Ethics and Form in Fantasy Literature

Ethics and Form in Fantasy Literature: Tolkien, Rowling and Meyer by Lykke Guanio-Uluru examines formal and ethical aspects of The Lord of the Rings , Harry Potter and the Twilight series in order to discover what best-selling fantasy texts can tell us about the values of contemporary Western culture.

“Guanio–Uluru does a fine job of exploring her topic in the works of her three chosen authors. The book is particularly strong in describing and discussing the plots and characters of The Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series. Guanio–Uluru’s book would be appropriate for undergraduate and advanced high school literature students or metropolitan libraries, and I also think it would be very good for book discussion groups.” (Phillip Fitzsimmons, Mythlore, Vol. 40 (2), 2022)

“This review has barely skimmed the staggering range of ethical considerations advanced with extraordinary care and detail by Guanio-Uluru in this valuable book ... . She has shown that the relationship between ethics and form exhibits astonishing interpretive complexity, in a splendid book that will amply repay many rereadings.” (Claudia Mills, Children Literature Association Quarterly, Vol. 41 (3), Fall, 2016)

“In terms of the amount of research and coherence of the focus, the book is very good. Its attempt to conceptualize and contrast the value systems of the three long narratives (the three series of novels, actually) on the basis of the relationship of theme and structure and in reference to the effect that form may have of the reader is brave, and to a large extent successful. Since the books are so popular, the question of what they represent as good and as evil is important. In a sense, the book traces a petite histoire of the best-read fantasy-literature series and shows what it is in these works that affect readers in certain ways. The book also brings contemporary narratological approaches to bear on the new issues that come up in our digital age.” (Professor Leona Toker, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)

Lykke Guanio-Uluru is Assistant Professor of Literature at Bergen University College, Norway, and has taught MA courses in Fantasy Literature and Literary Theory at the University of Oslo, Norway. Professional affiliations include the Nordic Network of Narrative Studies, the Ethics Programme at UiO, and DiGRA.