Book Review: The Lion's World

If you've been following the blog for any length of time, you'll know that I've long admired the Chronicles of Narnia from the pen of CS Lewis. Most years since childhood I've read them, and now I have a listen to the full, unabridged audiobooks on my iPod too. There are always new things to discover, as well as familiar things to rediscover and enjoy all over again. I also like to read lots of books about the Narnia tales, and recently I spotted that the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams' book was on special offer on Kindle. It's been read, the last book of this year, so here (after a flurry of book reviews in the past couple of days) are my thoughts on The Lion's World: A Journey into the Heart of Narnia.

Williams states early on that he hadn't recognised the value of Narnia in his youth: 'Discovering the books over again as a student, I realised that what I had not registered was the wit of the actual writing and the sheer psychological penetration of so much of the character drawing.' (Loc 64-65). In that little quote, there lies the key to what lies ahead in the book - a focus on psychology and such things. For quite a bit of the book, I wasn't sure what he was writing about, plunging deep into things I wasn't aware of nor really concerned with. Contained within are a survey of Williams' thoughts on Lewis' thought, not just in the Narnia books, but in virtually all of his writings, and a good deal besides - Shakespeare, Lewis' contemporaries, and even (surprisingly!) The Muppets!

It's highly theological in places, although not the theology I would warm to - for example, his conception of hell seems to be very far from what would be orthodox. At times, it's the choices that we make ourselves; our refusal to come to Aslan; or the like, rather than judicial punishment. So, for example, 'But, as The Great Divorce repeatedly insists, the only decision to be a stranger to heaven is ours.' (p.88) Or, later, 'The determination to protect the self at all costs leads to a denial of reality, and that denial is basically what hell means, however you dress it up.' (p.102)

Williams surveys the criticisms of the Narnia books - on the grounds of sexism, racism, and violence, but successfully argues that the books are of their time, and follow the literary genre of medieval chivalry adventure tales. In the chapter, however, he makes a little mistake on one instance speaking of Edward when he plainly means Edmund. (p.36)

He also looks at the topics of Aslan, the self, and the meaning of the end. There were some interesting points, some useful ideas, but all in all, I found this a disappointing book. It was visiting a familiar place, but with a tour guide speaking in Double Dutch, only bringing confusion rather than clarity. The former Archbishop is obviously an intelligent man, but his book wasn't one that I would rush to read again. I'll stick to reading the originals and discovering Aslan for myself.

The Lion's World is available from Amazonand for Kindle.

Book Review: Inside The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I've previously blogged about Devin Brown's first two inside guides to Narnia and Prince Caspian, and once again, he's on top form as he dissects CS Lewis' third Chronicle of Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. As with the earlier books, Brown follows the chapters of the book through, pointing out interesting links to other CS Lewis writings, possible sources and inspirations, as well as drawing out the meaning of the text and applying it to the heart of the listener.

The Chronicles of Narnia are, of course, primarily childrens' stories, but many adults enjoy the stories, or can remember them from childhood. On reading this series of books, you'll be reminded of the stories, and find much more to enjoy the next time you return to the originals! It is obvious that, because the Chronicles are 'rich with meaning', Brown has worked hard to discover and explain the layers of meaning in an accessible and memorable format.

Consider some of these great lines:

'Like the White Witch and Miraz before him, Eustace is unable to see any flaws in himself.' (p. 28)

'A tyrant's only version of happiness... requires that he or she take happiness away from others.' (p. 53)

'Like all who share his spiritual blindness, the first lesson Eustace has to learn is that he has lessons to learn.' (p. 55)

'We are reminded that Edmund does know about the pain of sin and, even more, about the pleasure of repentance.' (p. 110)

These are just a sampling of some of the great ways we're led through the voyage, finding the lords, encountering dragons, stars, and coming to the end of the world and glimpsing Aslan's country. If you haven't picked up the Narnia stories in years, read them, and then Brown's commentaries; if you already love Narnia and Aslan, you'll love them more as a result of this book.

Prince Caspian: The Movie

Astute readers may have noticed a common thread running through my recent posts. The film was actually the reason why I re-read CS Lewis' Prince Caspian.

Following the success of the Disney and Walden Media's movie version of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the sequel was released in cinemas last summer. As you might recall, last summer was exceptionally busy, what with the exams, ordination, new jobs, new house, wedding and all that. We had hoped to see Prince Caspian while on honeymoon in Killarney, but it had finished showing a couple of days before.

I was destined to a patient wait for the DVD release. When it was released, it was consistently at £15.38 or so in Asda, and the other retailers were similarly high. Right through Christmas and afterwards, including the clearout sale at Zavvi, it was still too expensive. I was playing the waiting game for when it would be more justifiable.

Eventually, I found it on Play.com for £5, and it was ordered and dispatched. But then I had to wait until I had read the book, and Inside Prince Caspian too. The time had come, the DVD was to be watched, and... I didn't like it.

In fact, I didn't like it so much that I couldn't even watch it the whole way through. I lost interest, as it wasn't telling the story of Prince Caspian. In an attempt to make the film more dramatic than the book, the first thing we see is the birth of the heir of Miraz, and Caspian fleeing for his life.

Rather than being on a bench at a country train station (remembering that this is still during the Second World War), the four Pevensie children leave for Narnia in an underground tube station which is crowded with children, just after Peter has had a fight with another schoolboy.

Rather than the story being about the children's journey to Caspian, that is all completed very quickly, and the one-on-one duel between Peter and Miraz is replaced with an all-out storming the castle battle scene which is certainly not in the book!

I do think it's great that the Narnia stories are being brought alive through the movie world, I just wish they would stick to the stories themselves, rather than creating whole new stories which while more dramatic, don't quite fit with the image of Caspian's army as being unable to fight against the might of Miraz.

Some time soon I'll maybe try to watch it again, but for now, I'm not impressed!

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.