Surprised by Joy

Jan 04, 2012 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: christian-theology, favorites

Okay, I started this today and finished it today, and will probably reread it. This has happened with many of Lewis' books. I've read The Four Loves several times and am getting ready to reread Miracles. There often seems to be a lot that I don't get first time through.

This is a wonderful book with some less than wonderful parts. By that I mean discourses on difficult or unpleasant events and/or topics. I won't try to go over this volume in any kind of detail. I suspect it will "strike" differen...more

like 10 likes · see review

Apr 06, 2009 Nathan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

C.S. Lewis, the man that "thought his way to God" (according to the back of the book), isn't really all man - he's part reading machine. Everything, every sentence, in his spiritual autobiography is laden with some classical allusion to a work that the normal person hasn't read in Greek or Latin.
After the death of his mother in his youth, Lewis enters a long lasting period of atheism. Although he knew epistemologically that God didn't exist, he still felt that there was something else "out there...more

like 16 likes · see review

May 04, 2009 anca dc rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2008-2009

cel mai ciuda mi'e ca nu imi las notitele proaspete, atunci cand citesc cartea. pentru ca dupa aceea nu mai ii simt pulsul in acelasi fel, nu mai este totul proaspat in mine si apoi nu mai am aceeasi usuratate in exprimarea insemnatatii scrierii respective. asta ii asa, in general, dar si in special pentru cartea asta si lewis...asa ca o sa urmeze niste notite care mie imi par asa seci, serbede..imi pare rau. asta e! invatatura de minte!

mi'a placut:
* franchetea lui de la inceput:) ca aceasta car...more cel mai ciuda mi'e ca nu imi las notitele proaspete, atunci cand citesc cartea. pentru ca dupa aceea nu mai ii simt pulsul in acelasi fel, nu mai este totul proaspat in mine si apoi nu mai am aceeasi usuratate in exprimarea insemnatatii scrierii respective. asta ii asa, in general, dar si in special pentru cartea asta si lewis...asa ca o sa urmeze niste notite care mie imi par asa seci, serbede..imi pare rau. asta e! invatatura de minte!

mi'a placut:
* franchetea lui de la inceput:) ca aceasta carte nu ii menita sa fie citita de oricine, ci numai de cei care au perseverenta de a trece de un anumit punct. a construit'o in felul asta.
* relatia deosebita cu fratele lui si lumea pe care si'au creat'o si felul in care evadau in ea:) ingenios! mi'ar fi placut si mie sa fiu un copil atat de bogat in imaginatie.
* sinceritatea fata de el insusi, in mai multe aspecte. de exemplu, cand vorbea de tatal sau ori cand descria cum era el [in special:]. pe mine m'a uimit.
* detaliileee!!!! <3<3 pana la cer si inapoooi!! extraordinar!! ..si in descrierile peisajelor si locurilor [pe mine m'a facut sa fiu acolo, sa'mi doresc sa fiu in peisajele alea:], dar si a vietii, pur si simplu.
* oamenii pe care i'a ales sa ii descrie: profesorii lui si prietenii. mi'a placut la arthur cum l'a facut constient de simturi:) [nu am sa pun si eu bine-cunoscutul paragraf cu ei doi:P:)]
* m'a fascinat rationalul din el, eu fiind o simtitoare. normal ca mi'a placut. doooh! ..si uaaai. cum o explicat toata experinta!! dar mai ales locul intelegerii intregului Adevar!:)

consider ca afirmatiile despre Dumnezeu pe care le'am spicuit mai jos nu pot fi intelese in afara contextului si experientei traite si prezentate de lewis. cel putin, anumite.

~~~

In Cartea de rugaciuni scrie ca trebuie "sa'i aducem multumiri lui Dumnezeu pentru marea lui slava", ca si cand ii datoram mai multe multumiri pentru ceea ce este El cu necesitate decat pentru orice alt beneficiu pe care ni'l confera; asa si facem si a'l cunoaste pe Dumnezeu inseamna a sti acest lucru.

~~~

Plimbarea si discutia sunt doua mari placeri, dar este o greseala sa le amesteci. Larma pe care o facem eclipseaza sunetele si tacerile lumii exterioare; de la vorba se ajunge aproape inevitabil la fumat si atunci adio natura pentru unul dintre simturi. Nu te poti plimba decat cu un prieten (cum era Arthur pentru mine, in vacante) care sa-ti impartaseasca atat de bine preferinta pentru fiecare schimbare a peisajului, incat o privire, un popas sau cel mult un gest sa fie de ajuns a'ti confirma ca placerea este impartasita.

~~~

Un tanar care doreste sa ramana un ateu inveterat se cuvine sa'si selecteze cu mare grija lecturile. Capcane sunt peste tot - "Biblii deschise, surprize cu nemiluita", cum spunea Herbert, "plase si stratageme iscusite". Dumnezeu este, daca imi pot permite s'o spun, foarte lipsit de scrupule.

