- I'm not 100% sure what a book review looks like, and it's been a while since I wrote a book report for school.
- I think book reviews are subjective to the reviewers personal, and natural, propensities, opinions, and beliefs.
- I am going to try and be objective.
- I am open to your thoughts and constructive criticism regarding my book reviews, and suggestions on how to be a better reviewer.
The Chronicles of Narnia by the author C. S. Lewis
There are seven (7) books in this series, and that number may not be a coincidence though I can't say for certain. The books are titled:
- The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
- Prince Caspian
- The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader"
- The Horse and His Boy
- The Magician's Nephew
- The Last Battle
Jason's personal Chronicles of Narnia set, inherited from his Dad.
The author, C. S. Lewis, is a very well-known author and theologian, especially in the Christian/religious circles. I would guess that the Chronicles of Narnia are some of his most famous and widely read books, although he has other book titles that are probably just as familiar. The Screwtape Letters, and Mere Christianity, are two of his books that I have often heard and seen. I thought that this series was Lewis' only books directed towards kids, but I was wrong. It appears that he authored a few other books suitable for kids. And by kids, I would say ages 8 and older.
I found it interesting to learn that while Lewis is considered to be one of the great Christian authors of the 20th century, he was an atheist for a fair portion of his life. Based on what I read on the official C. S. Lewis website (cslewis.com), he was born into a Christian family, turned from Christianity at age 13, and finally became a converted Christian 20 years later. Also, not all of Lewis' theological views are considered accurate by every Christian. But, I do think that he provides a lot of deep, not-so-common fodder regarding Christ, and spirituality, for people to consider. Although I have not read any of Lewis' other books, I have heard (and just from listening to a few excerpts from some of his books, I would concur) that his writings are sometimes so "deep" that it can be hard to comprehend, follow, or make sense. I believe he was a very intelligent man, and that it shows in his thoughts and writings, including the Chronicles of Narnia.
In regards to the Chronicles of Narnia book series, I would categorize them as fantasy fiction. I also found the series to be a fairly easy read, although the various underlying/hidden aspects of the storyline have the potential to be quite deep. Throughout most of the books, there are very little real life settings used. I think most of the books start, and end, in real life which is set in London, England, sometime in the 1800's. But, the bulk of each book is fantasy. Within the story, there is no romantic aspect outside of the rare mention of a husband and wife. The mention of family groups are included in the line of characters a few times. There is also what could be perceived as an element of magic intertwined into the story, and the idea of magic is even used a few times. But, for the most part, I would just qualify it as fantasy.
The first book, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, starts the series with 4 children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy) staying with a strange Professor while their parents are away. One of the children accidentally discovers what is later deemed a "magic wardrobe," and eventually all 4 children journey through the wardrobe to the land of Narnia. It is here that all is fantasy, except for the 4 children, and you meet all kinds of creatures- some strange, and some pretty normal. Lewis seems to always provide a very detailed description of things, be it a scene, an animal, a person, an event, etc. In this book you'll follow the children together, and individually, as they make both good and bad choices in the land of Narnia, and join them as each choice unfolds into different and various adventures, and journeys, as a result. In the end, some very relevant (even for today) lessons are learned, and the children return back through the wardrobe to real life in England.
The second book, Prince Caspian, finds the same 4 children a year later in a train station. And something unknown to them pulls them back into Narnia where a lot more time has passed than just a year. Early on in the book, they meet a Dwarf which causes the storyline to break focus from the children and turn to a new character. A few chapters are used to lay the groundwork, which ends up being important, for this new character whom the children eventually meet. The children's story is picked back up again, and, just as in the previous book, you continue to follow them in their journeys, adventures, and the lessons learned which are brought about by the choices they make. I should just go ahead and say that in every book, there are sword fights, battles, good vs. evil, etc., and the children are involved in those a lot. However, since time passes much more swiftly in Narnia, most of the time the children age significantly during their time there. When they return to England, as they do at the end of this book, very little real time has passed at all and they are still children. It is at the end of this book that 2 of the children are told that they will not return to Narnia again.
