Customer Reviews

Harry Potter & Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds

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I got to the end of the Harry Potter series and knew that this wasn't just a story about a boy wizard and his adventures. Something more was happening in these wonderfully written books. Travis Prinzi's book 'Harry Potter and Imagination' helped me to understand some of the great themes Rowling addresses.
It's a clear and thoughtful exploration of Rowling's views on evil, death, love, forgiveness, gender and race (among many other things) that make the books such a powerful contribution to our culture.
I recommend this book if you want to think more about deeply about the ideas that gripped you and why they resonated with you. Prinzi's book is a tribute to Rowling's genius in that he has used her work to provide much to think about on many different issues in literature and culture.

I learned a lot from reading it and recommend it highly.

I'm an adult who came late to the HP phenomenon: I read all 7 books in the summer of 2007 after Deathly Hallows was published. After finishing them I looked for serious books that discussed the themes and meaning of the series, which led me to John Granger's works. The recent release of the 6th movie made me wonder if anything new had been published. I discovered Prinzi's book on Amazon and wondered how it would compare to Grangers'. I was delighted to find that Prinzi's ideas complement Granger's and have added to my understanding and appreciation of Rowling's writing. Prinzi's book with its emphasis on "faerie" helps explain why the Harry Potter story resonates with me and draws me back to reread it. Prinzi stands with Granger as an "unpacker" of the many levels of meaning in this wonderful series.

First, full disclosure: I write for Travis at his blog, The Hog's Head. My first venture into discussion with Travis and his readers included a vehement disagreement over the nature of postmodernism as a literary and philosophical movement. Thus, though I write for The Hog's Head, that does not mean its proprietor and I always agree on ways of understanding Harry Potter.

Yet, I've always held Travs Prinzi and his opinions in very high regards. John Granger has said time and time again that Prinzi's insight and intelligence into Rowling's literary machinations rival his own -- no small praise from the most famous of Potter-philes/scholars. And any regular patron of The Hog's Head will know that Prinzi's knowledge and mastery of the HP universe is nearly encyclopedic -- don't read his posts to know this; read his responses to readers' comments. Thus, Harry Potter & Imagination makes at least two cases: one is that understanding the books as an expression of the kind of faerie story analyzed by J.R.R. Tolkien is a productive means of interpreting Rowling's work; the second is that Travis Prinzi's name should be synonymous with HP scholarship from this point forward.

Though Rowling has sought to distance herself from her fantasy antecedents (at least to a degree), that she is indebted to their literary frameworks is apparent to any of readers. Prinzi mines some literary parallels to draw together an understanding of fantasy and faerie articulated in both Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Prinzi makes no effort to hide, from the Introduction onward, that he reads Rowling's books through a Christian lens. Though some literary aesthetes might argue such a lens is too limiting a view through which to examine literature, Prinzi treats it as a point of departure from which to build an exegesis of the texts. His book is analytical, not proselytizing. He sees religious symbolism and iconography all over the books, casts that symbolism within the die of Rowling's personal struggles with faith, and interprets Harry Potter as a chronicle of the struggle and need to believe through the framework of faerie.

Prinzi articulates several arguments that are sure to generate discussion and contribute to the broader scope of HP scholarship. Most notably, he synthesizes some of his analyses regarding Rowling's treatment of social issues into a critique of political change, especially of change as a top-down hermeneutic engendered by those already in power.

As piece of technical research and writing, Prinzi has done his homework and sharpened his prose to clean edge. Though Tolkien's original essays on faerie, along with Lewis's work on faith and literature, are sometimes difficult to understand, especially to modern ears, Prinzi manages to encapsulate the thrust of their theories into easy-to-understand syntheses. His own theories, articulated upon the heels of his critical predecessors (including Granger's work), bespeaks a capable intelligence with ample skill at expressing itself. Prinzi can speak to both the scholar and the average reader -- a skill I suspect is honed through his work at his blog.