~~~

Cuvintele compelle intrare, siliti'i sa intre, au fost atat de denaturate de oameni nelegiuiti, incat ne cutremuram in fata lor; dar, intelese cum se cuvine, ele masoara nemarginirea milei Divine. Asprimea lui Dumnezeu este mai gingasa decat blandetea omeneasca, iar constrangerea Lui este libertatea noastra.

~~~

Dumnezeu trebuie ascultat pentru ceea ce este in Sine. Daca va intrebati de ce ar trebui sa ascultam pe Dumnezeu, in ultima instanta raspunsul este "Eu sunt". A'l cunoaste pe Dumnezeu inseamna a sti ca ii datoram ascultare.

(less)

like 4 likes · see review

Sep 14, 2008 Lavinia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008, 2005, journals-biographies-memoirs, in-en

"Surprised by Joy" este autobiografia intelectuala a lui C.S. Lewis si prezinta trecerea lui de la crestinismul din copilarie la ateism, la teism si apoi la un crestinism matur. In prima parte a cartii descrie copilaria in Irlanda, relatia cu tatal si fratele lui, apoi diversele scoli si internate prin care a trecut, anii petrecuti la Oxford si experienta primului razboi mondial. Intors la Oxford dupa citiva ani, intilneste mai multi intelectuali crestini, printre care si J.R.R. Tolkien. Lecturi...more "Surprised by Joy" este autobiografia intelectuala a lui C.S. Lewis si prezinta trecerea lui de la crestinismul din copilarie la ateism, la teism si apoi la un crestinism matur. In prima parte a cartii descrie copilaria in Irlanda, relatia cu tatal si fratele lui, apoi diversele scoli si internate prin care a trecut, anii petrecuti la Oxford si experienta primului razboi mondial. Intors la Oxford dupa citiva ani, intilneste mai multi intelectuali crestini, printre care si J.R.R. Tolkien. Lecturile lui sint masive si impresionante, incepind cu mitologie [nordica, celtica si greaca:], continuind cu poetii romantici, filozofi [Aristotel, Berckeley, Hegel:], ajungind pina la autori crestini, cum ar fi Milton si G. K.Chesterton. In 1929, in timpul unei calatorii cu autobuzul [ :) ] accepta existenta lui Dumnezeu. In 1931, dupa o lunga discutie cu Tolkien si Dyson despre crestinism si mitologie, si o lunga noapte de lupta cu ideea acceptarii lui Isus ca fiinta divina, devine crestin.

Cei [ca mine:] care se astepta sa gaseasca o o trezire spectaculoasa la Realitate, vor fi usor dezamagiti. Pentru ca totul se intimpla la nivel intelectual, tot procesul e unul rational. Cartea merita oricum citita.
Mi-a placut mult fragmentul in care vorbeste de intoarcerea lui din razboi, profesor fiind, si-i face prieteni pe Tolkien si H.Dyson, iar cind afla ca acestia sint crestini ajunge sa exclame: “these queer people seemed now to pop on every side!”. ;)

***
l-am gasit pe arthur stind in pat, in capul oaselor. pe masa de alaturi era un exemplar din "myths of the norsemen".

si tie iti place cartea asta? am intrebat eu.

si tie iti place cartea asta? a intrebat el.

in clipa urmatoare tineam amindoi cartea in miini, sedeam cu capetele aplecate deasupra ei, aratam cu degetul, citam, vorbeam - aproape strigam - descoperind, intr-un torent de intrebari, ca eram incintati nu doar de acelasi lucru, ci si de aceleasi fragmente si in acelasi fel; ca amindoi simtiseram sagetarea Bucuriei si ca, pentru amindoi, sageata fusese trasa din nord. mii de oameni au avut experienta descoperirii celui dintii prieten, dar ea continua sa fie o minune; o minune la fel de mare [pace romancierilor:] ca prima iubire, sau chiar mai mare. fiind departe de a crede in posibilitatea de a avea un prieten, nu tinjisem niciodata sa am unul, nu mai mult decit sa ajung regele angliei. daca as fi descoperit ca arthur concepuse in mod independent o replica exacta a lumii boxoniene, nu as fi fost din cale-afara de surprins. probabil nimic nu este mai uluitor in viata unui om decit descoperirea ca exista de fapt oameni care-i seamana foarte, foarte mult.(less)

like 5 likes · see review

Jul 10, 2012 Brittany Petruzzi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography, non-fiction, theology

Considering all the things we’ve studied at New Saint Andrews—and the way it keeps coming back to one thing—I find it highly interesting that it was essentially C.S. Lewis’ love of story that brought him to Christ. If you think about it, story is what all of his experiences of Sehnsucht have in common. Most of the Sehnsucht took place while reading poetry or literature, and if not, it was because it transported him to the places in those stories. For example, looking up at the night sky took him...more

like 3 likes · see review

Jun 07, 2009 Mark Adderley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: spiritual

There's not much to say about this book, as it is famous, and has been reviewed many times. It's about C. S. Lewis' conversion from atheism to Christianity. He identifies a quality which he calls "Joy," which occurs in what he describes as "a stab of joy." This is the a moment of perfect happiness occasioned by . . . well, it differs. Lewis explains that he got three stabs of joy in his youth: once from the a model garden in a biscuit-tin lid that his brother had made, once while reading Beatix...more There's not much to say about this book, as it is famous, and has been reviewed many times. It's about C. S. Lewis' conversion from atheism to Christianity. He identifies a quality which he calls "Joy," which occurs in what he describes as "a stab of joy." This is the a moment of perfect happiness occasioned by . . . well, it differs. Lewis explains that he got three stabs of joy in his youth: once from the a model garden in a biscuit-tin lid that his brother had made, once while reading Beatix Potter's Squirrel Nutkin, and once catching a phrase from Longfellow's poem The Saga of King Olaf. Lewis contends that these stabs of Joy are glimpses of the divine, and that they guided him inevitably to the Christian belief that characterized his later life.

What's truly amazing about this book, to me, is how closely it follows my own life. If I could identify three stabs of Joy that I've experienced, I'd say, first of all, from Lewis' own Narnia books, particularly the episode when Lucy is reading from the magical book in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; second, oddly enough, from the James Bond movies--I know that sounds weird, but something about the atmosphere of Goldfinger, especially encapsulated in the music, really caught me; and thirdly, from Star Wars--the 1977 film, not any of the subsequent movies.

Like Lewis, I subsequently fancied myself an atheist, and for much the same reasons. Lewis explains that he received a mature stab of Joy from the idea of Northernness that he got from the Norse mythology in Wagner; I, on the other hand, got that stab of Joy from T. H. White's book The Once and Future King. Lewis followed up on this by investigating Norse mythology more closely, and subsequently stopped receiving stabs of Joy from it when it became an academic investigation isntead of something he did for pure pleasure. Likewise with me and the Arthurian legend.

Like Lewis, I struggled against becoming a Christian but, like Lewis, books (in his case Chesterton and MacDonald, in mine the medieval Arthurian romances) and friends (in Lewis' case, a plethora of friends including Owen Barfield, J. R. R. Tolkien and other college friends, in my case, my wife) prevailed.

So, what really made me enjoy this book was recognizing the truth of what Lewis was saying in it. And I recognized this truth, because his story pretty closely resembled my own.
(less)

like 6 likes · see review

Nov 11, 2012 John rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: cs-lewis, biography

While this is my second time reading this book, it's almost as if it is my first time. I read it six years ago during a month-long missions trip, and while I remember liking it, I had forgotten a great deal of it by my second time around.

Unfortunately, the time that has elapsed between my finishing the book and this review has been significant, and my review will be short and incomplete. This is in part due to the fact that I forgot I had it listed as "currently reading," and I want to try and a...more While this is my second time reading this book, it's almost as if it is my first time. I read it six years ago during a month-long missions trip, and while I remember liking it, I had forgotten a great deal of it by my second time around.

Unfortunately, the time that has elapsed between my finishing the book and this review has been significant, and my review will be short and incomplete. This is in part due to the fact that I forgot I had it listed as "currently reading," and I want to try and at least give each book that I read a fair review that gives someone of similar taste a good sense of whether to pick it up or not.

