Goodreads | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 2)

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Eleven rated it:

06/16/08

bookshelves: haveread-andyoushouldtoo, juvy, scifi-fantasy

Read in June, 2008

recommended to Eleven by: My big brother Jeremy, who I miss very much
recommends it for: Anyone into fairy tales or a light read

If you don't know the plot of the Narnia books, I'd be surprised, but basically it follows (for the most part) the Pevensie siblings and their journeys into a land called Narnia, the classic fantasy alternate universe and biblical architype haven. The kids learn many lessons during their grand adventures, some of which are actually useful. Overall, they are endearing fairy tales...

(I am very, very angry that the site didn't allow me to review this book as the first in the series. The entire ...more If you don't know the plot of the Narnia books, I'd be surprised, but basically it follows (for the most part) the Pevensie siblings and their journeys into a land called Narnia, the classic fantasy alternate universe and biblical architype haven. The kids learn many lessons during their grand adventures, some of which are actually useful. Overall, they are endearing fairy tales...

(I am very, very angry that the site didn't allow me to review this book as the first in the series. The entire "preferred reading order" is absolutely ridiculous, and the publisher's reasons for changing the order posthumously are innane. I'd rather not write a whole essay about it - go ahead and look it up on Wikipedia if you're interested. As far as I'm concerned this is the first one. It is the one in which we along with the children are introduced to Narnia and every one published after it follows the story in a way a reader can relate with ans appreciate. Just so everyone knows I an reviewing the 1970 Collier Book edition of LWW.)

I just got done rereading this one - it's the first time I've picked it up in many years. It's a breeze to get through, which is sad because I remember being very proud of myself for getting through it in the fourth grade. But oh well.

I'd rather not do a total movie-to-book comparison, but... and don't crucify me... (haha)... the movie deals with this story better. It is more exciting, the characters evolve, everyone's reaction is more believable - and yet the original story is entirely intact. I love the story, don't get me wrong, but reading the written work again after watching to movie... it just seems like bare bones. I'd forgotten how sparse the writing is.

Another thing I had forgotten is just how metafictive (new word I think) the whole thing is. Lewis spends an awful lot of time referencing the fact that he is writing this book, which is slightly off-putting for modern readers. That would be forgiven, really, if he didn't use it to NOT describe so many things. I suppose if you are a very young child and he claims that something is so frightening he dares not describe it to you, it forces that child to use her imagination in order to fill in the blanks. Yet the successful descriptions of similar things in, say, a series as popular as the Harry Potter books makes one wonder if it wasn't just a cop out or cultural handicap. Yet there are rare places where this tecnique seems to work in his favor, such as places where he is describing a visual sort of magic. He will write "I suppose you have seen" something, and then elaborate that this is how it looked, somewhat. This will give most kids a really clear picture of what is happening, making this story easily read aloud to children as young as (I would say) five.

There are also very interesting parts where I find myself connecting to what's going on on a very different level, and it is because Lewis addressed the reader that one allows oneself to feel this way. The best example is the aftermath of the great battle, when everyone is heading to Cair Paravel to see the children crowned. Here the sea is described with such excitement it does seem as if you are coming to the palace yourself.

"The castle of Cair Paravel on its little hill towered up above them; before them were the sands, with rocks and little pools of salt water, and sea weed, and the smell of the sea, and long miles of bluish-green waves breaking forever and ever on the beach. And, oh, the cry of the sea-gulls! Have you heard it? Can you remember?"

This one line, innocently placed. "Can you remember?" There is not one moment in your mind what I should be remembering, or from what, because I was there. Can you remember, because Lewis is desperately trying to get the message across that we were all there, and we have all heard it and it will only take a quick jog of the memory to remember.

Now I am not Christian - in fact I am a Wiccan, and have always been distainful of Christians who do whatever they can to convert me. Lay off already. But that does not mean that I don't know a good story when I read one. Whether or not Lewis is talking about Jesus (and... yeah... I know he is) that feeling was a very good one. There are some things you just have to let go, you know? It isn't the worst thing in the world to have your kids know that you shouldn't sacrifice your family for Turkish Delight. Er. As it were. Just like it isn't the worst thing to have your kids put faith in themselves, science, and other human endevours, as Phillip Pullman is teaching via The Golden Compass etc. In fact, the less you stress out about what philosphies your kids are exposed to early in life the less angsty and rebellious they'll be later on.

