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(More customer reviews)Whited's work is a thought-provoking collection of essays and critiques of J.K. Rowling's highly successful and popular, yet frequently criticized, Harry Potter series. Whited, along with a number of the contributing authors, address the overall questions of: (a) are the Harry Potter novels, marketed primarily to children to date but highly successful with adult readers as well, worthy of critical study and acclaim, (b) are they destined
to be classics or are they merely a passing popular phenomenon, and (c) is there any merit to charges by critics such as William Safire that the HP books are a waste of adult reading time? Not surprisingly, the conclusion seems to be "yes," "yes," and "no."
The books consists of 16 articles/essays by scholars in diverse fields. Many of the contributors take issue with the criticisms of Safire, Bloom and other critics that the series is not worth adult attention, and notes that as the characters age, the series
becomes even more complex and adult. Several of the contributors compare and contrast HP with various literary antecedents, but almost uniformly conclude that Rowling's works are fresh and worthwhile for children and adult readers.
Professor Mary Pharr views the series as a bildungsroman, a hero's journey and spends time examining the role each principal character plays in Harry's development (the Potters as the
foundation, the Dursleys as the counterpoint, Dumbledore as mentor and guardian, Sirius as the family tie and Ron and Hermione as friends). Professor Grimes makes an effective case for HP as a truly cross-generational series: Harry is a fairy tale prince to young readers, a "real boy" to adolescent fans and an archetypal hero to adult readers.
Farah Mendlesohn takes a close look at the structure of authority within the universe of the HP books, concluding that Rowling advocates a traditional and conservative hierarchial system that maintains the status quo. While this piece is without question the most critical of the HP series in Whited's book, it is thought-provoking and worthy of further discussion. In the opinion of this reviewer, though, many of Mendlesohn's arguments are undermined by her misinterpretations of the text or reliance on factual inaccuracies.
In evaluating gender issues in the HP series, Professor Eliza Dresang begins her critique of the treatment of gender in the HP series by tracing the various "Hermiones" of mythology and literature, concluding that all of Hermione Granger's literary antecedents are strong, intellectual and resilient individuals. Dresang notes that Hermione has played a decisive role in all the key events of each novel in the series and she sticks to her principles. Dresang believes Rowling has depicted a realistic view of gender that mirrors that of the current muggle world, though she reserves some criticism for Rowling's desciptive language as applied to the female characters.
Professor Philip Nel evaluates the "translation" of British English to American English in both HP and other books. He argues that in many cases, the *meaning* was changed and that the assertion by Scholastic's Levine (and confirmed by
Rowling) that the intent was to ensure that American children had the same reading experience as British children is flawed. Nel is particularly critical of context changes (bogey changed to booger), equivalent word changes (motorbike changed to motorcycle) and onomatopoetic word changes (splutter changed to sputter).
I found all of the essays to be immensely interesting and would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in examining a scholarly angle to the HP series. I should note that it probably isn't going to be interesting reading to younger fans, though interested parents or educators should certainly consider it. It will probably be most valuable to academics and adult fans with a strong interest in what scholars are saying about HP.
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The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon
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