I certainly can recommend that anyone who is a fan of Lewis read it. I think that this book is an important and revealing portrait of one of the twentieth century's most revered Christian figures, and the fact that it comes from Lewis in his own words makes it all the more authoritative. From the things I heard of Lewis when I was growing up, it seemed as if his conversion was Pauline - he was a staunch atheist, he was a big personality, and he was a brilliant mind, and suddenly the force of the Holy Spirit came upon him and converted him on the spot, turning all of these skills over to the spread of the gospel and the glory of the kingdom. While all of these characteristics of Lewis' personality are certainly true, this book illuminates how each of them are less fantastic than most people think, and more circumstantial. That is to say, Lewis shows what events in his life led him to atheism, what events in his life led him to think the way that he did, and what events in his life led him to become the person he was. It de-mythologizes him, to be sure, but in Christianity we want individuals to be de-mythologized. No man is greater than any other, for all are sinners.

Lewis even goes so far as to tell us about things that he doesn't need to so that we can know just how much of a sinner he is. He confesses his intellectual sins of becoming a "highbrow," confesses his arrogance in his intellectualism, and even talks about his interest in the occult. Lewis didn't need to bring any of it up, but the fact that he did, I think, is indicative of his own awareness of his sinful nature, and reflecting on his life he could see the part that each of those times played in his eventual conversion to Christ. Should all of us be able to reflect on our own experiences so effectively (I don't think I could), I do believe we would find similar times in our own lives that had a similar effect, that God used as part of our own personal timelines to eventually call us to himself.

The most important, and most thoughtful, feature of this autobiography is the concept of joy - a happiness that supersedes all happiness, a supreme pleasure in something too grand and too fleeting for words. I think I know what Lewis talks about when he talks about joy - in my own experiences I've had those longings, those indicators that something grand resides in the background, that there is so much significance and meaning behind the things that seem so ordinary and inconsequential at the time. Lewis was stirred by a toy garden on a biscuit tin; the feeble little model reminded him of the true and unspoiled Eden. Throughout his life little things continued to open the deep wells of love for the old and strong and beautiful, and that is where this autobiography sets itself apart. Rather than a trail of sins in a man's life (which it certainly is), it is more a trail of joys, of rare moments where the bright shining glory of eternity breaks through. And I think that this book helps the believer understand why Lewis was who he was: he was a sinner, like any of us, but he was also keenly aware of those subtle, and almost undetectable, moments in life where joy burst forth. It was the circumstances of life that led him away from Christ, but it was the reality of joy that brought him back. We've all had those experiences, but I think so few of us have been able to identify them that we simply don't realize what they are when they come upon us. Lewis, by helping define and identify joy, and by helping us see how it arrives in the most unassuming ways, gives everyone, believer or not, a tool to understand the glory of God breaking through the apparent mediocrity of so much of life that we tend to take for granted or even toss aside.

If you've ever read a book of Lewis' and felt something even remotely similar to joy, and felt as though there was something more to that little thing, then read this book. It will show you that, chances are, you're probably right.(less)

like 1 like · see review

Dec 17, 2012 Erik Graff rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Lewis fans

Recommended to Erik by: Mildred Hogle

Shelves: biography

Until I was fourteen, the closest neighbors to grandmother's cottage in Michigan were the Hogles, Mildred and Alfred. Without children of their own, sixtyish, they acted as doting grandparents for me and the only kid who actually lived year-round in the Livingston Hills area of Lake Charter Township, Michigan, my contemporary, Diane Werner.

August 16, a date now immortalized by the passing of Elvis, is my birthday. On the sixth or seventh of them Diane had come over in the morning, watched me ope...more Until I was fourteen, the closest neighbors to grandmother's cottage in Michigan were the Hogles, Mildred and Alfred. Without children of their own, sixtyish, they acted as doting grandparents for me and the only kid who actually lived year-round in the Livingston Hills area of Lake Charter Township, Michigan, my contemporary, Diane Werner.

August 16, a date now immortalized by the passing of Elvis, is my birthday. On the sixth or seventh of them Diane had come over in the morning, watched me open gifts, shared the birthday sweets and sat, bored, with me at the SE corner of the house as rain poured down from heavy grey clouds. Nanny, my dad's mother, seeing our plight, remarked that when she was young children would run naked in the rain. Diane and I looked at one another across the table, skeptically.

Within minutes we were naked in the warm summer downpour. What to do? We ran along the path along the wooded hillside, south to the Hogle's white frame house, creeping to their big picture window with its view thru the trees to Lake Michigan. There was Millie in the kitchen, giggle... We tapped on the glass, running off into the trees. We did it again...

When the Hogles had Diane and me to dinner they would always serve desert first. This made sense to us. This made dinner invitations to the Hogles attractive. We never told our parents.

When I started getting really bookish at about age ten, the Hogles started loaning me things to read, there being no library in town, no easy way to get to town if there had been a library, and they having the biggest library in Livingston Hills: floor to ceiling shelves in their great porch with globes of the world and the heavens to boot. I could pick my own, but they would make recommendations. Some of the books they recommended were by C.S. Lewis. I didn't know it, but the Hogles were--gasp!--Christians. They were trying to save me.

Thus, I read Lewis' Perelandra Trilogy at such an early age that I'd little idea of the ideology he was pushing, reading the books as just more science fiction/fantasy and enjoying them as such. Having liked them, I proceeded, with a little nudge perhaps, to his autobiography, Surprised By Joy, which I also liked, it being the first description I'd ever read of English schoolboy life. The homoeroticism, however, probably escaped me as did the call the conversion.

Whatever. The Hogles were very nice to us. I miss them--their ice cream too.(less)

like 2 likes · see review

Dec 29, 2007 Zigforas rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: in-college, biography-memoir, c-s-lewis, non-fiction

A favorite quote:

"For eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably. Of course not all books are suitable for mealtime reading. It would be a kind of blasphemy to read poetry at table. What one wants is a gossipy, formless book which can be opened anywhere. The ones I learned so to use at Bookham were Boswell, and a translation of Herodotus, and Lang's History of English Literature. Tristam Shandy, Elia, and the Anatomy of Melancholy are all good for the same purpose." ---C. S. Lew...more

like 1 like · see review

Aug 06, 2011 David Boyce added it · review of another edition

Not as good as I was expecting. From the number of Christian writers that reference this book I was expecting it to be a cornerstone of 20th century Christian literature. However I found it dry and uninspiring. I grew tired of Lewis’s constant reference to obscure books of English literature and characters therein. I sometimes felt that he was almost showing off by mentioning characters and feelings from books I haven’t read. I suppose I should have expected it, I have read some of his critics o...more

like · see review

Apr 26, 2013 David Kearns rated it 5 of 5 stars