But I digress. What is important to note is a note of sexism within this novel. (I did not notice any racism - at least not as blatent as the misogynism - but there have been cases brought up to that affect as well. Once again, Wiki it.) When Father Christmas brings the children their presents, he tells the girls to only use their weapons if they truly need to, and never in battle. When Lucy says she may be brave enough, Santa says "Battle is ugly when women fight." ...As opposed to how pretty it is when men go at it? Just an example. Later in the series it becomes more apparent that Lewis felt that there was a "place" for women. We do have to remember the time in which it was written and simply empower our girls by other means. I honestly don't think that this series will instill in children's minds the idea that boys are better than girls.

In short, read this because it's a classic, and a very good read-aloud. But really... watch the movie too. I think it does a fantastic job of sprucing up an old fairy tale. ...less

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Aaron rated it:

06/15/08

bookshelves: term-3-review

Read in June, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

*My review
I decided to pick this book because I read The Magician’s Nephew in term 2. I thought it was pretty good, so I want to continue with the series. This term we had many books to read, The Life of Pi was a pretty long book… and also in bible class, we have to read The Last Battle which is the last book of Narnia series. I was able to finish reading them all because of the good story they wrote. They all made me want to continue to read. I like this second book better than the first...more *My review
I decided to pick this book because I read The Magician’s Nephew in term 2. I thought it was pretty good, so I want to continue with the series. This term we had many books to read, The Life of Pi was a pretty long book… and also in bible class, we have to read The Last Battle which is the last book of Narnia series. I was able to finish reading them all because of the good story they wrote. They all made me want to continue to read. I like this second book better than the first book. It grabbed my attention pretty fast and I was able to get into the story pretty soon. I like the fact that in chapter 2, Lucy was trying to tell their brother and sisters about the wardrobe, but no one believes her. That gave me a feeling that I want to tell those borther and sisters that she’s telling the truth.

*Summary of the book
There is four children whose names are Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. They were sent away to London during the war because of the air-raids. They were sent to a old Professor’s house. The first day there, those four children decided to explore the house. They came across a large wardrobe which no one bothers to look inside other than Lucy. She finds herself in a very weird place that is cover with snow. Later Lucy met Mr. Tumnus, who was going to send her to the White Witch, but later he realises that Lucy is a really nice girl and he feels bad and took her safety back to the wardrobe. Lucy told all her brothers and sisters, but none believed her. Later on Edmund also finds himself in this strange place. He met the White Witch, who calls herself the Queen of Narnia. Lucy finds Edmund standing in the wood and was very happy to see him. Now that the older brother and sister will probably believe her. Peter and Susan finally find out the truth when Mrs. Macready was coming to visit, and the only place for them to hide was the wardrobe. In the forest, they decided to go see Lucy’s friend, but finds out that he was not there and his place was ruined. The kids find out what happened to Mr. Tumnus when they meet Mr. Beaver. Edmund went to the White Witch’s place and ran into Maugrim and told the White Witch everything he knows. The Beavers and those three humans left the place in a hurry so tat they won’t be catch by the witch. The Beaver took the kids to the stone table, where Aslan was already waiting there. He shows Peter that he will eventually become the high king. Aslan sent a talking beast to rescue Edmund, but the White Witch is already prepared for to use Edmund as sacrifice. The witch wants Aslan to die, she mad a deal with Aslan that he can go on the stone table to sacrifice instead of Edmund. The witch though that it would kill Aslan, but Aslan knows the deeper meaning on the stone table which cracked the stone table. They headed to the Witch’s place and Aslan turn all the statues back to life and they battle begins. After the battle is over, the 4 children already forgot about going back to their world and are king of Narnia. But one day when they were hunting White Stag, they came across the Lamp-post and back through the wardrobe. Professor told them not to go back to Narnia through the wardrobe because they will be back there in no time.

