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Jul 23, 2009

Choupette rated it:

It's hard for me to review these books, because they are sentimental favourites, even though I was never really into them in a big way as a kid. I have no idea if this is a normal practice or not, but in my family we stick things on the walls of the toilet. Among the faded lists of French verbs that take prepositions, organic chemistry summaries, times table charts, and the poignant, torn, ugly pieces of primary-school artwork is a poster-map of Narnia. I have no idea where it came from and what More...

35 comments like (31 people liked it)

Jan 29, 2011

Mansoor rated it:

The Magician's Nephew is easily the best story of the Chronicles. First of all, it's the least overtly religious. There is a creation-of-the-world element, but it's not our world so it seems more fantastic than religious. Not only is there a veil over the religiosity, there's so much creativity in this story: the magical rings, the in-between place, the Deplorable Word, the founding of Narnia.

Starting with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, the religiosity becomes noticeable, More...

9 comments like (15 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Mer rated it:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1...

(Click the above link to read professor Carol Zaleski's interesting take of the seething religious/political furor surrounding these classics.)

I pined for Narnia in the most broken, sad way when I was a little girl.

Obviously, I had no knowledge of any Christian subtext when I first read "Da Chroni *WHUT* cles". I remember devouring them in much the same way that children are now tearing through the Harry Pot More...

6 comments like (8 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

AJ rated it:

When the Lion/Witch/Wardrobe movie came out a while ago, some dude accosted me and said "Dude, the fucking right wing media is trying to say that the Narnia books are all about fucking Christianity!!!"

No shit. I figured that out when I was 9.

But who cares? If you can't enjoy these books at all, there is no child alive inside of you. And if you've got no child inside you, you're not very much fun at all, are you?

4 comments like (59 people liked it)

Mar 17, 2010

Daniel rated it:

I read "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" when I was very young, and barely remember it. I never read the other books in the series. So now, as an adult, I'm reading the entire "Chronicles of Narnia." After a bit of Internet research, I decided to read them in order of publication, rather than the overall story's chronological order. I'll post individual reviews for each book, and slightly shorter opinions here.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: The first i More...

12 comments like (5 people liked it)

Apr 10, 2008

Julie rated it:

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0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Mar 28, 2008

whalesister rated it:

I read the entire series, one right after another, eight times in a row when I got them for Christmas in fourth grade. Obviously I loved them then. Just finished reading them again to Eric, my 8-year-old, and loved them maybe just as must as I did as a 10-year-old. Eric couldn't stop giggling through the last pages of Horse and His Boy, which we had to reread when we finished the rest, since it was his favorite. We're starting Prince Caspian again, too--another favorite. I realized this go arou More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Jarod rated it:

A mostly well-written, very imaginative, thoroughly enjoyable read. The narration is warm and witty, the protagonists are well developed and likable but not perfect (written perfectly, but with flaws that give the stories depth), and the settings are vivid and fantastic (remember those loony one-footed invisible things that hop around? and the ending, when the boat sails over that undersea city and then into the clouds at the edge of the world?).

I'm always annoyed when people confou More...

0 comments like (12 people liked it)

May 02, 2008

Jaclyn rated it:

I can't even begin to count how many times I've read "The Chronicles of Narnia." The truly amazing thing about these books is that each time you read them, they magically become more complex, more meaningful and more beautiful. I first read "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" when I was about seven or eight years old and I did not get it at all. Sure, I followed the story, but the deeper meaning was completely lost on me. Someone later told me that it was a Christian s More...

4 comments like (12 people liked it)

Nov 02, 2007

Timothy rated it:

I went back and actually read the Chronicles of Narnia for the first time last year. (My parents read them to me when I was a kid). This is an amazing story, from one of the best English minds of the twentieth century. As a whole, this story was every bit as good as I had remembered.

That being said, however, I ran into some real problems reading this story as an adult in the 21st century. Starting with The Horse and His Boy, and culminating in The Last Battle, the issue of "Calo More...

8 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jul 05, 2007

Carl rated it:

I read this entire series multiple times when I was younger, I think near the end of elementary school or during Jr Hi, and actually got sick of it after too many reads and had to wait to rediscover it later on-- several times, in fact. The books are nice and short, yet each is a quality fantasy story, loaded, of course, with Lewis' exploration-in-fiction of man's relationship to diety and the world. Tolkien was always my favorite, but Lewis has his own particular approach to the fantastic whi More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Ivy's Mom rated it:

After reading the reviews here I'm glad to know I wasn't the only kid searching for a way into Narnia.

I first read and fell in love with the series in the fourth grade. I read them over and over and over. Sometimes in series order, sometimes in chronological order. At some point I started saving them for Christmas break. I would read them every year at Christmas break. My family, all non-readers, thought this was a bizarre quirk of mine but they tolerated it.

