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The Horse and His Boy (Chronicles of Narnia, #5)
by C.S. Lewis
by C.S. Lewis
The basic story is a good and entertaining one, but I could not get beyond the overt prejudices of C.S. Lewis on display throughout this book.
I'm incredibly disappointed. His portrayal of the people of Calormen is horrid. I admit, by calor I don't known if he is implying people of the hot lands (as calor indicates heat) or if it is a not-so-subtle way of suggesting colored people, but the descriptions speak for themselves. These people are described as dark-skinned, turban-wearing, cruel slave-owners. Their leader is a corrupt war-monger. This land and its people are consistently contrasted against the fair-skinned, judicious and free-thinking people of Narnia and Archenland.
It's not a book I would recommend. In fact, it has lessened by desire to continue reading the chronicles. This is really too bed because, other than the cultural depictions, the story idea is marvelous.
I'm incredibly disappointed. His portrayal of the people of Calormen is horrid. I admit, by calor I don't known if he is implying people of the hot lands (as calor indicates heat) or if it is a not-so-subtle way of suggesting colored people, but the descriptions speak for themselves. These people are described as dark-skinned, turban-wearing, cruel slave-owners. Their leader is a corrupt war-monger. This land and its people are consistently contrasted against the fair-skinned, judicious and free-thinking people of Narnia and Archenland.
It's not a book I would recommend. In fact, it has lessened by desire to continue reading the chronicles. This is really too bed because, other than the cultural depictions, the story idea is marvelous.
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Atyg
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Apr 07, 2008 11:52pm
Can you imagine this book as a film? I bet you the movie producer would conveniently skip it and go onto the next. Or maybe alter the Calormen culture so much to goodness knows what, for the sake of political correctness, which, let's face it, is still politically incorrect for today's turbulent climate. Fatwahs, violent protests at embassies...But you know, controversy=publicity=cash. Who knows?
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I think the fact that you find this book un- politically correct is a bit naive, The book was written a long time ago by a devout christian in a time of extreme prejudice. (2 world wars?) He needs to portray the bad guys in a bad light and if you were intelligent you would realise that the only thing the calormen have in commen with modern religions are the fact that they wear turbans and are dark skinned. The fact that he based the calormen on the long defuncted carthiginian empire also must have passed you by.
If you are going to pick faults with a 70+ year old book over over the depiction of how the bad guys are portrayed, I may suggest that your next choice should be a colouring book....
Colouring books are mainly targeted at kids, and the Narnia books were, and still are, by marketing companies to children. Can kids make that distinction? Will parents tell them? I hope so.To portray villians, why did Lewis use middle eastern culture? Couldn't something else be thought of by his creative genius? For me, Lewis created the greatest villains, a "Snow Queen" and an ape--they horrified the soul.
Nethertheless, for a wider, geographical appreciation of the Narnian world, and the recurrence of Calormen and other characters in the epic finale, The Last Battle, I would still recommend it to the informed reader.
I believe children are intelligent enough to make there own mind up, I read this book as a child and as of yet have yet to join any nationalist party or don any white cloak...I think to read such an entertaining book such as this and pick up on racial overtones is probably missing the point of a good old fashioned good vs evil romp, who really cares who the bad guy is, as long as he gets beaten.
I would recommend this book to anyone, assuming they are in no way mind wiped by the evergrowing PC brigade.