*Selected quotes
~ “Oh—oh—you wouldn’t say that if you knew, No, I’m a bad Faun. I don’t suppose there ever was a worse Faun since the beginning of the world.” (19).

~ “Aslan?” “Why, don’t you know? He’s the King. He’s the Lord of the whole wood, but not often here, you understand.” (85).

~ “Fall back, all of you,” “and I will talk to the Witch alone.” (157).

~ “The in the name of Aslan,” “if ye will all have it so, let us go on and take the adventure that shall fall to us.” (204~205).
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Nic rated it:

01/11/08

Read in January, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

In a way, I liked it better reading this one after "The Magician's Nephew," which I don't THINK I did before, but it was maybe ten years ago. Specifically, I like that I know why the wardrobe is a door to Narnia, though I feel it was rather convenient (and unexplained) that its ability to be a door fluctuated - it's a door for Lucy, then not for all the kids, then it is for Lucy and Edmund, and then it is for everyone, and then for no one, and the Professor says as if he's sure that t...more In a way, I liked it better reading this one after "The Magician's Nephew," which I don't THINK I did before, but it was maybe ten years ago. Specifically, I like that I know why the wardrobe is a door to Narnia, though I feel it was rather convenient (and unexplained) that its ability to be a door fluctuated - it's a door for Lucy, then not for all the kids, then it is for Lucy and Edmund, and then it is for everyone, and then for no one, and the Professor says as if he's sure that they won't be able to use it again. He also says you can't expect the same way into Narnia to work twice, and here this one's worked three times - seven times, if you count it separately every time it lets a person through.

Anyway, I still like the tone of the story - I can't help but smile when people are going around saying "I say!" and having tea. It bothered me that Father Christmas says the girls are not meant to be at the battle because "battles are ugly when women fight." What?? Are all-male battles joyous occasions? Do women uglify the glory of battle? Is he worried about hair-pulling? Also, isn't the witch already fighting? Speaking of which, she dies before the Pevensies ever sit on the four thrones literally or become crowned or anything. What's up with that? Wasn't that supposed to herald her death? I guess the rules change when she kills Aslan . . .

At any rate, I think the story is mostly pretty well put together, and I'm kind of impressed that Lewis managed to have a great battle with oodles of casualties without upsetting me or, as memory serves, Child Nic of Years Ago. Of course, no one dies (permanently) who was characterized at all.

I don't know how I feel about Aslan's personality. He's certainly interesting, but there was some stuff that bugged me.
"Of course he's not safe!" - the Beavers
I think it was pretty well implied that they meant "safe for us," and the last thing these kids need right now is someone making it sound like he's not safe for them, when I think he really is. It's not like there's a possibility he might eat them.
He also really treats the kids like adults, which is cool in a way, but sometimes seems rough. I can appreciate it to some extent, but . . . I don't know. When Lucy is giving the healing cordial to Edmund and wants to stick around and see him safely back from the brink of death, Aslan's all like "nooo, I'm going to make you feel guilty for hanging around here while other people need help," which makes perfect sense, but why couldn't someone else have administered the cordial to the others or something? I mean, for crying out loud, her brother is dying, and she's just a kid! Cut her some slack!

Also, Aslan mentions about the "deeper magic" being "the Emperor's Magic," and it seems really important. It's been years since I read these, like I said, but I can't remember anything about the Emperor. Well, I don't remember a lot about the books. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that that will be explained - maybe the Emperor is God and Aslan is Jesus or something. Anyway, it better be explained, or I will be disappointed.

