In a recent review, I noted that my husband has recently reignited his passion for reading. Following our joint reading of Michael Crichton's Timeline earlier this month, we embarked on a journey through C.S. Lewis's iconic Narnia series. Although I've traditionally been the only reviewer for A Book A Week, I thought it'd be enjoyable to have Johnathan share his own thoughts and post a review. Enjoy!
In 2014, I earned a B.A. in History. This could go without saying, but I have read my fair share of books. So much so that for the better part of the last decade, the idea of reading anything seemed like a massive chore rather than something I would want to do for pleasure. While my husband has written for this blog for well over 10 years now, I have always thought, "How fun it would be to add my own contribution to this space?" I only needed the right inspiration. With a recent re-watch of Disney's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, I found myself surprised at how much I loved the story and decided it was time to read the original novel by C.S. Lewis.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe follows four siblings through a fantastical journey that takes them from the WWII-era United Kingdom to a land of magic and danger hidden in the back of an old wardrobe. The grave stakes that consumed much of the human world at this time were all too familiar in this land called Narnia, where an evil witch had been cruelly inflicting her will for a century. The four siblings are empathetic to the plight of the Narnians, but they do not have the knowledge or experience to fight against such a powerful foe. That is, until the arrival of Aslan, an all-knowing, omnipotent "king" of kings of Narnia . . . who also happens to be a lion. Aslan's appearance is his first since the witch took control of Narnia, and he is a beacon of hope for all who oppose her. As events unfold and consequences created by sibling rivalries emerge, the conflict comes to a head and sets the stage for a clash of beastly proportions: lion vs. witch. Good vs. evil.
Like many fellow millennials, my introduction to this story began with the movie version. In reading the novel, I was surprised to see how faithful the movie was to the original plot. Some scenes are even word-for-word reenactments. Some pieces of the plot were more fleshed out in the movie, and in hindsight, this adds to the story rather than takes away--specifically, the final battle. The novel is as charming and fun as I hoped, as any good child's story should be. One of my favorite aspects of the novel is that C.S. Lewis leaves much to the reader's imagination to interpret the mechanism of plot elements, like how the wardrobe leads to Narnia. It's never revealed how it works. The reader just knows that it does. I often have trouble following the complex logic of world-building that occurs in other fantasy novels. This simplistic approach of C.S. Lewis is refreshing and, to be cliche, magical. All said and done, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a delightful read, and I encourage anyone who thinks they might be interested to give the novel a chance.
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Welcome, Johnathan! So happy to see you and Ethan reading together. I read this series as a kid (and watched the cartoon movie on PBS - it's good, you should see it). This story hits in such a different way when viewed though my adult eyes. I agree that this is a magical book that has stayed with me for many, many years.
ReplyDeleteHi Johnathan! I'm glad you found your way back to reading for pleasure. I hope we'll get to see your reviews on the blog more often 🙂 (I'm not saying Ethan should take a hiatus LOL).
ReplyDelete"One of my favorite aspects of the novel is that C.S. Lewis leaves much to the reader's imagination to interpret the mechanism of plot elements, like how the wardrobe leads to Narnia."
I agree that sometimes too much detail can kill a story - magic is magic for a reason. Not everything needs to be spelled out or explained.
I read this book as a child...before the movie ever came out...and loved Lucy, and Aslan, and the whole world of Narnia. It and the other Narnia books are ones I read over and over growing up. Great review of this magical read. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words, everyone! Johnathan is already working on his next review, so he'll be featured here again soon!
ReplyDeleteWelcome Johnathan! I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a child back in the 70's/80's so I didn't remember much by the time the movie was released. When I decided to pick up the series again as an adult I found the allegorical aspects were too much for my taste, but the movie adaptation is one I can watch again and again.
ReplyDeleteI read the books before the movie. It was in my reading everything i could when I was 12 phase
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