In book three, The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader", you are introduced to the children's cousin, Eustace. You learn a little background on Eustace before he is un-suspectingly whisked away to Narnia with Edmund and Lucy. They meet up with the Prince Caspian from book 2, and this time the majority of the story develops aboard the ship, the "Dawn Treader." Prince Caspian is on a mission to find 7 men, friends of his fathers, who have been missing. One of the shipmates wants to go even further in hopes of finding the end of the world, basically. (You have to read the story!) Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace are along for the ride, as well as playing their part in the story, and you once again see the relevant lessons learned by their actions and choices, both good and bad.
Book four, The Silver Chair, introduces a new character, Jill, who joins Eustace on this next adventure into Narnia. These two characters don't quite know why they are in Narnia, nor fully understand the fantasy world, thus making their journey a bit more treacherous at times. They are searching for someone, and wind up in a dark, underground world that they know nothing about. In the end, they do succeed with their "mission," but have learned some valuable lessons along the way. For myself, this book was a little bit harder to follow and become "immersed" in. It took a while to understand how the storyline fit with the previous books, and the overall "feel" of the story was a bit more foreboding. I did feel that the life lessons learned through the characters choices or actions, and the subsequent repercussions or rewards, were a bit more obvious in this book.
The Horse and His Boy, book five, is the first book that does not incorporate any of the real children into the storyline. Instead, it introduces you to new fantasy characters that play an important role in the grand scheme of things. The two main characters are Shasta, a boy, and Aravis, a girl, who have differing backgrounds, and meet part-way through the story. These two characters initially don't want to deal with each other, and would have preferred to continue on their separate journeys. But, fate kept shoving them together until they finally realized that they needed each other to succeed, though not in a romance, love-is-in-the-air way. Shasta and Aravis do complete the very important, though unknown-to-them, role that they played, but not without several harrowing experiences! Even though they are characters from the fantasy world, the same "theme" of making choices, reaping the consequences or benefits, and learning lessons is still prevalent.
In the sixth book, The Magician's Nephew, things get a little strange. Chronologically, this would be the very first book in the series, but it was authored and published after the previous five books. So the reader kind of goes back in time, and finally learns the back-story that brought about the entire series. Another strange element is that there seems to be a bit more "magic" involved in this part of the storyline, and it's not all good "magic." Once again, you are introduced to new characters, Digory and Polly, who are children living in England. There is no "magic wardrobe," but there are "magic rings" and a rumored-to-be-crazy uncle. There is a journey to Narnia, but also to other strange fantasy lands, and the characters (and myself as the reader) don't always know what exactly is going on. Digory and Polly do have a mission to accomplish in this book, and it is filled with choices between good and bad. For myself, it was easy to see how each characters true heart ultimately influenced their actions and choices, and how it affected them in the long-term.
The seventh and final book, The Last Battle, completes the reader's journeys to and from Narnia. Two new characters are introduced: Shift and Puzzle. You'll have to read the book to learn how they fit into the story. Jill and Eustace, from book five, do return to Narnia to complete a mission once again. I don't feel like I can expound to much on the storyline without giving away the ending. I will say that I thought this book contained a lot more allegories throughout than the previous books. I don't think there is very much "magic" in this part of the story, but it does contain battles, journeys, and some of the other typical events that have happened in previous books. Since I don't want to give away the ending, I will end this part by saying that it did not end like I originally was expecting, and that the last several chapters gave me a lot of fodder for thought.
A bit of a side-note about the entire series: Though C. S. Lewis wrote these books after he became a Christian, I don't believe there is ever any specific mention of God and Christianity in the stories. However, I think that anyone with even a little bit of knowledge of the Gospel Story should soon pick up on the allegorical aspect in this storyline. I had never read this series before, even though it is a classic, and I wondered, to what extent do the younger readers realize what the story is actually about? And how much does it prick their minds causing them to see themselves in the story- which character do they resemble, and does it cause them to question and think about the ultimate choice they have? I may be wrong here but, potentially the older you are when you read the books, the more you may pick up on the various caveats throughout the story dealing with grace, salvation, sin, faith, heaven, hell, etc.