Throughout the book, Lewis includes a constant stream of books that influenced his thinking throughout his life. Beginning in his youth, Lewis cites authors, one after another, whose writings lifted him up, instilling in him the titular joy that would become one of his guiding desires. Early on, he describes his experience with "northernness": "...instantly I was uplifted into huge regions of northern sky, I desired with almost sickening intensity something never to be described (except that it...more Throughout the book, Lewis includes a constant stream of books that influenced his thinking throughout his life. Beginning in his youth, Lewis cites authors, one after another, whose writings lifted him up, instilling in him the titular joy that would become one of his guiding desires. Early on, he describes his experience with "northernness": "...instantly I was uplifted into huge regions of northern sky, I desired with almost sickening intensity something never to be described (except that it is cold, spacious, severe, pale, and remote) and then ... found myself at the very same moment already falling out of that desire and wishing I were back in it." All this comes from a mere three lines from Longfellow, and those read out of context. Later in the book, Lewis finds similar experiences in The Ring of the Nibelung and Phantastes, among others.

The observation here is simple: Lewis was converted in large part by stories. He makes mention of the philosophy he read and taught, and even a few philosophers in particular, and he was well acquainted with the many famous arguments for Christianity. His intellectual conversion was certainly a part of the whole process. But I find it telling that his own account of his journey to Christianity finds its vigor in narrative.

I wonder sometimes how often we humans argue honestly, whatever our bent. As a teacher at a classical school, I've studied logic and rhetoric more than many, and these tools have value. When I read the arguments made in the public square, however, I find so many careful and rigorous ones torn to pieces by a single sympathetic anecdote. Our passions drive us, and stories excite them more than logic.

Perhaps this helps explain why the Bible focuses so much on narrative. True, there is wisdom literature and poetry included throughout, but those parts often gain their importance from the narrative that contains them. The wisdom Solomon gives us through Ecclesiastes matters all the more when we understand the position from which he writes: making a claim about the vanity of riches or pleasure gains immeasurable potency coming from a man who knew no lack of either. Likewise, the Imprecatory Psalms might seem unconscionable outside Israel's historical arc.

I wonder, then, if an emphasis on the narrative weight of the Bible might give it more traction in our current culture. I'm reminded of a claim by James Denney: "Belief in the inspiration of Scripture is neither the beginning of the Christian life nor the foundation of Christian theology; it is the last conclusion—a conclusion which becomes every day more sure—to which experience of the truth of Scripture leads." Denney's claim, echoed in Lewis's own account of reading the Bible, is that we don't believe the Bible because we arbitrarily decided beforehand that it contains essentially the words of God, thus binding ourselves to following its every whim. Instead we believe the Bible is inspired precisely because it speaks truly to all aspects of human experience. Perhaps the best way to convince someone of the truth of the Bible is to convince them simply to read it, trusting that its truth will speak for itself. Of course, this is no mean feat, but the practical difficulty of any course should not dissuade us that it is the right one.(less)

like 1 like · see review

Jan 23, 2013 Oleg Kagan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: idea-books, jones-coffee-book-club

Along with E.B. White I put C.S. Lewis among those bastions of clarity that style does not taint. It is precisely because their expository prose is so unadorned and straight-forward that makes it such a pleasure to read. And that's not even taking into account their humor, which is the opposite of slapstick. This is all to say that I really liked reading this book, though I couldn't care less about the subject.

It wasn't the Christianity that bothered me, it was the over-intellectualizing. Certai...more

like · see review

Dec 20, 2012 Arti rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"If Shakespeare and Hamlet could ever meet, it must be Shakespeare's doing.

Shakespeare could, in principle, make himself appear as Author within the play, and write a dialogue between Hamlet and himself. The 'Shakespeare' within the play would of course be at once Shakespeare and one of Shakespeare's creatures. It would bear some analogy to Incarnation. -- C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy (p. 227)"

What an apt analogy for Christmas.

Surprised by Joy is C. S. Lewis's (1898-1963) autobiographical accou...more "If Shakespeare and Hamlet could ever meet, it must be Shakespeare's doing.

Shakespeare could, in principle, make himself appear as Author within the play, and write a dialogue between Hamlet and himself. The 'Shakespeare' within the play would of course be at once Shakespeare and one of Shakespeare's creatures. It would bear some analogy to Incarnation. -- C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy (p. 227)"

What an apt analogy for Christmas.

Surprised by Joy is C. S. Lewis's (1898-1963) autobiographical account of his experience with Joy in his younger days, that elusive something of which he had a hard time grasping. Subtitled The Shape of my Early Life, it is an honest chronicle of an intellectual journey. As a young teenager going to the junior school of Wyvern, Lewis had shed the veneer of Christianity from home and declared himself an Atheist. But his quest for Joy remained. It was to him an 'inconsolable longing' for 'the real Desirable'.

As a child, a form of Joy came to him through solitary reading, writing and drawing. In his youth, Joy channelled through Wagner's Ring Cycle and Norse mythology, or Northernness. As he grew, he began to realize that pleasure did not equate with Joy, neither physical nor aesthetic, neither Nature nor Wagnerian music, neither books nor poetry, nor the intellectual gratification from reading, nor the excitement of Northernness.

"You might as well offer a mutton chop to a man who is dying of thirst as offer sexual pleasure to the desire I am speaking of. .. Joy is not a substitue for sex; sex is very often a substitute for Joy. I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for Joy. (p. 170)"

Surprised by Joy is Lewis's chronicle of his encounters with books and countless authors. As a young boy he was first taught Latin by his mother, who sadly died of illness when he was only nine years old. He went through all forms of education, home, public, boarding school, and the most gratifying to him was after his father pulled him out of Wyvern and directed him to a private teacher in preparation for Oxford. While his father was uncertain about the move, Lewis secretly relished the idea and thrived in the experience.

To continue reading CLICK HERE.

(less)

like · see review

Apr 08, 2012 Ruthie rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was one of the best books I've ever read. And that may be a completely personal statement. You may not feel the same way after reading this book.

I love the way C.S. Lewis thinks and the way he communicates those thoughts. I'm fascinated by the story of his life. I've read many of his books (fiction and non) and three or four biographies of C.S. Lewis. Surprised by Joy surprised me by being another biography, but written in C.S. Lewis' own words, with his own sense of humor, and his concise...more

like · see review

Feb 19, 2012 Clifton rated it 5 of 5 stars

Finally got around to reading C.S. Lewis's "Surprised by Joy," over 40 years after my father gave it to me. I was impressed by how Jungian it is and by how Lewis's idea of melding opposites and thus achieving wholeness--or individuation--corresponds with Jung's concept of the Self and the imago dei. I think I understand why my dad wanted me to read the book, and I think I read it at exactly the right time in my life. Lewis was an introvert (like me) who had to develop his extraversion to become...more

like · see review

Oct 10, 2011 Rachel Rueckert rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography, religious

