the Chronicles of Narnia series: book one
genre: children’s. fantasy. christianlit.
The Review
The Magician’s Nephew is a special kind of book. I have no doubt that this is almost wholly to do with the fact that C.S. Lewis is the mastermind behind it. There’s just something magical about how he writes. While I’ve enjoyed some of the books he’s written for adults (the Screwtape Letters – AMAZING), his children’s stories are such treats.
Characters:
The Lady is certainly one of the more fascinating characters I’ve ever read about. Lewis obviously employs heavy Christian influences in a lot of his books and there’s no shortage of that here. The Lady is meant to represent the Devil or maybe just evil personified. Yet, when we’re introduced to her character, she’s a giantess that’s been frozen in time in an abandoned hall on a dying planet. This is nuts. What does all of that even mean? The whole idea of the Lady as a character is fascinating. Lewis knows how to have the perfect amount of mystery so you’re hooked, but not confused.
The only thing that limits this story is the unfortunate sexism of its time of publication. While the Lady is an intimidating force to be reckoned with, all other female characters are cast aside. Polly seems to be as much a main character as Digory, yet she misses out on half of the adventures just because she’s a girl. A little of this can be forgiven seeing as these were written in the 50s, but that still doesn’t take away the disappointment.
Set-Up:
Short and to the point, this book definitely left me wanting more. This world feels so heavy with lore and it’s like we’re only dipping our toes into the ocean.
As I’m writing this review, I have only recently read three books in this series and this is the only look at the other worlds that I have seen. The idea behind the Woods between the Worlds is jaw-droppingly amazing. I want to say there’s even a Doctor Who episode like this, but I could be making that up. As someone who isn’t a huge fan of overly-religious connotations in literature, the scene with the creation of Narnia is just magical. C.S. Lewis manages to weave out something beautiful and enchanting, while still managing to keep that children’s-book feel.
The Magician’s Nephew is a children’s book with an adult story. If you allow yourself to read it without thinking, it’s entertaining; enjoyable. If you sit a little too long and think about what you’ve read and what’s happening between the lines, you realize that it’s just on the edge of being disturbing. Which, in fact, is true of a lot of children’s books.
approx read time: 3 days
Rating: 5 out of 5 Screems™
Ownership: I do own this book, but will probably donate it for a complete, matching set later on