Speaking of gentlemen of whom I am in awe, I read Miracles by C.S. Lewis; I am newly agog at his brilliantly ordered thought processes every time I reSpeaking of gentlemen of whom I am in awe, I read Miracles by C.S. Lewis; I am newly agog at his brilliantly ordered thought processes every time I read one of his books. His abilities of ratiocination (and his ability to carry you along with him through his reasoning) are truly impressive, not to mention incredibly useful for one’s spiritual growth. ...more
We’re reading Pilgrim’s Regress by C.S. Lewis this week for our philosophy group. I’ve read Pilgrim’s Progress, of course, but wasn’t terribly impressWe’re reading Pilgrim’s Regress by C.S. Lewis this week for our philosophy group. I’ve read Pilgrim’s Progress, of course, but wasn’t terribly impressed; I know it’s a classic, but something about that book just rubs me the wrong way. I was baffled by the passage in Little Women where the girls talk about loving to read it because it was such an adventure story. I wondered if maybe I was reading the wrong book, since Pilgrim’s Progress invariably puts me into a coma, and this coming from the girl who usually enjoys some pretty dry reading. I’m not a tremendous fan of allegory, which is part of the problem, but I also found it unhelpful in terms of Christian instruction. Pilgrim’s Regress, on the other hand, is both fascinating and useful so far—unsurprisingly, since it’s Lewis. The story is allegorical and told in much the same way as Pilgrim’s Progress, but it is a generalized account of Lewis’s own progress in Christianity. His preface to my edition apologizes for the individualized journey, which he thought was more typical of other Christians’ struggles. He says that he realized much later that his was an unusual process, but to me it still seems extremely relatable. More on this later, I suspect.
Update: On Monday we’re discussing the second half of Pilgrim’s Regress, which I enjoyed reading and admired even more than the first. I found Superbia to be the most genuinely disturbing character in the book; that’s quite a visual, there (and one which I will not spoil for those of you who haven’t read it). A lot of Lewis’s points make me squirm; he holds a mirror up to me and makes me look at myself more honestly. He’s enjoyable medicine, though, and I love reading his works.
Top to bottom, all of the essays were fascinating. I never read Lewis without a pencil; if I try, I end up deeply regretting my inability to underlineTop to bottom, all of the essays were fascinating. I never read Lewis without a pencil; if I try, I end up deeply regretting my inability to underline every other paragraph. I particularly liked his essay on Lord of the Rings, which was a beautiful tribute to his friend’s work. He says, ”Here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron; here is a book that will break your heart.” While these essays contain a fair bit of literary criticism, they are also hilarious at times. Lewis tells the story, ”Once in a hotel dining-room I said, rather too loudly, ‘I loathe prunes.’ ’So do I,’ came an unexpected six-year-old voice from another table. Sympathy was instantaneous. Neither of us thought it funny. We both knew that prunes are far too nasty to be funny.” In another essay, he condemns the bad science fiction or fantasy books ”which leap a thousand years to find plots and passions which they could have found at home,” a trait that had been particularly annoying me of late but which I did not know how to properly vituperate until reading Lewis’s description. ...more
I picked up a copy of A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis at The Reader’s Corner the other day, and it was exquisite, in the seldom-used meaning of the worI picked up a copy of A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis at The Reader’s Corner the other day, and it was exquisite, in the seldom-used meaning of the word—keenly sensitive—and in the more typical meaning of beautiful. C.S. Lewis, as always, comes the nearest to wording the unwordable of any human being. I know this is a book I’ll be rereading. It’s so intensely personal that I can certainly understand why he originally published it under a pen name. If I’d written it, I don’t believe I could have published it at all.
