Who Is Harry Potter - Paperback

by Philip Mees (Translator), Frans Lutters (Author)

What can account for the unprecedented popularity of Joanne K. Rowling's Harry Potter books? Frans Lutters takes us through a journey if investigation, compassion and understanding by the end of the book. His insights tempt us to believe that Harry Potter is still alive on our world and that he accomplished a great deal in the archetypal battle between light and darkness, good and evil. Young people recognized this before grownups could decide whether they liked the books or not. Lutters uses his enormous understanding of classical literature to draw very fine analogies with other warriors of the spirit in history and sheds warm light on the transformative power of love that is the secret weapon of every classical hero we can find. Likening Harry Potter to Percival and drawing on his knowledge of the intense experience of recognition Joanne Rowling had on a train when she saw Harry Potter through a rainy train window and then knew she had to write about him, Lutters us lures us into pondering. This thought provoking book looks beyond the glitter of the movies, the paraphernalia, and the "hype" surrounding these fine works of story telling and invites readers to reconsider the real task of these stories.

Author Biography

Frans Lutters has been a Waldorf teacher in Holland since 1983. As a high school teacher he has watched the persistent popularity of the Harry Potter character, books, and movies for over twenty years not only in the United Staets but also in Holland and around the world. His natural enthusiasm about literature and its place in developing capacities in the young for discernment, morality, idealism and courage led him to a deeper pondering of this recent phenomenon. His books in English, "The Grail Mysteries and the Seven Liberal Arts," and "Exploration into the Destiny of the Waldorf School Movement," reflect his capacity for imagination and philosophy. His investigations bring new light to events in history and to the efficacy of Waldorf education.