But yeah, for all my whining, a good story with some fun characters, compelling descriptions, nice storytelling, and a beautiful fantasy world, all very easy to read....less

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Dani rated it:

02/23/08

bookshelves: childhood

Read in January, 1992

recommends it for: children (ages 8-12), reluctant children-readers, religious right (of any age), quick & easy fans

The Loin, the Witch and the Wardrobe is apart of almost every child's reading experience... and if it isn't, it should be. As a child, I enjoyed this book (which is saying something because I hated reading with a fiery passion at that age) because it had enough plot and relatable characters to hook a reluctant child-reader like myself for at less the first book. The story of four siblings who discovered through a wardrobe door another world with talking animals, fawns (half man- half go...more The Loin, the Witch and the Wardrobe is apart of almost every child's reading experience... and if it isn't, it should be. As a child, I enjoyed this book (which is saying something because I hated reading with a fiery passion at that age) because it had enough plot and relatable characters to hook a reluctant child-reader like myself for at less the first book. The story of four siblings who discovered through a wardrobe door another world with talking animals, fawns (half man- half goat), an evil witch and a king/god-like lion, is loaded with examples of allusion, symbolism, and in itself is an allegory of the simple principals of Christianity.
This of course makes it a good book for the religious right plus it helps that author, C.S Lewis, is a well known Christian writer. It also, introduces religious right children to the wonderful, creative world of fantasy, which otherwise is denied them because of their/their parents' beliefs. Although Christ-like heroes, good vs. evil, and other elements that Christian praise in this book can be found in some if not most fantasy novels, they seem to ignored this genera of books and deem them 'evil.' That is they're right and privilege to be able to say that about any book I suppose.
Of course, I don't know how much a child reader would get of the symbolism and the allegory and therefore a person with non-Christian principals shouldn't worry about this book 'brainwashing' their kid.
the series: I stopped reading this series on the fourth book [the silver chair] because they kept changing the characters out. And since I wanted to be Susan I was heartbroken when she could longer go to Narnia. If you plan on reading the whole series don't invest too much on an individual character... most likely they're out with in a few books.

As an adult: the language for this book is very simple and flat. It takes much more energy as a grow-up to get hook, stay invested, and finish this book than it did when I was ten. I've heard many people recommend this book to Harry Potter fans but I fear any Harry Potter fan will be disappointed in this series. ...less

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Taylor added it

01/16/08

Read in March, 2005

recommends it for: everyone

When I first started reading this book I knew it was old. But because my sister told me there was a special meaning or plot i continued to read. I choose this for my book review because this book makes me smile and a ten year old to a 40 year old could still read. The pages are shorter but the meaning is still there. This book is about a Lion who is a king named Aslan, and four children names Lucy, Elithabeth, Edwin and Peter. Lucy the youngest, then Edward following Elithabeth and Peter. The st...more

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Sammy rated it:

(review of isbn 0064404994)

03/26/08

bookshelves: the-good

Read in November, 2007

There's an ever flowing debate about the true order to read these books in, either by the fictional timeline, or in the order in which they were written. I decided to read them in the way they were written. I could go into long explanations on why, but, this is supposed to be a book review, not a "why I'm reading this" review.

It has to be said first-off that these books are written with younger readers in mind. With that out of the way, older readers should not turn their...more

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Borsi rated it:

02/24/08

recommends it for: Mr.T

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
! (Maybe End Spoiler)!

This book was written by C.S Lewis, he uses the Britannic vocabulary and makes many characters talk and always with respect. He uses the tequinique of the circle the book starts at the wardrobe and ends in the wardrobe. A passage I really love is when they met the beaver in the way he introduce them to themselves “Not so lo...more

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Manuel rated it:

05/06/08

I loved this book.
It was first read to me in 4th grade. We would all come in from lunch and our teacher would read to us for about 30 minutes before we would start class.
I remember this book because it wasnt read to us by Mrs Graham, but instead it would be read by Mr Goodwin, her long-haired, bearded, Birkenstock wearing teacher's aid.
Over the next few weeks we were entralled by this story, we couldnt wait for lunch period to be over so we could hear what was happening in this ...more

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Werner rated it:

04/04/08

bookshelves: childrens, classics, fantasy

Read in January, 1976

recommends it for: Anyone (of any age) who loves fantasy, and/or serious Christian literature

While I first read this book in the mid-70s, I read it again to my wife a couple of years ago (we both loved it then as much as I did the first time). Most people know that C. S. Lewis was an effective Christian nonfiction apologist, using the tools of reason and logic to build the philosophical case for Christian faith. But he ultimately became convinced that an even more effective apologetic is available through the "truth of art," the instinctive and emotional appeal that stories ...more

