Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader

by John Granger and Dina Nayeri

Book Overview

UNLOCKING HARRY POTTER gives you five essential keys for understanding the HARRY POTTER series. Not just who will live or die in DEATHLY HOLLOWS, but how J.K. Rowling created the most successful books... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972322124
• ISBN13: 9780972322126
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Unlocking Press
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 1.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Another fine book by John Granger

I highly recommend Unlocking Harry Potter as well as other books on this topic by John Granger. Granger shows the artistry in J. K. Rowling's books, enabling one to see patterns and symbols, and places the Harry Potter series in the light of current social ideas, particularly Postmodernism. This makes reading and re-reading the Harry Potter books that much richer in meaning. John Granger speculates at the end on the possible outcome of Deathly Hallows, basing his thoughts on the basis of Snape being a double agent for the Order. Although I also hope that Snape is working for the good, some weight should have been given to the opposite viewpoint as well. There are some copy-editing errors in this book, but that does not overshadow its value. The section on Literary Alchemy is worth the cost alone, and made me want to read more on the topic. Serious readers of Harry Potter should definitely get this book.

The Alchemy of Good Literature...Thank you, Professor Granger!

Mr. Granger's book, in a word, amazed me. I simply couldn't put it down. Once I'd started on the path he uncovers for readers who want to understand more about the Harry Potter series, I was hooked. I had read the entire series many times over, pondering what seemed to me the 'obvious' themes: the hero as misunderstood underdog, the triumphant orphan, etc. Mr. Granger goes far beyond this: he gives the reader five keys towards understanding the connection between this major work and the Classics...(yes, Shakespeare,too!) The best thing, however, about this book is how accessible it is. As a serious reader who hasn't been in a Literature class in many years, I was guided, thought-by-illuminating-thought through the 7 Chapters...indeed, there were some classic forehead-slapping [aha!] moments. A real joy, and a gem. I especially enjoyed Chapter 2 and Chapter 6...but trust me, they are all well worthwhile! Unlocking Harry Potter isn't so much an essay as it is a class in how to dig deeper into the books...and add immeasurably to the enjoyment of them. How many books do that?! If you enjoyed the Harry Potter series, do yourself a favor and add this to your collection. You will find yourself re-reading Harry Potter with a new perspective, and a profound appreciation for the selfless work of love (and, therefore,deep magic) that it truly is.

For the serious Harry Potter fan!!

I am a thirty-four year old, college educated, mother of two and I am what Mr. Granger would call a "serious reader" of Harry Potter. I've read all of the books several times, have a few Potter trinkets and formerly displayed a Muggle license plate on my vehicle! With that said, as a serious reader one tries to find and read as much as one can on the Potter phenomenon. I read Looking for God in Harry Potter a few years ago and loved it, so when I found out that Mr.Granger had written another book I jumped all over it! Mr. Granger has the wonderful knack of explaining complicated material to us muggles, in a way that is easy to understand and makes complete sense. While reading this book my appreciation of JK Rowling grew even more (which is incredible in itself!) Mr. Granger is able to point out to every person without a classical education background what everything means, just to name a few: the meanings of people's names, the significance of all the deaths, and the purpose of the numbers used in the series. And just like all the rest of us truly ensconsed in Potterdom, Mr.Granger likes to speculate about the upcoming book, what "has" to happen and what may happen. The entire book is incredibly interesting and helps tide you over until the summer release of number VII. I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to know more about the significance of many of the images within the series and especially to anyone who doubts the morality of Ms. Rowling's books!