Buy the book! You'll enjoy it, and you'll learn something.

Can fairy tales be relevant in an increasingly materialistic world? Are fairy tales just kiddie fare or are they subversive literature designed to inspire social change? Travis Prinzi answers these questions and more in the context of Harry Potter in his masterful book, Harry Potter & Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds.

The driving force behind Travis' book of course is J.K. Rowling's 2008 Harvard commencement speech where she quotes Plutarch, "What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality." This can be seen in the book's three parts: Faerie, The Creative Hero, and A Political Fairy Tale. From looking at how Harry Potter satisfies "primordial human desires" (Faerie) and correspond to mythological archetypes (The Creative Hero), we can see how Harry Potter inspires a concern for social justice (A Political Fairy Tale). "What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality" indeed.

Throughout the book, Travis skillfully interacts with other Harry Potter literary critics and draws on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Madeleine L'Engle in his discussions on fairy tales, showing that he has become a Harry Potter scholar in his own right. Travis does all this while explaining difficult concepts in a clear manner for the average reader. Everyone has different preferences and while I loved the entire book immensely, I enjoyed and got the most from his discussions on social justice, particularly the chapters on Postmodernism, Fabian Society, Feminism (Ginny Weasley as Susan Pevensie, Vindicated was just brilliant) and the War on Terror. Those chapters are worth the price of the book alone. Travis unashamedly writes from a Christian perspective because JKR is a Christian, and as Travis writes, removing her from that tradition is impossible. Travis' Christian perspective shows most effectively in his conclusions on Harry Potter and social justice. We are truly between two worlds, this imperfect one filled with evil, and the future when heaven and earth will join together, and the world will be set to rights. Travis' words are poignant here for the here and now, namely that JKR has reflected the realities in our world into her world so that we can recognize them and reflect, discuss, and perhaps be the vehicle for change. How can one be angered by Hermione Granger being called a Mudblood and not care about racism in our world? How about oppression, poverty, power plays, and more? Fairy tales are important, not because they allow the reader to escape, but to see the world in a new light and work to change it.

No amount of words can do justice to this book. The reader will not help but be persuaded by the arguments Travis gives in Harry Potter & Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds, and what are they? That fairy tales matter and that recognizing evil and oppression in Harry Potter can allow us to recognize the same in our world, and act accordingly. Imagining better and producing inward change can have great repercussions for what we achieve outwardly in this world. Travis' book has shown us just that.

It's hard to add anything to the great reviews already given. Mr. Prinzi's work is packed full of insightful commentary not just on Harry Potter but on the nature, purpose, and history of fairy tales. He connects JK Rowling to the writers of the past, like Tolkien, Lewis, and MacDonald and shows how Rowling's work stands alongside them in using the fairy story to help us imagine better. He also examines the themes in Rowling's work and compares her treatment of them to how they have been treated by other authors.

The 2nd part of his book examines the characters of Harry, Voldemort, Dumbledore, and Snape. Suffice it to say that these four chapters are well worth the price of the book.

Part 3 of the book shows how Rowling uses the fairy story to her own purposes in addressing very real world problems but in a setting that allows the reader to view these issues from a different perspective than they normally might. By doing so, she is in a sense slipping past the guards and filters of the reader to enable them to, as she said in her Harvard commencement speech, imagine better and through better imagination to be inwardly transformed so that we might work for outer transformation of the world.

Prinzi does an excellent and very thorough job of illuminating for us what Rowling has done in this genre of fairy story while yet adding her own new twists and insights to it. His work is well researched, coherent, and very readable. He packs an immense amount of material into just a few hundred pages. There's an extensive bibliography and an index, which are both very useful. Footnotes are given at the end of each chapter.

This book is an excellent addition to the bookshelf of not just Harry Potter fans but of fans of literature in general.