I finally read Mere Christianity by CS Lewis the other day. I shouldn’t have waited so long–-forever ago, before I knew CS Lewis at all, I ran acrossI finally read Mere Christianity by CS Lewis the other day. I shouldn’t have waited so long–-forever ago, before I knew CS Lewis at all, I ran across a copy of Mere Christianity and for some reason thought it would be tedious. It is not. In fact, it would have been the perfect introduction to his nonfiction works, had I known it. I was on Goodreads looking at my book stats and realized that this is the 20th book I’ve read by CS Lewis, and I still haven’t read huge portions of his ouevre. Lewis was such a prolific and blindingly original author, even though I’ve read so much, I feel like I’m barely scratching the surface. I already feel like I need to reread Mere Christianity, this time underlining everything.
Goes without saying that it's brilliant. I especially find it fascinating historically because much of it was written during WWII, and a lot of his esGoes without saying that it's brilliant. I especially find it fascinating historically because much of it was written during WWII, and a lot of his essays and sermons deal with related subjects. ...more
Lewis is brilliant, as always, and I sort of wish I hadn't saved him for my last flight home when I was already so tired, because his thoughts requireLewis is brilliant, as always, and I sort of wish I hadn't saved him for my last flight home when I was already so tired, because his thoughts require a fair bit of digestion. Lewis puts things in ways I hadn't thought to consider them, and even if I don't necessarily agree with him, he's certainly mind-stretching. And eventually I do find myself agreeing on most things. It's only some of his generalizations about women that irk, and I think maybe he just didn't meet enough interesting and intellectual women during his lifetime. ...more
I read The Problem of Pain by CS Lewis, which was, of course, brilliant. Even when I disagree with Lewis' theology, I have to admire the ways in whichI read The Problem of Pain by CS Lewis, which was, of course, brilliant. Even when I disagree with Lewis' theology, I have to admire the ways in which he expresses his ideas. I constantly get the feeling that he says the things the rest of us don't know how to word. ...more
Sarah loaned me The Dark Tower and Other Stories by CS Lewis, and its brilliance helped considerably to efface the preceding ugliness of Joyce Carol OSarah loaned me The Dark Tower and Other Stories by CS Lewis, and its brilliance helped considerably to efface the preceding ugliness of Joyce Carol Oates. I wish very, very desperately that Lewis had been able to finish The Dark Tower, because I dare say it would have been every bit as good as the Space Trilogy. He toys with the theory that memory is the direct perception of the past, which is a fascinating idea I hadn't encountered before. His short stories really are exquisite as well. He reminds me quite a lot of Asimov; somehow his tone seems very different in his short stories than in his novels. I'm not sure why that might be...but I love both styles.
Lewis actually wrote a narrative poem backed on Wagner's Ring Cycle when he was 15? *shakes head* Marry me, Clive Staples.
Sadly, ultimately the narraLewis actually wrote a narrative poem backed on Wagner's Ring Cycle when he was 15? *shakes head* Marry me, Clive Staples.
Sadly, ultimately the narrative poetry by Lewis, while good, was nowhere near as good as his prose. It's somewhat reassuring that not even Lewis can do everything well, I suppose. ...more
Mind-stretching ideas with C.S. Lewis. At first I thought that I liked Perelandra best, but I've since changed my mind; even though each can be read iMind-stretching ideas with C.S. Lewis. At first I thought that I liked Perelandra best, but I've since changed my mind; even though each can be read independently, I find myself building on thoughts and ideas I had in the earlier books, and Lewis himself weaves in so many associations with the previous works that the whole thing feels to me like one unified book. I am in awe of Lewis' mind. It reminds me a bit of Dr. Thomas; I feel like for every connection between ideas that I make, there are three more that I'm missing, and his mind leaps to the next one effortlessly as I try to cling to his coattails for the ride. (Lewis is usually considerably clearer than Dr. Thomas, though, I must admit.)
A strange thing happened as I was starting chapter six of That Hideous Strength. I read the line, "The man looked at him as if out of a dream, as if divided from him by an immense distance, but with a sort of dreamy distaste which might turn into active hatred if ever that distance were diminished." I was suddenly absolutely convinced that I had read that exact line before, and I remembered it perfectly clearly. I read a sentence or two further, and it came to me: about four years ago I was wandering around the community college library when I stumbled across a copy of That Hideous Strength. I thought about checking it out, and I flipped through it a little, and it fell open to that page. I only read a line or two before going to the front of the book and discovering that it was third in the trilogy. I hate reading books out of order, so I put it back until I could find the first book. It's very odd to have a vividly clear memory of something you'd entirely forgotten suddenly pop into your mind like that, and it's odder still to remember one relatively unimportant line so strongly.
