Product Description

As the British state begins to unravel, and journalists compete to pronounce on the death of Britain, a schoolboy from suburban Surrey who lives for most of the year in a semi-parallel universe becomes the most popular figure in contemporary world literature. Now read on ...everyone else does ...Harry Potter is an orphan, oppressed and abused by the adults around him, who retreats into a fantasy world. But ironically, as Andrew Blake makes clear, J.K. Rowling rescues her character through the reinvention of that apex of class privilege, the English public school, a literary conceit that problematises Harry Potter's status as a role model and raises important social questions about the state of Blair's Britain. Andrew Blake's examination of the Harry Potter phenomenon the literary equivalent of fast food also raises serious questions about the condition of the publishing industry, and filmmaking, and the ways in which the Potter consumer campaign has changed our ideas about literature and reading. Blake reflects on the ways in which these connections act as a template for Harry Potter's extraordinary international success. Capitalism is, as the truism has it, global; certainly the much-translated Harry has repeated his Bloomsbury trick for child-consumer capitalism the world over. The Harry Potter industry provides the goods for all those generations brought together through the act of consumption. The books are packaged for both adults and kids, and they are supplemented by objects more squarely aimed at children. Everything that could be taken from the books and films is available in Muggle-friendly form ...and there are plenty of websites and in-store promotional posters to tell you all about it, and encourage you to save, bully your parents or otherwise spend, spend, spend. Thus the new generation becomes the new consumer, and Harry Potter, having done his bit for the future of publishing, plays another significant part in the development of consumer capitalism. Magic. No wonder so many adults identify with him...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #641076 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 118 pages

About the Author
Andrew Blake has taught cultural studies in London and Winchester, where he is currently Head of Cultural Studies at King Alfred's College. He has written and edited books on music, sport and fiction, and he reviews regularly for the Independent. His most recent book is Salman Rushdie: A Beginner's Guide.

Customer Reviews

Why do we love Harry so much?
From the book's cynical cover, you might get the impression that this is going to be one of those anti-Harry tracts from some loony fundamentalist, but it's nothing of the sort. It's actually a very astute dissection of the times we live in and why we have rushed to embrace the Harry Potter phenomenon. It is very funny and refers to detail in J.K. Rowling's books that only a true fan would appreciate. I get the impression that Andrew Blake perhaps started out wanting to be more savage but found himself seduced by the magic (as did everyone else!) As it stands, the book is both an attempt to explain Rowling's gift as an alchemist, turning a lot of relatively familiar ingredients into pure gold, and a portrait of Britain's place in the world today. It's an ideal gift for those people you VERY occasionally meet who say 'Harry Potter? I just don't get it...'

Very political in places but otherwise interesting
Although I would say the book was not particularily good value for money as it is only 115 pages it is however relevant if you are interested in the more commercial side of Harry Potter. The author does seem to have a lot of political issues, that I didnt really find particularily relevant or interesting. But his discussion on other popular culture in relation to Harry Potter is quite interesting. The book is mainly about his views on Harry Potter and why he thinks this character in particular has become so popular. Whilst it would be quite intersting to some, I think there are probably better researched insights into the success of Harry Potter than this one and the fact that it is incredibly overpriced does not work in the books favour.