Blurb and Back Cover of My New Book on Harry Potter (soon to be released)
December 12, 2011 at 12:41 am 3 comments
After sharing the cover for my new book, here’s the back cover and the blurb. A link to order the book will follow soon.
“Harry Potter has not only had many fans, but also many critics. Some of the criticism has been religiously motivated. But is Harry Potter really as un-Christian as these critics suggest?
Come and join Jacob Schriftman as he explores the world and worldview of J.K. Rowling’s Fantasy, drawing comparisons to Christian writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, as well as to explicitly non-Christian ones like Philip Pullman and H.G. Wells.
In the process of analysis, Schriftman deals both with literary and existential questions. Should Harry Potter be understood as a parody of our own society? How does Harry Potter treat serious issues? It is common for humans to ask, “Where do we come from? What can we know? What should we do? Do we have a purpose? And how do we approach death?” These questions are woven into Harry Potter, and some of the answers take a surprising turn.
A book that delights as much as it instructs, a challenge to fans and skeptics alike.”
Entry filed under: Books/Book Reviews, C. S. Lewis, Christianity (general), Harry Potter. Tags: C. S. Lewis, Christianity, H.G. Wells, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, Philip Pullman, Tolkien, worldview.
1.
John Anngeister | December 12, 2011 at 2:20 am
Congratulations. The rector of a church I once attended was a fan of Potter and may have used (or needed) some of your rationale – he even incorporated some of the themes in the Sunday school! This was not popular with a tiny minority but was very popular with the kids and I saw the potential for good.
But Jacob, did your comparisons of the Harry Potter stories with other books by both Christian and non-Christian authors lead to conclusions about what is and is not a Christian fantasy?
For example, did you find that Rowling is working in and with motives and outcomes that resemble those developed by Tolkien and Lewis but are opposed or different in some way to themes in Wells and Pullman? That would be substantial.
2.
jacobschriftman | December 12, 2011 at 3:49 am
Hi again John,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, I think Rowling is much closer to Lewis and Tolkien than to Wells and Pullman, particularly in the last book, “Deathly Hallows.”
3.
robstroud | December 12, 2011 at 4:55 am
Looks like a provocative book. I’m a huge fan of C.S. Lewis and am suspicious of Potter due to his author’s secular worldview (as reported in articles I’ve read). I was told by a Potter fan that the final story is more in tune with Christian sensitivities, but I suspect it will be some years before I have time to read the books. (And I try not to judge literature by its cinematic renditions.) Anyway, congrats on the publication of your book on the subject!