After reading so many books by C.S. Lewis, it was really nice to hear in his own words what life experiences he had that made him that unique individual. I am not the biggest fan of autobiographies in general, so I appreciated the companion biographical story told in The Essential C.S. Lewis, but I think Lewis does a pretty good job at honestly representing himself, particularly his childhood and educational career.

Things I did not know before (including bits from class discussion):

Lewis wen...more After reading so many books by C.S. Lewis, it was really nice to hear in his own words what life experiences he had that made him that unique individual. I am not the biggest fan of autobiographies in general, so I appreciated the companion biographical story told in The Essential C.S. Lewis, but I think Lewis does a pretty good job at honestly representing himself, particularly his childhood and educational career.

Things I did not know before (including bits from class discussion):

Lewis went by the nickname Jack. His mother died of cancer when he was a kid; he had little to no relationship with his father, and was an atheist the majority of his young life. It was “The Great Knock,” a mentor and teacher, who taught him to really question things, and though an atheist himself, it was these principles that taught Lewis to rethink atheism, which lead to his conversion to theism, and later Christianity.

Another insight from this that I appreciated was that Lewis did not trust emotions from a very early age. He seemed to be afraid of raw emotion, and I think that explains why he takes such a logical, rational approach to many of his arguments. Lewis also had a wild imagination. I loved reading about his childhood and the description of his house full of books. Without TV and video games, he was left to entertain himself with his own thoughts and rich imagination. I really like that, and that is something I hope to cultivate in my own children someday.

Something else I did not know: Lewis was also wounded in WWI and told his friend, Patty, that if he died he would take care of his mother. Apparently when Lewis moved in with her that lead to a rather interesting relationship—though Surprised by Joy does not mention that. Lewis does claim that he had a past before converting though, and that would only make sense.

I like this idea of joy that Lewis describes and the complexity of it. At first Lewis thought that was what he would have to give up when he became a Christian, only to discover that this was the opposite case. Joy tried to find him his whole life, but it came when he did not expect it. Joy comes in moments—in a sense of something beyond ourselves, something heavenly. Lewis also describes joy as an unsatisfied desire and kind of painful. The want of it is kind of like Heaven, in his opinion. We try to find joy fulfilled by false substitutes and through desire, but real joy is greater than pleasure or happiness. It also makes it the most valuable.

The book ended a bit abruptly to my liking. It seemed to focus mostly on his conversion to theism and not necessarily Christianity, and then it cut off from there. Again, one of the aspects I dislike about autobiography (and how blasted modest they try to be when I would rather just hear about their great accomplishments as unique individuals). I’m grateful for outside texts to give me more context for his life from a more objective point of view, and to hear more about the other aspects apart from his conversion (though that was, of course, important).

Until reading more on his life in The Essential C.S. Lewis, I also had no idea that his wife’s name was Joy. I think that is kind of ironic given the impetus of Joy that Lewis tries to answer in this autobiography.
(less)

like 2 likes · see review

Oct 01, 2011 Rachael Eliz rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I remembered reading an interview carried out with a theologian I find fascinating called Marcus Borg, and reading in his book Putting Away Childish Things, that he describes Lewis’ works with the terms “early Lewis” and “later Lewis”: "I find a much more persuasive sense of the mystery of God and the mystery of life in his later writings, including A Grief Observed, but probably starting with Surprised By Joy, than I do in his early pugnacious, polemical works. So I commonly speak of an early L...more I remembered reading an interview carried out with a theologian I find fascinating called Marcus Borg, and reading in his book Putting Away Childish Things, that he describes Lewis’ works with the terms “early Lewis” and “later Lewis”: "I find a much more persuasive sense of the mystery of God and the mystery of life in his later writings, including A Grief Observed, but probably starting with Surprised By Joy, than I do in his early pugnacious, polemical works. So I commonly speak of an early Lewis and a later Lewis. The later Lewis, I think, is a much wiser source of insight."

Although I read Lewis’ Narnia novels as a young child (the series wasn’t one of my childhood favourites, but as classics, I’m tempted to revisit them, as I remember very little), I have to say that I know very little about him. Yet Surprised by Joy has been indeed an interesting read. It's been interesting to be taken into another time. To see how things have changed, and how things haven’t.

An early passage (page 18 of the first chapter of which Lewis has tried to allow the reader a chance to know if the book will interest them) that has echoed most greatly in my mind, and that is one in which I believe the whole world seeks to live in and know in their lives, in themselves, is this…

"For those who are still disposed to proceed I will only underline the quality common to the three experiences; it is that of an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction. I call it Joy, which is here a technical term and must be sharply distinguished both from Happiness and from Pleasure. Joy (in my sense) has indeed one characteristic, and one only, in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again. Apart from that, and considered only in its quality, it might almost equally well be called a particular kind of unhappiness or grief. But then it is a kind we want. I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world."

Joy. And I think that this Joy that Lewis speaks of so passionately, that surprises him, is Love. With Joy, with Love, there comes pain. Yet the Joy, the Love grows, with beautifully divine delights, and beautifully divine difficulties. Joy, Love, is something that we seek, and would exchange for nothing else. Joy, Love, is everything. It is the fullness of life.

Joy, Love, cannot be found through any form of consumerism. Another huge obstacle in binding together with one another appears to be fear. Look within yourself, open yourself to the world, delight in your uniqueness, see the beauty all around, live alongside brothers and sisters of all humanity, and remember as Jesus said so many times, and as we read in the Bible so frequently, do not be afraid…

There are now many underlined passages softly pencilled into my copy of Surprised By Joy, one in particular being on pg 238, about the peacefulness that comes in knowing and accepting reality…

"…once one had dropped the absurd notion that reality is an arbitrary alternative to ‘nothing’, one gives up being a pessimist (or even an optimist). There is no sense in blaming or praising the Whole, nor, indeed, in saying anything about it. Even if you persist in hurling Promethean or Hardyesque defiances at it, then, since you are a part of it, it is only that same Whole which through you ‘quietly declaims the cursings of itself’ – a futility which seems to me to vitiate Lord Russell’s stirring essay on ‘The Worship of a Free Man’. Cursings were as futile, and as immature, as dreams about the western garden. One must (like Carlyle’s lady) ‘accept’ the universe; totally, with no reservations, loyally. This sort of Stoical Monism was the philosophy of my New Look. And it gave me a great sense of peace. It was perhaps the nearest thing to a religious experience which I had had since my prep. school days. It ended (I hope for ever) any idea of a treaty or compromise with reality."(less)

like 1 like · see review

Feb 24, 2011 Evan L. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: inklings-etc