In summary, I would actually recommend this series for anyone say, 8 and older. Depending on your child, some of the word visuals could instill some nightmarish scenes. And there are battles, sword fights, killings, and bloodshed, though Lewis doesn't un-necessarily expound on those scenes. I found it to be a fairly easy read, even though there were sections that were hard to follow. It does give a lot of fodder for thought, if you allow it, and that element may be where the series can get deep and take some time to process. I do recommend that you read the books in the order they were written, and not try to read book six as a prequel to the rest of the series. And if you are an adult and have never read the books, and don't like fantasy/magic, please give it a try; I think you might be surprised with this series.
One final note: I think I should start to do reviews on individual books, instead of an entire series! As such, it may interest you to know that for my May 1st book review, I will be giving that book away to one lucky reader! Stay tuned!
The first book, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, starts the series with 4 children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy) staying with a strange Professor while their parents are away. One of the children accidentally discovers what is later deemed a "magic wardrobe," and eventually all 4 children journey through the wardrobe to the land of Narnia. It is here that all is fantasy, except for the 4 children, and you meet all kinds of creatures- some strange, and some pretty normal. Lewis seems to always provide a very detailed description of things, be it a scene, an animal, a person, an event, etc. In this book you'll follow the children together, and individually, as they make both good and bad choices in the land of Narnia, and join them as each choice unfolds into different and various adventures, and journeys, as a result. In the end, some very relevant (even for today) lessons are learned, and the children return back through the wardrobe to real life in England.
The second book, Prince Caspian, finds the same 4 children a year later in a train station. And something unknown to them pulls them back into Narnia where a lot more time has passed than just a year. Early on in the book, they meet a Dwarf which causes the storyline to break focus from the children and turn to a new character. A few chapters are used to lay the groundwork, which ends up being important, for this new character whom the children eventually meet. The children's story is picked back up again, and, just as in the previous book, you continue to follow them in their journeys, adventures, and the lessons learned which are brought about by the choices they make. I should just go ahead and say that in every book, there are sword fights, battles, good vs. evil, etc., and the children are involved in those a lot. However, since time passes much more swiftly in Narnia, most of the time the children age significantly during their time there. When they return to England, as they do at the end of this book, very little real time has passed at all and they are still children. It is at the end of this book that 2 of the children are told that they will not return to Narnia again.
In book three, The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader", you are introduced to the children's cousin, Eustace. You learn a little background on Eustace before he is un-suspectingly whisked away to Narnia with Edmund and Lucy. They meet up with the Prince Caspian from book 2, and this time the majority of the story develops aboard the ship, the "Dawn Treader." Prince Caspian is on a mission to find 7 men, friends of his fathers, who have been missing. One of the shipmates wants to go even further in hopes of finding the end of the world, basically. (You have to read the story!) Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace are along for the ride, as well as playing their part in the story, and you once again see the relevant lessons learned by their actions and choices, both good and bad.
Book four, The Silver Chair, introduces a new character, Jill, who joins Eustace on this next adventure into Narnia. These two characters don't quite know why they are in Narnia, nor fully understand the fantasy world, thus making their journey a bit more treacherous at times. They are searching for someone, and wind up in a dark, underground world that they know nothing about. In the end, they do succeed with their "mission," but have learned some valuable lessons along the way. For myself, this book was a little bit harder to follow and become "immersed" in. It took a while to understand how the storyline fit with the previous books, and the overall "feel" of the story was a bit more foreboding. I did feel that the life lessons learned through the characters choices or actions, and the subsequent repercussions or rewards, were a bit more obvious in this book.
The Horse and His Boy, book five, is the first book that does not incorporate any of the real children into the storyline. Instead, it introduces you to new fantasy characters that play an important role in the grand scheme of things. The two main characters are Shasta, a boy, and Aravis, a girl, who have differing backgrounds, and meet part-way through the story. These two characters initially don't want to deal with each other, and would have preferred to continue on their separate journeys. But, fate kept shoving them together until they finally realized that they needed each other to succeed, though not in a romance, love-is-in-the-air way. Shasta and Aravis do complete the very important, though unknown-to-them, role that they played, but not without several harrowing experiences! Even though they are characters from the fantasy world, the same "theme" of making choices, reaping the consequences or benefits, and learning lessons is still prevalent.