When More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 28, 2008

Amanda rated it:

I read this entire series on my lunch breaks while I was working as a framer at Hobby Lobby. I don't know that I would've read them at any other time in my adult life simply because they are a bit slow and too juvenile in parts, but altogether these are definately worth the read. They are very easy to read and very creatively done. It's easy to see the author's genius throughout the series. And I wish badly that I had read these as a child when my mind was more open. I know I would have loved th More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 06, 2011

C.L. rated it:

I got hooked on this series in junior high school and never got over it. The Narnia series has it all. Stories of good versus evil, adventure, betrayal and redemption that both children and adults will enjoy. Although placed in the order of chronological events, I still tend to read them in the published order, mostly because that was how I read them originally. However, that is a matter of personal preference, and having them all in one single collection allows that leeway. All the books a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 27, 2012

Christine rated it:

I really loved this series. What I liked most about it was how CS Lewis describes each character and their personalities. At some point in the series, you see yourself as the character's friend and not just a reader. My favorite character was Lucy. Why I like Lucy so much is because she is so faithful to Narnia and Aslan, and she never gives up on them. The first few books of this series are just an introduction to Narnia and to the main characters. In each book, the main characters Peter, Susa More...

9 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 24, 2011

Book Elf rated it:

When I first grabbed the book, my thought was, "Oh my! There's a whole lot to read." As you can see, I have watched the Chronicles of Narnia movies 1 to 3 (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of The Dawn Treader) before reading the book itself, and it was so thick!. So when I came across the 1st book, I was puzzled. I thought, "oh, so The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was not the first book." Which made me felt silly. Then I read on.

More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 06, 2008

Rena rated it:

Every book a masterpiece--I enjoy them again and again...and the Christian symbols are part of what makes it great.

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Aug 28, 2007

Joy rated it:

okay.... so I read this in high school but it remains my favorite all time books. CS Lewis is brillant in his symbolism regarding the characters.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 28, 2008

Ruth rated it:

I love how you can see Aslan as Jesus giving up his life for us. And the greater power or deaper magic that brings him back to life

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Aug 18, 2008

Luann rated it:

These books are AMAZING! They are a beautiful metaphor for the biblical story of Jesus's sacrifice for us.

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Feb 10, 2011

Ryan rated it:

I was in college the first time I read all the Chronicles of Narnia. Eight years later, I was ecstatic to get the whole set for free through the Goodreads first reader program. (Thanks to Harper Collins.) This time around I enjoyed them quite a bit more and understood the symbolism a little better. Rating on story alone I probably would give them three or four stars. But because all the stories are so deep in meaning and strike a chord with Christians everywhere, I've bumped the series up t More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 20, 2008

Lindsay rated it:

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

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 16, 2009

Terence rated it:

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3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jun 27, 2007

Tina rated it:

CS Lewis' Chronicles are a God-send in my world. Although I have listed 1981 as having read them... I have to say that I am constantly re-reading them. Different books for different moods/issues I'm having. I have found they rejuvenate my spirit and my faith. The Horse and His Boy and The Last Battle have been read the fewest amount of times-2 each; I think this is because I found no common link with either of them. Voyage of the Dawn Treader has been my favorite, however Puddleglum from The Sil More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 06, 2008

Elizabeth rated it:

I have loved these books my whole life. They are frequently misread, I think, by people who insist that everything in Narnia has to "equal" something in our world (Aslan=Jesus, Calormens=Muslims, Tash=Satan, etc.) While Lewis is clearly writing about God, as I read it, he is imagining how the Christian God might reveal himself in another world rather than allegorizing our own. Aslan is not "Jesus," but rather the earthly aspect of God as he reveals himself in Narnia. The More...

3 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 13, 2008

Melissa rated it:

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 22, 2007

Monica rated it:

"Then Eustace set his teeth and drove the thorn into the Lion's pad. And there came out a great drop of blood, redder than all redness that you have ever seen or imagined. And it splashed into the stream over the dead body of the King. At the same moment the doleful music stopped. And the dead King began to be changed. His white beard turned to grey, and from grey to yellow, and got shorter and vanished altogether; and his sunken cheeks grew round and fresh, and the wrinkles were smoothed, More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 06, 2007

Sean rated it:

My Mom got me these books for Christmas 1986. Until that point, I hadn't gotten books as a gift. Well, I certainly never remembered getting books, even though my parents gave us books every year at Christmas. They got ignored until the decorations came down in January - "Oh, we got books too?" Well, I remember this particular Christmas, my Mom said "open this... and start reading them tonight." Glad she did, because I love these books. I just started reading them again. More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Smokinjbc rated it:

I grew up in a evangelical household, so the symbolism of TLW&W was not lost on me. Actually, I remember thinking church would be more interesting if they threw some lions, fauns, wardrobes, etc into the theology. The first and last books were probably my least favorite- but only in comparison to the rest. The best parts:

- Eustace and the Dragon

- REEPICHEEP!

- Everything about The Horse and His Boy- especially "riding
lessons" and the Sultan's More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 06, 2008

Michelle rated it:

favorite childhood book series - hands down

never realized the christian references until high school. have to admit it is an amazing experience to watch my boys read the same books and love them as much as I did...makes parenting worthwhile

as a side note, some of my favorite childhood memories are of the many afternoons spent at the local library with my father. no wimpy story time hour - not with my dad. we split up as soon as we entered the lobby, and I could not rep More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)