Just picked this one up off my shelf last weekend and poured through it. Slowly getting through all of Lewis' non-professional books. This one is excellent just like all of the others. The book is essentially his spiritual autobiography. Reading it felt like talking to a friend, although certainly one dropping lots of literary references, only some of which was I aware of. Parts of it were very philosophical too, but they could be followed, and were worth it because he was explaining the details...more

like · see review

Oct 01, 2010 Courtney Johnston rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-about-books, borrowed, biography

One of my least attractive, and most intractable, qualities is the attitude I hold towards organised religion (and let's face it, I'm not any more forgiving towards unorganised religion). Partly this is because no matter how hard I try, I can't understand how people believe in a God. To me, it's as unfathomable as believing in fairies or unicorns.

I've had moments that I have no better word for than spiritual - usually, when I'm introduced to a thought or idea that has such force, such scope, th...more One of my least attractive, and most intractable, qualities is the attitude I hold towards organised religion (and let's face it, I'm not any more forgiving towards unorganised religion). Partly this is because no matter how hard I try, I can't understand how people believe in a God. To me, it's as unfathomable as believing in fairies or unicorns.

I've had moments that I have no better word for than spiritual - usually, when I'm introduced to a thought or idea that has such force, such scope, that I feel like the world around me has suddenly grown bigger and deeper. And I have no problems having 'faith' in scientific proof for things that seem just as un-rational as a god. But I don't have a shred of religiosity, and have never experienced a feeling of lack in my life on this regard.

As a result, I'm puzzled as to how people who have rational habits of mind convert to Christianity. I can understand growing up with belief, and holding on to it (like holding on to the belief that farmers should always receive subsidies, and that a National government is a true and correct government). But I am unable to imagine a trail of thought that would lead one from atheism to religion.

A recent article in the New Yorker described how Francis Collins, director of the National Institute of Health 'found god':

He decided that the question of whether God existed was an important one, and undertook to affirm his atheism. He spent two years reading C. S. Lewis and other explorations of reason and faith, and eventually called Mary Lynn’s pastor, the Reverend Sam McMillan.

McMillan recalls, “He said, ‘Please don’t be offended, but I’d have to get a lobotomy to go to your church.’ ” McMillan played golf, and Collins met him at the course for a round. Collins assailed the young pastor with questions.

“I’d be just about to putt a key putt, and he’d say, ‘You don’t believe in the Virgin Mary, do you?’ ” McMillan says. “By the eighteenth hole, I knew we were doing more than playing golf. And somehow I was prompted to seize the moment. It was the Holy Spirit inspiration. I grabbed the scorecard and wrote down, ‘When God knocks on my door, in a way that I—not my wife or pastor, but I—know that it’s God who’s knocking on my door, I will then accept Jesus Christ.’ I gave it to him. And he signed it.” (McMillan, who runs a Christian retreat in Boone, North Carolina, still uses that ploy with potential converts; he calls it the Francis Collins Covenant.) McMillan did not hear from Collins for several months. Then Collins called him while hiking in the Cascades, and showed up at church the next Sunday, saying he wanted to share his testimony. He told the congregation that during his trip he turned a corner and saw a frozen waterfall, perfectly formed into three separate parts. He took it as a revelation of Trinitarian truth, the sign that he’d contracted for on Sam McMillan’s golf card. The next morning, he vowed to devote his life to the Christian faith.

I wonder how Lewis would have felt about that 'sign'. Uncomfortable, I think. In "Surprised by Joy' Lewis describes his move back towards Christianity as as a rigourously logical as the thinking that took him away from it as a teenager. It was a lengthy and well-debated transformation and one that made him unhappy for the duration, if happy in its outcome.

I was rather less interested in Lewis's religious conversion ('Careful', my husband joked when he saw I was reading this, 'what if you trn into a Christian?') that his story about his relationship with his father (difficult, for both usual and unusual reasons) and his harrowing descriptions of his schooling, with its beating, fagging, House Tarts and Bloods and Games (Lewis and his brother inherited a mutation from their father which meant they were missing one joint in their thumbs, making them appalling bad at games, which basically meant you were fucked from the start in the public school system). Lewis devotes several chapters to his schooling and less than one to his experience as a soldier at the Front in WWI, which gives some indication of how deeply these years burned into him.

Like 'An Experiment in Criticism', I'm going to have to read "Surprised by Joy' again if I'm to fully understand what Lewis is trying to tell me. This is quite worrying, as these books were written in the late 1950s/early 1960s for a general audience, and I'm having trouble getting to the meat behind the words. Then again, in the 1960s the New Zealand Women's Weekly ran articles about contemporary New Zealand painters, so at least I can feel like part of a general cultural decline, which is rather comforting ... right? Oh, god.

(less)

like · see review

May 25, 2009 Lindsay rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is Lewis's spiritual autobiography of sorts. It traces his life from childhood experiences in church as the grandson of a clergyman to ignoring God as a youth to the trenches in which he fought in WWI to his Oxford days as a full-out Atheist to his close friendships with JRR Tolkien and a few others that sped along his ultimate conversion. It's written in a very rational and slightly detached way (as is everything Lewis writes). It's interesting to see how his childhood shaped him into the...more

like 4 likes · see review

Aug 01, 2012 Bev Hankins rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: christian, mount-tbr-2012, memoir, non-fiction, autobiography

Finished C. S. Lewis's Suprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life yesterday. The book gives us Lewis's life from his boyhood to his years at school and with a tutor in preparation for Oxford to (brief) vignettes about his World War I experiences to life as an undergraduate at Oxford. It is also supposed to recount his journey from a fairly typical Christian childhood in Belfast to a period of atheism/agnosticism to his confident claiming of Christian joy for himself. A BIG DEAL is made in the...more Finished C. S. Lewis's Suprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life yesterday. The book gives us Lewis's life from his boyhood to his years at school and with a tutor in preparation for Oxford to (brief) vignettes about his World War I experiences to life as an undergraduate at Oxford. It is also supposed to recount his journey from a fairly typical Christian childhood in Belfast to a period of atheism/agnosticism to his confident claiming of Christian joy for himself. A BIG DEAL is made in the blurb on the back of the book about Lewis being the man who reasoned his way back to God. I'd heard quite a bit about the book previously. But quite honestly I am surprised at how Surprised by Joy isn't nearly as descriptive of Lewis's conversion as I expected. Not that he doesn't mention it--repeatedly. But, based on the evidence he supplies, I am unconvinced. And I'm a Christian myself. Preaching to the choir here.

