deathly Hallows Lectures* is a wonderful tool for unlocking the many layers of J K Rowling's work. Serious readers will no doubt recognize the many literary traditions John references throughout. Novices (like myself) will be introduced to new ways of reading and examining the deeper meanings beneath the storylines. I heartily recommend *The Deathly Hallows Lectures* to the serious and interested-in-becoming-serious reader.

Insightful

Having read all of John Granger's books, I was not surprised to find that this latest one, "The Deathly Hallows Lectures" is full of even more insights into the depth of the Harry Potter books. This book is not only fun to read, taking the reader back through all the books, and tying up the series with Deathly Hallows, but also points to the rich tradition of literature that inspired J. K. Rowling. Granger's book also shows how Rowling answered her Christian critics throughout the series, by pointing the obvious Christian imagery throughout the books, and especially in the last one, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". Because of this book, as well as John's previous ones, I've been delving back into Austen, Dickens, Lewis, Shakespeare and many others. And now, I've added Dante to my list. "The Deathly Hallows Lectures" by John Granger sheds light on the symbolic writing of Rowling in a way that enhances every re-reading of the Harry Potter books, making them even more enjoyable than they were on my first reading.