Travis Prinzi's analysis of the Harry Potter series is an excellent addition to the growing body of literature after the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. As someone who has heard and read Travis' thoughts on the series before the release of this book, this isn't much of a surprise, but the depth of the book still amazed me. The book craftfully creates an argument that J.K. Rowling in writing within the tradition of literature and the fantasy genre as other great authors such as J.R.R. Tolkein, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, and Madeleine L'Engle. The fairy tale aspects of the series are highlighted in the first section about stories that Tolkein entitled Faerie including aspects of Arthurian legend, gothic horror stories and a comparison between Aslan and Harry. The middle part of the book relates to the four most important characters in the stories (Harry, Dumbledore, Voldemort, and Snape) and how their character archetypes fit into this epic. The last section deals with Rowling as a writer in the postmodern tradition and how she deals with the themes of our day including tolerance, racism, feminism, and the war on terror. While I admit I did not agree completely with every conclusion reached in the book, it argues in a well-researched manner that strongly supports its thesis. As the Harry Potter franchise loses the stigma attached to it as popular culture, educators and academics will use Harry Potter and Imagination as an important reference text for all future analysis of the series and will hopefully result in all of us imagining better.

I first heard of this book listening to an episode of the HP Progs podcast where Travis gave a synopsis of his book and a bit of commentating on it. Not a week before that, I had a long (and tiring) debate with a friend who is of the opinion that the Harry Potter series (and the fantasy genre, in general) were one-dimensional and irrelevant. "Harry Potter & Imagination" was godsend. After all, there's so many ways you can tell someone that Harry Potter is not just about wands and magic tricks. Travis makes a point of showing it's all part of something bigger, and yes, deeper. (Who would have thought, right?)

I'm non-native English reader/speaker. Don't let the language barrier intimidate you! Prinzi does an excellent job introducing themes, deconstructing them and presenting his arguments. His analysis is well backed-up, full of references and quotes available within the text itself. It may require a bit of your extra disposition and brainpower, but he succeeds in making the reading accessible, if you have the interest and disposition.

"Harry Potter & Imagination" resonated with me, not only as Harry Potter fan, but as a human being. That was motivation enough for me. Open your mind and take a chance at imagining better!

First I would like to make it plain that I am not a Potterphile. I enjoyed the books immensely, but when the end of the series came I put them away on the shelf. So why did I read this book? I am familiar with Travis Prinzi's other excellent work: essays, humor, and online presence, and wanted to read his opinion on Rowling's series. He did not disappoint.

Mr Prinzi makes the wizarding world accessible to even those with a passing interest in Harry Potter. He fully applies the techniques of literary critique and reveals the multifaceted world that Rowling builds her stories on. Explained in detail, but not exhaustively, Travis draws parallels from Harry's universe that can help us understand our own.

As I said before, I am not an ardent fan of Harry Potter, but Prinzi's brilliant book has revealed nuance and color where I didn't know it existed. I'm now planning on rereading the series, if only to enjoy the things I missed before.

As an avid Harry Potter fan, I was interested to know what more I could learn on the series that I felt I didn't already know. HA! Travis' work on Harry Potter and the fairy tale got me thinking in ways I never thought I would about a boy wizard. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of our favourite series. Travis' book is beautifully written and thought provoking, inspiring further discussion and even more questions.

I've hesitated to review "Harry Potter and Imagination..." because it's such a great read, (and re-read), I don't think I can do it justice.
The author delves into the "transformative power" of the Harry Potter series in a manner both profound and persuasive. Content-rich. Multi-faceted. Engaging & highly recommended. I think anyone of high-school age or above will find something rewarding in this book.
(Caveat- book contains spoilers due to its subject matter, so finish all the Harry Potter series prior to reading.)


Another very enjoyable book edited by Travis Prinzi contains essay by various Potter scholars and aficionados-
http://www.amazon.com/Hogs-Head-Conversations-Essays-Potter/dp/0982238584/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264344964&sr=1-1