He casually mentions here that he was made to rethink his atheism because he read this or that book. And then over there so-and-so came along, and, well, he wasn't a believer either...but what he said made Lewis think. And then, hey, he read a few more books and was urged to think even more furiously about this whole Spirit/Joy/quite-possibly-God thing. And, by golly, he was reminded of that JOY he felt once upon a time when his brother built a little play garden in a biscuit tin lid. And he keeps on looking for that JOY. And discovered it again when he came across the Norse mythologies. He decides that the JOY is really desire and that desire is for what he calls Spirit. He's not yet converted to Christianity, but he's on his way. And then suddenly during his Oxford days he says he was on his way to Whipsnade and "When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did. Yet I had not exactly spent the journey in thought." Poof! He's a believer...in for the whole nine yards. A done deal. But reasoning his way there? Not according to his narrative. I don't doubt Lewis's belief. I've read enough of his other works that I know what he believes. And he expounds it very well in those other works. He can't help but exhibit it in his fiction. But showing me how he got there in this spiritual autobiography? Not nearly so well--he doesn't lay out his reasoning in the same way that he discourses on the four loves (in the book of the same name), for instance. For a reasoning man, he expects his reader to take a great deal on faith--to just believe that because he said he suddenly believed in God again, well, he did.

What I like most about this work is the intellectual autobiography. I enjoy his thoughts on books and reading and scholarship. It was interesting to read about his schooling and his joy during the time he spent under Mr. Kirkpatrick's tutelage. I would have liked to have learned more about his experiences in World War I. And I just plain like the way Lewis writes. He is straight forward and yet there is a rhythmic quality to the writing. There is subtle humor in the way he writes about the interactions between his father, brother, and himself--and I laughed out loud when he told the WWI story about the door coming off their railroad compartment. I would have rated the book higher than the three stars I am giving it if it had been a straight
autobiography and not pitched as such a blockbuster spiritual journey.

This review was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting any portion. Thanks.(less)

like 1 like · see review

Jul 15, 2009 Sandra Munro rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed the first third of this book, possibly proving true the comment C.S. Lewis makes in his preface, that - 'I never read an autobiography in which the parts devoted to the earlier years were not far the most interesting.'

Be that as it may, I found much to enjoy and even to delight in these opening chapters. I thought it was all wonderfully well-written, and regretted that it was such a little book to be savoured. There were insights, ideas and elegant prose to be enjoyed on almost...more

like · see review

Jan 04, 2013 Stephen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I reread this book for the first time since I was a junior in college. Now that I am a teacher, I have grown to appreciate C.S. Lewis's reflections on his own teachers, from the cruel Oldie to the great Knock, who would not let a careless word pass unexamined.

As a teacher of classical literature, I found some helpful pointers on how to teach the classics as a Christian, based on what Lewis realized his own instruction had lacked: “No one ever attempted to show in what sense Christianity fulfill...more I reread this book for the first time since I was a junior in college. Now that I am a teacher, I have grown to appreciate C.S. Lewis's reflections on his own teachers, from the cruel Oldie to the great Knock, who would not let a careless word pass unexamined.

As a teacher of classical literature, I found some helpful pointers on how to teach the classics as a Christian, based on what Lewis realized his own instruction had lacked: “No one ever attempted to show in what sense Christianity fulfilled Paganism or Paganism prefigured Christianity” (62). Providentially, the young Lewis was fascinated with pagan mythology, which he credits as a stepping-stone to the Christian faith: “Sometimes I can almost think that I was sent back to the false gods there to acquire some capacity for worship against the day when the true God should recall me to Himself” (77).

This time around I also learned much from Lewis’s reflections on unhealthy introspection in Christian practice. Lewis notes how he had been caught up with what he calls a “false conscience.” During the period he attended Oldie’s boarding school, Lewis struggled with praying to the extent that it rendered his practice of religion “a quite intolerable burden”: “One had no sooner reached ‘Amen’ than it whispered, ‘Yes. But are you sure you were really thinking about what you said?’” (61). Lewis has a good insight here. Many Christians may get discouraged when they look inward as Lewis did. While prayer is an essential Christian practice, our faith should not rest on the quality of our own performance; our faith should rest on the object of our faith. Faith should be (to use a term I learned from Richard Gaffin) “extraspective,” looking to Christ.

Upon his conversion to theism, Lewis was freed from unhelpful introspection: "To believe and to pray were the beginning of extroversion. I had been, as they say, 'taken out of myself.' If Theism had done nothing else for me, I should still be thankful that it cured me of the time-wasting and foolish practice of keeping a diary" (233). Having once been a vigorous practitioner and proponent of diary-keeping, I know that, contrary to Lewis’s assertion, many have found diaries beneficial. (After all, Goodreads is itself a sort of public diary of our reading!) Still, for those inclined to morbid introspection, diary-keeping may not be wise.

Overall, this book was a pleasure to return to. C.S. Lewis’s writing has been formative in my intellectual and spiritual life; in rereading this book I find some passages where I was first introduced to ideas I have since made my own.
(less)

like · see review

Feb 27, 2010 Cindi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, amazing-people, own-it, nonfiction, religion

Surprised By Joy is an account of C.S. Lewis' early life into his adulthood. The thread that ties the writing together is his spiritual life. He went from a kind of Christianity (not taught at home), to stark atheism, to Theism and finally to Christianity. The early chapters of the book were a delight to read (except for the information about his horrible schoolmaster and school conditions). As the book went on, it became more and more intellectual to the point that I could hardly bear to finish...more Surprised By Joy is an account of C.S. Lewis' early life into his adulthood. The thread that ties the writing together is his spiritual life. He went from a kind of Christianity (not taught at home), to stark atheism, to Theism and finally to Christianity. The early chapters of the book were a delight to read (except for the information about his horrible schoolmaster and school conditions). As the book went on, it became more and more intellectual to the point that I could hardly bear to finish it. However, it was compelling and my book is full of underlining, writing and post-it notes.

I am in awe learning about Lewis' education, from his early exposure to as many books as he wanted to read, to his love of poetry, to his education under an extremely logical (positivist) tutor.

Rather than inspire me to read the classics, it has caused me some trepidation. This is probably just because C.S. Lewis was brilliant and I won't have the grasp of them in a whole lifetime that he gained during the years of his education. However, I will persevere.

His conversion was fascinating. He read Christian authors and appreciated them, forgiving them of their Christian-ness. They were worth reading because of their genius (speaking of MacDonald and Chesterton). Soon he realized that all the truly worthwhile authors were either Christian or believed in God in some form. As he continued to move forward in life, he describes his move to Theism as a choice, but it seemed to him impossible to do the opposite. Finally one day, on a drive to the zoo, he came to accept that Jesus Christ was the son of God. He can't give any more insight into it than that one minute he didn't believe and the next he did. And so, in some ways, it is still a puzzle to me. How did C.S. Lewis become a Christian? It seems that he found his calling in life--a scholar and teacher--learned all he could and was inevitably led to the end down the path where when confronted long enough with the question of whether there is a God and whether Jesus Christ is indeed his son, there was nothing left but to accept it.

He does not base this conclusion on feelings. Feelings, according to Lewis, aren't the best basis for an argument. (He gives a compelling case for that early in the book. Again, fascinating!) That has changed how I view things a little bit, or at least caused me to sit back and think more about it. I have always been someone who does my best (not in a healthy way) to block feelings. I'm always dissecting things in my brain. But, since I never really learned the rules of logic, my outcomes cannot necessarily be trusted.

