"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) ( )

Finally finished slogging my way through this one. I felt the author had some interesting ideas and good knowledge to share; he just isn't a very good writer, and he desperately needs a competent editor. I found the writing to be redundant, full of obscure and confusing jargon, and a bit disorganized. Plus there were TONS of typos, grammatical errors, punctuation and formatting problems, etc. I think a better author could have made the points more clearly and concisely than Granger. I was an English major and I still found his literary discussions to be a bit pretentious and opaque.

Nevertheless, I learned some things that will help me enjoy my next reading of the Potter series even more. His theories about what would happen in the final book and what "really" happened in HBP were interesting, if most of them were borrowed from other sources, and there were a few times he got pretty close to the actual ending. It's wonderful to know, however, that Rowling was able to create a finale that no one predicted.

I have not seen or heard of much that has been published about HP since Deathly Hallows was published. I'd be interested to read something that studies the entire series rather than trying to make predictions. ( )

The subtitle of this book is “Five Keys for the Serious Reader” and the author isn’t kidding. Granger gives an in depth analysis of how Rowing laid out her saga in the first six books (Deathly Hallows was published shortly after this book was written) and the influences on her writing by identifying these five keys as tools for the reader:

1. Narrative Misdirection
2. Literary Alchemy
3. The Hero’s Journey
4. Postmodern Themes
5. Traditional Symbolism

Each key is thoroughly analyzed with specific references to occurrences in the books. I found his ideas interesting and often compelling in the areas of the three “keys” which I had recognized in my previous readings of the novels. I was especially intrigued with the two “keys” that were new ideas for me: Literary Alchemy and Postmodern Themes. The chapter on Literary Alchemy was challenging but definitely worth the effort to try to understand and I will be looking for this aspect as well as the Postmodern Themes when I reread the series this year. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a serious study of the Harry Potter series. ( )

Except for the first chapter, I found Granger's arguments unconvincing. There are equally valid explanations for all the phenomena he points out. ( )

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 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. ( )