Harry Potter & Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds
by Travis Prinzi
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Book Summary Information
Author: Travis PrinziEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-12-10
ISBN: 0982238517
Number of pages: 332
Publisher: Zossima Press
Book Reviews of Harry Potter & Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds
Book Review: Literary and Accessible
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Summary of Harry Potter & Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds
"What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality." Those words, written by Plutarch and quoted by J.K. Rowling in her 2008 Harvard commencement speech, sum up both the Harry Potter series and Travis Prinzi's analysis of the best-selling books in Harry Potter & Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds. Great imaginative literature places the readers between two worlds - the story world and the world of daily life - and challenges readers to imagine and to act for a better world. Starting with Harry Potter's great themes, Harry Potter & Imagination takes readers on a journey through the transformative power of those themes for both the individual and for culture by placing Rowling's series in its literary, historical, and cultural contexts. Prinzi explores how fairy stories in general, and Harry Potter in specific, are not merely tales that are read to "escape from the real world," but stories with the power to transform by teaching us to imagine better. . - .[Endorsement]: . - . "Harry Potter & Imagination offers a challenging and rewarding tour of the inspirations for and meanings behind J.K. Rowling's lauded series. Travis Prinzi ably explores how the Harry Potter books satisfy fundamental human yearnings, utilize mythological archetypes, and embody their author's social vision. From Arthurian romance and Lovecraftian horror to postmodernism and political theory, Prinzi provides new insights into the Harry Potter phenomenon. Harry Potter & Imagination will not only fascinate and entertain readers, but will also convince them that fairy tales matter." [Dr. Amy H. Sturgis, editor of Past Watchful Dragons] - . - [Endorsement]: . - . "There is no more insightful commenter on the Harry Potter novels than Travis Prinzi - and Harry Potter & Imagination is an ideal showcase for his original thinking and lucid writing. This trail-blazing guidebook into the world of Harry Potter - showing the imaginative way between two worlds - is a must read." [John Granger, author of The Deathly Hallows Lectures and other books]Children's Books
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