Fantastic, Engaging Work on the Meaning of Potter

John Granger is not known to provide superficial readings of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series à la Harold Bloom or A.S. Byatt. Instead he gazes deeper into the rich tapestry of JKR's creation, seeing what most Harry Potter readers (or even non readers) miss, namely the spiritual overtones of the series. His previous works, The Hidden Key to Harry Potter and Looking for God in Harry Potter, explores why JKR's work resonates with so many of her readers, namely because they hearken to that Great Story. Granger takes this a step further in Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader. Granger's task in Unlocking Harry Potter is to show how JKR uses patterns in every novel and by recognizing these patterns or "keys", the reader will have a greater appreciation for the series in general. These five keys are Narrative Misdirection, Literary Alchemy, The Hero's Journey, Postmodern Themes, and Traditional Symbolism. Each key unlocks a part of the Harry Potter series until the whole trunk is opened and the reader sees JKR's meticulously planned work for what they really are, multi layered, complex works of literature (not 'literary slop' as Bloom posits) that is edifying and satisfying. Finally Granger believes that these keys can even "unlock" or give us clues as to the structure of the final Harry Potter novel. Granger first discusses Narrative Misdirection by pointing out that JKR uses a "third person, limited omniscient" narratological view when writing her storyline much like Jane Austen, JKR's favorite writer. We only know what Harry knows while other major characters sit in the background. For instance we never know where Albus Dumbledore or Severus Snape are doing when Harry does not encounter them. Because we see what Harry sees, the reader follows Harry's prejudices and feelings until the end of the novel when he is proven wrong and the reader is surprised. Who can forget the ending of the first novel? Even when Harry is right in Half-Blood Prince, Granger warns us that this could be the biggest example of narrative misdirection in the series. Literary Alchemy is always discussed in Granger's books and for good reason. JKR told Anne Simpson of The Herald that, "To invent this wizard world, I've learned a ridiculous amount about alchemy. Perhaps much of it I'll never use in the books, but I have to know in detail what magic can and cannot do in order to set the parameters and establish the stories' internal logic" ("Face to Face with J K Rowling: Casting a spell over young minds," 7 December 1998). This surprising interview surfaced on Quick Quotes Quill around a month ago and confirmed Granger's suspicions all along, that literary alchemy undergirds the series and that JKR is writing in the tradition of others who used literary alchemical imagery in English Literature from Shakespeare to C.S. Lewis, and many classic writers in between. Granger's extensive knowledge (and enthusiasm) of the subject and thoughts on alchemy is worth

Thorough, Intelligent, and Accessible Unlocking

Maybe you are a life-long learner sort, or a college professor interested in acquiring an insightful, but thoroughly accessible book about Rowling's series. Maybe you're a thoughtful Christian, who suspects the anti-Potter denunciations are not quite on the mark, but you can't quite articulate why. Maybe you just have a deep affection for the Harry Potter series and would like to discover more about the key techniques and overarching concerns embedded in these brilliant stories. Whatever the case, as long as you've actually read the Harry Potter books, and as long as you have the sort of mind that likes to go beneath and beyond the surface, I believe that you will appreciate Granger's Unlocking Harry Potter. Thoroughly accessible and intelligent, Granger uses a writing style that is a mix of the professor who knows how to communicate credible arguments, and the fan who loves to talk to other fans about Harry, Hagrid, and house-elves (the high destiny of house-elves in number seven? Hmm...). Because there are a number of books about Harry Potter on the market, let me give you a brief explanation of Granger's goals, and a brief introduction to the chapters. His first and foremost goal is to argue that Rowling's Harry Potter series makes for serious, reflective reading, despite its obvious popular appeal. This he does most compellingly, by demonstrating Rowling's depth of intellect, literacy, and organizational powers. Granger also analyzes several fundamental aspects of both Rowling's storytelling formula and her underlying worldview (he calls them "keys"). Because of Rowling's fidelity to her formula and her worldview, predictions can be made about the upcoming Deathly Hallows, which, of course, Granger goes ahead and makes. Chapter One discusses Rowling's first key - narrative misdirection. This involves the "voice" of the story. So what, you may ask? Let me tell you, Granger's explanation of narrative misdirection, how Rowling uses it, and what it means in the big picture, is great stuff - really great stuff. I'm not giving anything away here - you'll just have to plunk the money down and read it yourself. I think you'll be glad you spent the cash and the time. Chapter Two discusses Rowling's second key - alchemy. Although I first thought this would be the most dreary and esoteric of topics, for me, this was the most eye-opening of the "keys." This is the key I now refer to the most when speaking to people who dismiss Harry either because of intellectual snobbery or bible-based opposition. In both this book, and his previous book, Looking for God in Harry Potter, Granger gives a great corrective about the meaning of alchemy both in history and in the Potter books. From the insights into Ron's red hair and Hermione's chemically-significant initials, to the more systematic explanation of how all the Potter books reflect a deeply spiritual process of personal transformation, Unlocking Harry Potter serves the thought