I assure you, my review does not do justice to this book. I am eager for some of my friends to read this book so we can have a discussion!

P.S. One aspect I loved in the book was when C.S. Lewis describes how he came to love nature for itself. My experience, in some ways, mirrors his and I really related to his ideas and descriptions.

Older review:

I had started this book about a year ago and put it down. I decided to restart and found this gem of a quote on page 8:

I am a product of long corridors, empty sunlit rooms, upstairs indoor silences, attics explored in solitude, distant gurgling cisterns and pipes, and the noise of the wind under the tiles. Also, of endless books. My father bought all the books he read and never got rid of any of them. k there were books in the study, books in the drawing room, books in the cloakroom, books (two deep) in the great bookcase on the landing, books in a bedroom, books piled as high as my shoulder in the cistern attic, books of all kinds reflecting every transient stage of my parents' interest, books readable and unreadable, books suitable for a child and books most emphatically not. Nothing was forbidden me. In the seemingly endless rainy afternoons I took volume after volume from the shelves. I had always the same certainty of finding a book that was new to me as a man who walks into a field has of finding a new blade of grass. Where all these books had been before we came to the New House is a problem that never occurred to me until I began writing this paragraph. I have no idea of the answer.(less)

like 2 likes · see review

Feb 14, 2010 Cindy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

I've owned this book for a few years, and started it once or twice before now but never finished it. This time through I realized why I had never finished it before - don't get me wrong, I think C. S. Lewis was brilliant, but he was also a profound (and sometimes arrogant) introvert. And, well, his continual musings on how the only nice life was one that didn't include parties, large groups of friend, or daily mail - which some of us like quite a lot, thanks very much - got a little old.

That sai...more

like 1 like · see review

Mar 26, 2011 David rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-memoir

Reading Lewis is always a treat and this book, in the end, does not disappoint. That said, of all the Lewis books I have read I feel like I had the most trouble with this one. Perhaps the largest reason is that, in telling his story we are placed in a very specific time and place, early 20th century England. In this Lewis uses a lot of terminology that is either unfamiliar or has a different meaning than today. The chapter about his time at Wyvern College, speaking about "tarts" and "fagging" wa...more

like · see review

Nov 10, 2010 Storey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I learned so much from this book! It offers great insight into the life and mind of C.S. Lewis. First of all he's Irish - I had no idea, I thought he was an Englishman all this time!

He describes his childhood and his schooling, his relationships with his Father and brother, the early loss of his Mother, and different mentors and friendships. I particularly liked the revelation of his favorite authors and certain literature that influenced him most. His world view was very much shaped by the boo...more

like · see review

Aug 09, 2012 Larry rated it 4 of 5 stars

To tell you the truth I don't know what I expected when I began reading this book. I knew of Lewis first as the author of the Narnia Chronicles, and a wonderful weaver of fantasy. I also knew he was or is considered a theologian or at the very least a Christian Apologist; the term theologian from reading this book I wonder if he would have accepted. I wanted to know what could take such an admirable mind(that much I did know-- was of his brilliance) and change it from a stance as atheism once re...more To tell you the truth I don't know what I expected when I began reading this book. I knew of Lewis first as the author of the Narnia Chronicles, and a wonderful weaver of fantasy. I also knew he was or is considered a theologian or at the very least a Christian Apologist; the term theologian from reading this book I wonder if he would have accepted. I wanted to know what could take such an admirable mind(that much I did know-- was of his brilliance) and change it from a stance as atheism once resovled, to recognize himself as such and move to the opposite end of the spectrum, Christianity.

Rating this book is almost a personal experience that I shudder at describing because my views on "spirituality" are personal. I do not wish to prosthyltize others with my subjectiviy on a subject that I myself out of "blamed cussedness"(as Lewis described) to impose on others something I may get out of this book that they make question the veracity of, it being as I said based on one man's spiritual journey. So what I may find "speaks to the heart of the matter," or more aptly to my "heart," is to others readers pure nonsense. That is for you the reader to decide if you choose to read this book.

He does tell his early life, and while relevant to the shaping of his philosophy and ultimatly conversion from an intellectual stand-point to one of faith, it is candid. It doesn't leave out a thing! I mean I believe if Lewis practiced Confession as some faiths, even Protestant do, I don't believe he would leave out an iota of detail. If anything his honest to a fault picture of school life left me admonishing myself not to judge others. I must admit, I almost put the book down, not due to any fault of Lewis, so much as reading his other apologetic works and regarding him in such high esteem. But even St. Paul known to persecute Christians with a sharp blade, traded it in for the wisdom of a keen mind to do good. So, remembering this, I had to remember the dangers of placing one held in high esteem by me to divine standards. Had I set this book down, I would have made a grave error in missing out on the nature of Lewis' belief system, which is the question that made me desire to read this book in the first place.

I honestly gave it a 4 star review for subjective reasons, others must pass judgement on this book for the better or worse themselves, that is not for me to say. I myself intend to add this book to my library as a keeper to reread. Others may discard it with as much joy as I (forgive me)covet mine. (less)

like 1 like · see review

May 29, 2012 Lauren rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is one of the gratis fiction books I ever read about C.L Lewis an amazing person to learn and read about. In this book you get to know the life he had and all the drama and tribulation he went though as man, boy, and a teenager. As the book goes on you find his dreams, joys, and dark haunting secrets. Throughout the book C.S Lewis tires to find the joy in his life that he lost so long ago.
Not to my knowledge that a movie has been made of this book. But if it's turned into a production I wo...more

like · see review

Feb 12, 2009 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed reading CS Lewis' autobiography, but it is such a deep, philosophical book that I'm sure there was much of it that I just did not understand. Lewis writes about that elusive longing, that bittersweet wondrous feeling caused by standing on a ridge gazing across a windswept field to purple misty mountains far in the distance... he terms this longing, "joy", and the book chronicles his search for joy throughout his early life. It follows Lewis from childhood, to prep school; and from Chri...more

like 1 like · see review

title link	preview: Surprised by Joy
avg rating	preview: Surprised by Joy Goodreads rating: 4.10 (15277 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121732.Surprised_by_Joy?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356459754l/121732.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121732.Surprised_by_Joy?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis[/url]

Surprised by Joy

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (39)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About C.S. Lewis

Books by C.S. Lewis

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Surprised By Joy:...

Quotes from Surprised by Joy