In the sixth book, The Magician's Nephew, things get a little strange. Chronologically, this would be the very first book in the series, but it was authored and published after the previous five books. So the reader kind of goes back in time, and finally learns the back-story that brought about the entire series. Another strange element is that there seems to be a bit more "magic" involved in this part of the storyline, and it's not all good "magic." Once again, you are introduced to new characters, Digory and Polly, who are children living in England. There is no "magic wardrobe," but there are "magic rings" and a rumored-to-be-crazy uncle. There is a journey to Narnia, but also to other strange fantasy lands, and the characters (and myself as the reader) don't always know what exactly is going on. Digory and Polly do have a mission to accomplish in this book, and it is filled with choices between good and bad. For myself, it was easy to see how each characters true heart ultimately influenced their actions and choices, and how it affected them in the long-term.
The seventh and final book, The Last Battle, completes the reader's journeys to and from Narnia. Two new characters are introduced: Shift and Puzzle. You'll have to read the book to learn how they fit into the story. Jill and Eustace, from book five, do return to Narnia to complete a mission once again. I don't feel like I can expound to much on the storyline without giving away the ending. I will say that I thought this book contained a lot more allegories throughout than the previous books. I don't think there is very much "magic" in this part of the story, but it does contain battles, journeys, and some of the other typical events that have happened in previous books. Since I don't want to give away the ending, I will end this part by saying that it did not end like I originally was expecting, and that the last several chapters gave me a lot of fodder for thought.
A bit of a side-note about the entire series: Though C. S. Lewis wrote these books after he became a Christian, I don't believe there is ever any specific mention of God and Christianity in the stories. However, I think that anyone with even a little bit of knowledge of the Gospel Story should soon pick up on the allegorical aspect in this storyline. I had never read this series before, even though it is a classic, and I wondered, to what extent do the younger readers realize what the story is actually about? And how much does it prick their minds causing them to see themselves in the story- which character do they resemble, and does it cause them to question and think about the ultimate choice they have? I may be wrong here but, potentially the older you are when you read the books, the more you may pick up on the various caveats throughout the story dealing with grace, salvation, sin, faith, heaven, hell, etc.
In summary, I would actually recommend this series for anyone say, 8 and older. Depending on your child, some of the word visuals could instill some nightmarish scenes. And there are battles, sword fights, killings, and bloodshed, though Lewis doesn't un-necessarily expound on those scenes. I found it to be a fairly easy read, even though there were sections that were hard to follow. It does give a lot of fodder for thought, if you allow it, and that element may be where the series can get deep and take some time to process. I do recommend that you read the books in the order they were written, and not try to read book six as a prequel to the rest of the series. And if you are an adult and have never read the books, and don't like fantasy/magic, please give it a try; I think you might be surprised with this series.
One final note: I think I should start to do reviews on individual books, instead of an entire series! As such, it may interest you to know that for my May 1st book review, I will be giving that book away to one lucky reader! Stay tuned!
You would really enjoy the Radio Theater version of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe. My girls looooove it, along with a very well done illustrated book of TLWW. The allegories are so much easier to pick up, I think, when hearing it. It truly is a remarkably beautiful illustration of Jesus winning the war over sin and death, and giving his own life for the undeserving. My girls even picked up on it by listening to it. It makes for some wonderful discussion. From what I have gathered from my very trust-worthy friends, if you are familiar with fantasaical reading, this series can be quite thrilling. When I finally confessed that I nor my girls were familiar with fantasy, she recommended the illustrated book and CDs. I really love those and will probably read TLWW original now, at some point.
ReplyDeleteWhen Pumpkin starts listening to radio theater type things, I'll have to look this up! I knew there were videos, but not audio versions. And, I would highly recommend reading the entire series- not just TLWW. Let me know if you ever do!
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