Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Inside Prince Caspian: Book Review


Devin Brown has done it again! Probably to tie in with the cinema launch of Inside Narnia, Brown released his Inside Narnia book, and sometime last year, the commentary on the sequel was published, Inside Prince Caspian. Yes, I know that according to the official order, TLTWATW is book 2, and Prince Caspian is book 4, but they are books 1 and 2 according to the original order of writing and publication.

Brown is a serious scholar who has devoted much of his academic life to the study of CS Lewis and his writings, and this shines through the latest volume. Each chapter in his book corresponds to the original chapters, and he highlights links to other works by Lewis, similarities of theme with JRR Tolkein (a close friend of CS Lewis), and wider links and insights to the Christian life and other authors.

Many allusions can be missed by the casual reader, and these are helpfully highlighted and discussed. The key themes arising from the book are also discussed at length, and all in all, it was an interesting book to read.

The Narnia stories are magical in and of themselves, but Brown's commentaries add some extra sparkle, so that future re-readings of the stories will shine even brighter.

1 comment :

  1. Hello Gary,

    A friend of mine who watches such things told me about your notice of my book. Thank you for your kind and gracious words.

    I appreciate your passion for spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete