RE-READING HARRY POTTER

the long version

"This is the first extended, text-based analysis of the social and political implications of the Harry Potter phenomenon. The book's arguments are primarily based on close readings of the first four Harry Potter books and the first two films. This study does not assume that the phenomenon concerns children alone, or should be lightly dismissed as a matter of pure entertainment. The amount of money, media coverage and ideological unease involved indicates otherwise. The first part provides a survey of responses (of both general readers and critics) to the Harry Potter books. Some of the methodological decisions underlying this study itself are also explained here. The second part examines the presentation of certain themes, including gender, race and desire, in the Harry Potter books, with a view to understanding how these may impinge on the social and political concerns of our world."--BOOK JACKET.