How Harry Cast His Spell: The Meaning Behind the Mania for J. K. Rowling's Bestselling Books [Paperback]

John Granger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 18, 2008

More than any other book of the last fifty years (and perhaps ever), the Harry Potter novels have captured the imagination of children and adults around the world. Yet no one has ever been able to unlock the secret of Harry's wild popularity . . . until now. Updated and expanded since its original publication as Looking for God in Harry Potter (and now containing final conclusions based on the entire series), How Harry Cast His Spell explains why the books meet our longing to experience the truths of life, love, and death; help us better understand life and our role in the universe; and encourage us to discover and develop our own gifts and abilities.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: SaltRiver (August 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414321880
• ISBN-13: 978-1414321882
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #400,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Granger is an author, speaker, and professor. A graduate of the University of Chicago, where he studied classical languages and literature, he uses Harry Potter to teach English literature online at HogwartsProfessor.com. He is a frequent speaker at academic and fan conferences and has been interviewed as a "Harry Potter expert" in the "Wall Street Journal," the "New York Times," CNN, and the DVD of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." He and his wife, Mary, have seven children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars straight forward analysis of Harry Potter, December 28, 2008

By 

B. C. Pollard (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How Harry Cast His Spell: The Meaning Behind the Mania for J. K. Rowling's Bestselling Books (Paperback)

I have read many of John Granger's books and am completely enamored with The Deathly Hallows Lectures. I did not think that I would that this book supplant it as my favorite of Granger's writing, but it might be. Where the Lectures are a strong academic analysis after the completion of series, this book is written in a more straight forward manner and is the book that I will recommend to my friends and family who are more casual fans of the series. It should be noted that this is the third edition of the book previously titled Looking for God in Harry Potter, so if you think Christians are trying to force their world view into the Harry Potter series, then this isn't the book for you. Although you don't have to be a Christian to enjoy this book. J.K. Rowling has called the Christian symbolism in the books, "obvious," and she's writing in a tradition of British literature that is very Christian. Rowling is writing about her faith and you don't have to be religious to see how the final book in the series is a story to symbolize her personal faith and the struggle that ensues to even have faith. John Granger successfully synthesizes this and much more into this book to show how "a children's story" has become the most popular epic book in the last hundred years. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to see the mechanics of why the Harry Potter series entralls millions of people worldwide.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How Harry Cast His Spell: The Meaning Behind the Mania for J. K. Rowling's Bestselling Books, June 10, 2009

By 

RebelReader (U.S.A) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Harry Cast His Spell: The Meaning Behind the Mania for J. K. Rowling's Bestselling Books (Paperback)

Harry Potter has captured the imaginations of millions of children and adults from every walk of life. The series has possibly experienced more popularity than any other book of the last fifty years having sold millions of copies around the world. With this in mind many have asked "Why is Harry Potter is so insanely popular?" As a fan of the Harry Potter series I already knew the answer, but this book has wrought to light many of the Christian aspects of series which I over looked. How Harry Potter casts his spells is an interesting look in to the Christian aspects of the Harry Potter Book series.

Below is the Table of Contents taken from the book. I like the way the Author wrote an explanation of each chapter in such a informative and humorous way. Through this book the Author adds a touch of humor to his writing.

Acknowledgments Publisher's Preface Introduction

1: Magic, Fantasy, and Transcendence

The magic in Harry Potter is traditional literary spellwork that acts as a counterspell to the materialism of our times.

2: Cosmic White Hats and Black Hats

The Harry Potter Novels revolve around the central conflict of good and evil

3: The Hero's Journey

Harry's adventures take him through life, death and resurrection

4: The Alchemy of Spiritual Growth

The story of cycles are built on the stages of transformation

5: One Person, Two Natures

Doppelgangers point to the struggle of dual natures- and their resolution in the God-Man.

6:Don't Judge, Lest You Be Judged

Surprise endings suggest a remedy for the evils of prejudice

7: The Triumph of Love over Death

The mystery of death meets the ultimate answer

8: The Question of Identity

Harry defines himself through choices, change, and destiny

9: Evidence of Things Unseen

The symbols in Potterdom are powerful pointers to spiritual realities

10: Fun with Names

The character names are delightful puzzles with hidden spiritual meanings

11: The Purification of the Soul

Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

12: Dangerous Books and Edifying Books

Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

13: Despair and Delivery

Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban

14: Girded with Virtue

Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

15: Dark night of the Soul

Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and the the Order of the Phoenix

16: Baptism into a Sacrificial Death

Spiritual keys to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

17: Choosing to Believe

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as the stuggle with faith in story form

18: Christian Birth through Baptism

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as the alchemical adventures of a Christian Everyman

19: Victory Over Death

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as the Passion gospel of Christian Everyman

20: FAQs

The other big questions on the minds of Harry Potter reader's

Notes

My Personal Opinion

"How Harry Cast His Spell:The Meaning Behind the Mania for J. K. Rowling's Bestselling Books"

is an interesting read for any Christian fan of Harry Potter, this book shows that Christian symbolism is easily found in the Harry Potter series for those willing to search for it.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that will enhance your enjoyment of the HP series!, October 4, 2008

By 

Stacey (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: How Harry Cast His Spell: The Meaning Behind the Mania for J. K. Rowling's Bestselling Books (Paperback)

"How Harry Cast His Spell" by John Granger (Any relation to Hermione?) initially captures the reader's attention with the lovely cover. Inside, the beautiful font, wonderful graphics and page header designs tickle the eyes. This is a humorously written look at why the Harry Potter franchise is such a phenomenon. The author points out the Christian concepts that are prominent in the immensely popular boy wizard stories, which only seems to prove that you can find the good in something if you go looking for it. Sadly, I find that the same is true if you go looking for the bad.

I don't consider this a must read unless you're severely anti-Harry Potter, in which case, you probably wouldn't read the book anyway. However, I must applaud the author for the amount of thought he put into this book. His research and the conclusions he's drawn are fascinating. This takes Harry Potter to a whole new level of enjoyment for me, personally.