John Granger

Most of the litcrit I've read about Harry Potter has been of the sort that makes me nod in agreement or realize that the author has explained something or made some connection that I almost saw myself. I don't say this to wave my own wand or anything; it's just that I'm trained in this close reading and reading for layers and symbols and junk and I've read the whole series umpty-dump times. I just mean it's hard to wow me with something about Harry. To interest me is easy; to impress me with show more the cohesion or thoroughness of an argument is slightly harder, but not much (assuming the work is good). But to wow me, to make me go, "OMG, how is this not a thing we are all talking about how how how?" is hard. Granger nearly did this to me with his discussion of literary alchemy in some of his previous books, but while that feels important and probably accurate, it also feels esoteric and, well, a little complicated. Not saying it doesn't sharply illuminate the books (it does), but it lacks that elegant, perfect simplicity that makes a theory about a text feel like a bolt from the blue. But he got me with this book and the theory herein, boy.

Here it is, in a nutshell: the HP series as a whole, and each book singly, operates as a cycle, with events paralleling each other in roughly an ABCDCBA structure. Each book has a central moment (often a chapter) around which the rest of the events of the book hinge, and in that moment, the book turns (this is the "D" in the formula) and proceeds back through the events and symbols in parallel to the beginning chapters. (I'll clarify here that each book has more than seven moments/events/chapters--I'm just giving you the idea with that "ABCDCBA".) So if you have seven chapters, chapter one parallels chapter seven, chapter two parallels chapter six, chapter three parallels chapter five, and chapter four is the hinge or turn. Granger demonstrates this with examples for each book, as well as for the series as a whole: Goblet is the turn, Stone parallels Hallows, Chamber parallels Prince, and Azkaban parallels Phoenix. Granger goes into all this in detail and discusses the power of this construction, its use in other literature, and why (beyond just: NEAT!) this is important. This is a structure I'm familiar with (I talked about it in my review of Cloud Atlas), but I did not pick up on it in HP. Anyone who's read HP even just once (and defo if multiple times) has noticed at least some of the foreshadowing. This theory is like foreshadowing to the nth, I'd say. It demonstrates not just that Rowling uses foreshadowing well, but that all her foreshadowed events come to pass in a pattern. It's completely fascinating. The next time I reread HP (after I finish my current reread), I'm going to read following the parallel chapters outlined in the charts Granger includes (the chapters aren't always exactly one-to-one; sometimes there are two chapters in the first half of the cycle to one in the second, and so on) to see if I really feel the theory holds water. I'll read HP1 first, first chapter, then last chapter, then second chapter, then penultimate chapter, and so on. Then HP7 in the same fashion, then HP2, then HP6, then HP3, then HP5, then HP4.

I recommend Granger's book to anyone interested in HP (though, unfortunately, again with the usual caveat lector for his stuff: there will be typos and the occasional actual error. smh) show less

A fascinating and fairly sophisticated look at the patterns in the Harry Potter books, covering narrative misdirection, literary alchemy, the hero's journey, postmodern themes, and traditional symbolism. While the whole book is interesting, the section on literary alchemy most fascinated me, probably because it was the subject about which I knew the least going into the text. Granger offers many predictions about both what will happen in HP7 and what we will find out in HP7 that actually show more happened in HP6 or earlier. The predictions are fun, but not nearly as interesting as the tools he uses to make them.

The content of Unlocking Harry Potter makes it well worth the time it takes to read (and possibly reread after HP7); however, I cannot recommend the book unconditionally. The text is extremely poorly proofread (missing words, grammatical errors, missing italics), and, in several instances, contains the kinds of factual errors that certainly should have been caught by the author or an editor (attributing Potter events to the wrong book, referring to Jane Austen as an Edwardian writer). Granger also frequently shortchanges a discussion by referring the reader to another work (often one he has written or edited). While there's certainly nothing wrong with referring readers to other books for an extended discussion of a point, Granger tends to do so instead of adequately and appropriately summarizing the material in the text at hand. It begins to smack of self-advertisement. While these flaws can sometimes be maddening, for the most part they do not inhibit understanding or enjoyment of Granger's theories and discussions. show less

I had mixed feelings about reading this book. My first reaction was "Harry Potter, YAY!!!!" but then I thought about all the books I studied in college and how scholarly analysis tends to take the fun out of reading. I couldn't stand it if that happened to Harry Potter. However, after listening to several episodes of MuggleNet's Alohomora! podcast and enjoying it immensely, I decided to risk it and read this book.

While a little bit dry in places (some of those sentences seriously went on for show more about a half a page), this book had a lot of fascinating insights on the books and gave me a lot to think about. Mostly, though, it just upped my respect and admiration for J.K. Rowling. She is brilliant. Yes, sometimes fans put things in the books that aren't supposed to be there, but there are so many things that Jo planned—from the names to the complex plots to the Christian allegories—that couldn't have possibly been an accident. It's no wonder I can keep reading the books over and over again without getting bored—in addition to being a wildly entertaining series, Harry Potter is full of delightful nuggets and connections to all sorts of things. show less

This book is setup like a textbook to teach the reader how to interpret the hidden meanings that J K Rowlings inserts cleverly into all the Harry Potter books. 5 keys are used for the explanation.
After being tutored in narrative misdirection, the reader is sent to Alchemy 101 where you learn about the cycles of the series, the imagery, and the themes that carry through all the books. Finishing this course, next you move on the Hermione's favorite - Arithmancy.
Here the reader is educated in show more the balances that are needed with 4 being magical.
Harmony is needed in the 4 Houses at Hogwarts, 4 Horcruxes have to be found and destroyed by Harry, and 4 magical species (wizard, elf, goblin and centaur all represented in the Fountain of Magical Brethren destroyed in Order of the Phoenix) need to be united.
The reader is also taught that Alchemical works are in three stages - Black, White and Red. The black stage was highlighted in Rowlings' literary works by the death of Sirius Black. The white stage shows the purification of the characters and culminates with the end of Albus (white in Latin) Dumbledore. Are we then to expect danger for Rubeus (red) Hagrid in Book7?
Afterward we learn that Harry and Voldemort are twin opposites.
Harry has his Gryffindor spirit and the Slytherin horcrux scar while Voldemort is the Heir of Slytherin and bodily a Gryffindor because of the blood used at his rebirthing. Harry is the white side being pure of heart while Voldemort is the black side living in his own hell.
We are then reminded of the "hero's journey" in each book how Harry escapes #4 Privet Drive and his task to accomplish is defined.
Prejudice also is addressed when the author reminds the reader of the differences that are brought to the forefront in each book. We are reminded of the different treatments received by PureBloods(those that are poor vs. rich), half Bloods, and Muggle Born wizards as well as the differences in the magical species (wizard vs. elf, goblin and centaurs).
The five keys are then used to created SWAGS (Scientific Wise Ass Guess) for what will happen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
All in all, this was a very enlightening book and of all the books I have read on understanding the phenomenon and the hidden imagery, this was the best. show less