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15th out of 71 books
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Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader
by
John Granger
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 of our times. To understand the story behind the stories, John Granger, author of THE HIDDEN KEY TO HARRY POTTER and editor of WHO KILLED ALBUS DUMBLEDORE?, introduces the th...more
Paperback, 312 pages
Published
March 1st 2007
by Zossima Press
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I found Unlocking Harry Potter interesting, even useful, but fundamentally flawed and deeply irritating. John Granger gives us lenses (keys) through which to view aspects of the Harry Potter novels. Some of them are mysterious and new (alchemy), and some of them are just basic English 101. I’ll start with the 101 material.
NARRITIVE MISDIRECTION
Granger spends a chapter on “narrative misdirection.” He shows how the point of view of the novels is intended to keep us look...more
NARRITIVE MISDIRECTION
Granger spends a chapter on “narrative misdirection.” He shows how the point of view of the novels is intended to keep us look...more
I really enjoyed this book, even if it was a little over my head. I like John Granger and I think he is a logical author, one who doesn't just say something for the sake of being heard. He really does his research, and even if his assumptions or theories are wrong, you can't say that he didn't back them up with a lot of evidence. I especially liked this book because it gave me an entirely new view on HP. I never really considered all that went into HP, especially his whole chapter on Alchemy (al...more
I found the Postmodern themes (Key 4) hard to get through but was interested in learning how to look at the series from the literary perspective. Remembering this was written before the book 7 was out I tried not to judge on his misses but rather learn from his message and several points came through in totally different fashions, but they came none the less. I am thinking of the Malfoys linking up the Slytherin house at the end, Dobby's overlooked powers were critical to Harry's success as well...more
This is, as the title suggests, a book for serious readers. It is about the literary symbolism and structure of the series, with the goal of then forecasting what will happen in book seven.
While I can't say that I "enjoyed" reading this book the way I enjoyed read Harry Potter, I did learn about Harry Potter, English literature, and what to look for when I read other books.
If' you're looking for light beach reading, start over with book one and read J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books, n...more
While I can't say that I "enjoyed" reading this book the way I enjoyed read Harry Potter, I did learn about Harry Potter, English literature, and what to look for when I read other books.
If' you're looking for light beach reading, start over with book one and read J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books, n...more
John Granger has been one of the foremost champions of recognizing the importance of literary alchemy in the Harry Potter series. This is his fourth book examining and analyzing evidence from the wildly popular series.
Many people simply scratch their heads and say, "Alchemy? That weird pseudo-science that predated chemistry? The one where nuts tried to turn lead into gold?"
Yup, that's the one. Except John Granger goes on to explain exactly what alchemy was and w...more
Many people simply scratch their heads and say, "Alchemy? That weird pseudo-science that predated chemistry? The one where nuts tried to turn lead into gold?"
Yup, that's the one. Except John Granger goes on to explain exactly what alchemy was and w...more
Whew! I have finished Granger's thoroughly literate and articulate analysis of the Harry Potter series and am immediately eager to read it again. I have gleaned a tremendous amount of insight into the series itself, as well as the highly sophisticated nature of Rowling's writing, writing that has previously been dubbed by the Ivory Tower as unworthy of serious reflection. His "five keys" to understanding the series are enlightening and enriching, not to mention extremely validating ...more
This book is a wonderful bridge between Harry Potter and classical literature: Shakespeare, Austen, the Greek classics, Blake, Milton and more. The author is an English teacher. I wish I knew about this book when niece Hannah was struggling with her Shakespeare class and the concept of literary alchemy. Granger is a bit long-winded and over technical when it comes to his discussion of literary alchemy but teachers and parents, take note. Once you have "cracked the code" with Grange...more
"How Harry Cast His Spell" is still my favorite John Granger HP book - I know this one is supposed to be more "academic" but I thought the other one prompted more thinking truthfully (But then maybe its just that I'm more interested in the religious side of HP academic study)
This is possibly the best introduction to the Potter books available. If you want to understand what is going on "behind the scenes" in Harry Potter, this is the book.
Except for the first chapter, I found Granger's arguments unconvincing. There are equally valid explanations for all the phenomena he points out.
The first couple of sections on literary alchemy were especially interesting!
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I liked this book because it gives you all the inside information.
Extremely thought provoking, detailed, and heavy. great stuff.
Well-documented discussion of alchemy (in particular) and post-modernism in the Harry Potter books; written too soon, though, and the "predictions" for the last book were, for the most part, way off. I would like to see how the seventh book fits in in regards to the alchemy discussed early in the book. Glaring grammatical errors plague the last few chapters, though, so it seems to have been rushed in production so as to cash in on the pre-seventh Harry Potter release.
I really liked this book insofar as it gave me insight to some of the myths and stories that may have influenced JK Rowling in her writing. The book was written before the Harry Potter series was finished, so there are a lot of predictions in it. Though some of them were wrong, a great many were dead-on, and the logic behind those predictions was fun to read.
Scott left this book at my house and I tried reading it so I could be a full HP geek, but honestly all this alchemy stuff was really repetitive and maybe I just don't like reading literary criticism.
Alchemy, as well as the Christian 'agon': once made apparent to you they jump out at you everywhere.
John Granger is an astute and careful reader and thinker, and a pleasure to read.
John Granger is an astute and careful reader and thinker, and a pleasure to read.
Makes reading Harry Potter even more fun than before. Very insightful.
another book that was given to me.
book club pick for march
Calley
marked it as to-read
Erin
marked it as to-read
Francie
marked it as to-read
jacksonh014
marked it as to-read
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