I don't think I could choose one of the three books as a favorite anymore. It reminds me of The Lord of the Rings in that it feels like one story, indivisible. Except, of course, LotR really was one story and not meant to be broken up, and the space trilogy can be read as three standalone stories. But it seems to me that you would miss out on a lot by reading them as standalones. People have mentioned having trouble getting through That Hideous Strength, and I think it's because it really needs to be read immediately after the other two, or you lose the feel for the world it exists in. I can well imagine it would feel quite jarring if you came back to it after some time had passed. As much as I loved the space trilogy as a whole, I was kind of startled (in a bad way) by a few aspects of That Hideous Strength. They were minor points in the story, but I think C.S. Lewis is such a theological genius 99% of the time that, when he does say something off the wall, it strikes the reader on an even sourer note than one would think.
SPOILER ALERT: The part that hit me so unpleasantly was the treatment of the character of Jane Studdock. It seemed as if Lewis was hinting at the idea that women are saved only (mainly?) through childbirth, and Jane's ambivalence towards children is portrayed as demonic in origin. (One character goes so far as to say she should be beheaded for her failure to have children, though the other characters recognize this to be a bit much.) The whole thing seemed so jarring in the midst of Lewis' other, well-reasoned ideas, and it seemed so random and left-field that I didn't know what to do with it. The character of Jane in general became less and less interesting as the book progressed; to me, her responses to events didn't make sense, to the point that she became almost completely inactive, and her thoughts didn't even seem coherent. Confusing...
Anyway, not to end things on a negative note: overall, the trilogy was magnificent, and I definitely consider these among my favorite books now. ...more
I especially liked one of the short stories, but his essays were also very interesting and reminded me a LOT of Tolkien's scholarly essays as well. MuI especially liked one of the short stories, but his essays were also very interesting and reminded me a LOT of Tolkien's scholarly essays as well. Much the same style. It had a couple chapters of the book Lewis was on-and-ff writing when he died called After Ten Years, which started out quite interestingly. It was about Menelaus after the Trojan War, but there wasn't really enough of it to see where he was going with it. ...more
While at the library, thinking of books a million miles from C.S. Lewis, I stumbled quite by accident over Till We Have Faces. Dr. Waldron recommendedWhile at the library, thinking of books a million miles from C.S. Lewis, I stumbled quite by accident over Till We Have Faces. Dr. Waldron recommended this book highly, so I scooped it up, figuring it was destiny or some such. Oh my. Everyone needs to read it. At first it just seems moderately good, nothing special, but by the time you get to the end you are consumed. It's radically different (at least it seems so to me) from anything else of his I've read, but it's very, very good. ...more
There are a lot of very wise insights in this, though I would imagine it must have been thoroughly exhausting to write. I don't think I could ever wriThere are a lot of very wise insights in this, though I would imagine it must have been thoroughly exhausting to write. I don't think I could ever write something like that, but it was definitely a book I needed to read, there were a lot of things I needed to hear in it. That makes it sound very didactic, and I don't mean to make it sound so preachy because it's not. It's just very much a self-learning book....more
I'm always caught by surprise by how much I love the Narnia books, although they're not quite as - don't kill me - well written as I remembered. I thiI'm always caught by surprise by how much I love the Narnia books, although they're not quite as - don't kill me - well written as I remembered. I think I was supplying a lot of the characters' personalities and relationships between each other with my imagination. Which is fine, books should encourage further imaginating on the characters they create, but reading it I could find so many places where Lewis *could* have developed the charactes and didn't. I almost get the feeling he meant to leave it like that, which may have been because he thought younger readers would have only found it annoying. I probably would have, at a younger age, but now I would love to read what else he may have had to say about the characters....more
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