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Aimee rated it:

04/19/08

I just re-read this book and got so much more out of it than the first time. The symbolism & parallels to basic Christianity stuck out.
*turkish delight is our human nature, prone to addiction, selfishness and wrongdoing
*Peter said about Edmund, "We should go after him. After all he is our brother." Even though he had just betrayed them and was causing grief they didn't mistreat or disown him.
*The very mention of Aslan's name caused certain positive feelings to come over t...more

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John rated it:

02/12/08

bookshelves: borrowed-from-someone, reread

Read in December, 2005

Much of this review was prompted by Malcolm's comment.

This book is perfectly reasonable fantasy, written very well for children. Quite a lot can and should be read into the symbolism, but children may gloss right over the symbolism depending on their experiences.

Of the series, this one probably gathers the most criticism for the religious symbolism, but so? Lewis doesn't hide the symbolism. The book in the series that really deserves criticism is "A Horse and His Boy", more ...more

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Evan rated it:

(review of isbn 0064404994)

07/07/08

Read in July, 2008

Well, studying for the bar I promised myself that I wouldn't start reading yet, but I was having trouble falling asleep so I thought some outside-legal reading might do me some good. Not wanting to get into anything too taxing, I turned to a series that has been on my re-read list for a number of years now.

I read LW&W for the first time in the fifth grade, and remember loving every page of it. I haven't touched it since, and when I saw the movie a couple years back I thought they were ...more

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Brianna rated it:

04/20/08

bookshelves: already-read

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in April, 2003

recommended to Brianna by: My second grade teacher
recommends it for: People that like fantacy

This book is about a girl named Lucy that discovers a wardrobe when her and her siblings are playing hide and seek. She goes into the wardrobe to hide. She scoots all the way back to the wardrobe but discovers snow on the bottom of the wardrobe. Then she discovers that there are trees in "The Wardrobe". She keeps on walking farther and farther into "the wardrobe". Then she meets a Fawn/ person that takes her into his cave and gives Lucy some tea and cookies. Then the fawn pla...more

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John rated it:

04/03/08

Read in February, 2004

recommended to John by: Vanessa Grasso, Cassie Nichols, Megan Napier
recommends it for: Children's Fantasy readers

Apparently I missed The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe being a religious allegory. I forget what part of the Bible casts several children through magic furniture and into a world of talking animals, wherein they partake of tea and fight a mean witch. There are a few obvious Christian symbols, like a certain sacrifice and resurrection, but these are mostly moments in the middle of what’s obviously an escapist adventure story. There’s some fighting, some hiding, some gawking, some nic...more

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Danielle rated it:

02/13/08

bookshelves: fiction

Read in January, 2004

Okay, let me say first of all that I think C.S. Lewis is a brilliant man. That being said, this book made me feel like he could have given a little credit to the rest of us.
I wish I could review it based solely on the story, and not bother with the religious message, but unfortunately, it's impossible to read the story without getting a headache from the constant hammering that is "THE MESSAGE."
This story is a fun idea, fantasy-wise. I particularly love the ice queen and the Turki...more

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Beth rated it:

02/19/08

Read in December, 2005

I am not a fantasy fan. I got bogged down about a hundred and fifty pages in The Fellowship of the Ring with no desire to go back and finish. The thing I don’t understand about the whole Lord of the Rings craze (or Star Trek, or Star Wars) is that you have to invest so much time to understand the history and geography and even ancient languages of all these varied races and civilizations to truly understand the story — and it’s not even real. I have plenty of actual history to learn withou...more

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Danni aka Danielle rated it:

(review of isbn 0064404994)

07/06/08

Read in July, 2008

As I began to mention in my review of The Magician's Nephew, I distinctly remember my first experience with the Chronicles of Narnia. I don't remember how old I was, but I think I was around 10. My mom was usually not in the habit of suggesting books for me to read (basically because I created piles and piles of books to read for myself without anyone else's help :-). However, one day she came home from the library and suggested I read this really strange book titled The Lion, the Witch, and the...more

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Cynthia rated it:

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 2)

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