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Emer 's Reviews > The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia)
by C.S. Lewis
It's been many years since I first read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe but when it was chosen as a book of the month for a book group I'm in I couldn't say no to revisiting this classic.
I must confess that this book and series was never one of my childhood favourites; I always preferred the BBC TV series (circa late 1980s/early 1990s). However, there was always something very magical about Narnia. The characters of Mr Tumnus the faun and Lucy were my favourites as a little girl. Probably because I was as young as Lucy when I first read this and was as charmed by the faun as she was. And even reading this now, decades later, I'm still enchanted by the uncomplicated friendship between Lucy and Mr Tumnus.
Reading this with adult eyes has shown me how much C.S. Lewis' writing was influenced by his Christian beliefs. As a child it's something I never picked up on because I took the story at face value. For at its simplest this Narnia book is one that follows the time honoured story of good overcoming evil; about children standing together to do what is right. Yes there's a lot of heavy symbolism and if you're familiar with the bible you will see many parallels with Aslan and the story of Christ but what surprised me was how much influence there was from traditional mythologies.
At the end of the day this is a good old fashioned tale of four children joining forces with a wise lion and many other kind-hearted magical creatures to defeat a wicked witch. There are no richly layered characters, apart from perhaps Edmund but that is even a stretch to think that, yet this is very much a book for little children so the simply drawn characters are to be expected. There's a lot of innocent childish pleasure to be taken from this story and it truly does stand up as a classic fantasy tale of good versus evil that should entertain children for many more years to come.
three stars
by C.S. Lewis
Emer 's review
bookshelves: a-book-nirvana-readalongs, 3stars, a-to-z-challenge, memory-lane, read-in-2016, reviewed
Dec 01, 2016
bookshelves: a-book-nirvana-readalongs, 3stars, a-to-z-challenge, memory-lane, read-in-2016, reviewed
Recommended for:
children ages 8 and up
Read from December 01 to 02, 2016
"She did not shut it properly because she knew that it is very silly to shut oneself into a wardrobe, even if it is not a magic one."
It's been many years since I first read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe but when it was chosen as a book of the month for a book group I'm in I couldn't say no to revisiting this classic.
I must confess that this book and series was never one of my childhood favourites; I always preferred the BBC TV series (circa late 1980s/early 1990s). However, there was always something very magical about Narnia. The characters of Mr Tumnus the faun and Lucy were my favourites as a little girl. Probably because I was as young as Lucy when I first read this and was as charmed by the faun as she was. And even reading this now, decades later, I'm still enchanted by the uncomplicated friendship between Lucy and Mr Tumnus.
Reading this with adult eyes has shown me how much C.S. Lewis' writing was influenced by his Christian beliefs. As a child it's something I never picked up on because I took the story at face value. For at its simplest this Narnia book is one that follows the time honoured story of good overcoming evil; about children standing together to do what is right. Yes there's a lot of heavy symbolism and if you're familiar with the bible you will see many parallels with Aslan and the story of Christ but what surprised me was how much influence there was from traditional mythologies.
At the end of the day this is a good old fashioned tale of four children joining forces with a wise lion and many other kind-hearted magical creatures to defeat a wicked witch. There are no richly layered characters, apart from perhaps Edmund but that is even a stretch to think that, yet this is very much a book for little children so the simply drawn characters are to be expected. There's a lot of innocent childish pleasure to be taken from this story and it truly does stand up as a classic fantasy tale of good versus evil that should entertain children for many more years to come.
three stars
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Alafiya
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Dec 02, 2016 04:19AM
Great review, Emer! <3
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To me this is one of those books that you enjoy more when you're a kid. I had heard so many good things about this that when I found a gorgeous edition that included all seven books I didn't hesitate to purchase it, but I'm sad to say that I didn't get past the first book - and I didn't like it at all :(
Alafiya wrote: "Great review, Emer! <3"Thank you Alafiya dearest *heart eyes* :))))))
Reyes wrote: "To me this is one of those books that you enjoy more when you're a kid. I had heard so many good things about this that when I found a gorgeous edition that included all seven books I didn't hesita..."I completely agree Reyes. If I was rating this with my 'grown ups hat' on then the rating would be probably the same as yours. But it's very much a children's book and I rated accordingly. There is no depth to the characters, very little dramatic tension and important scenes are written in such a way as to protect the innocence of the young. I think I was probably 8 or 9 when I read this for the first time (such a looooooong time ago!!! Yikes!!!) and I think that's probably smack on the money for the age group this is suitable for. At a push it probably would suit children to about the age of 12??? You were right to stop after book one because it is the best of the series in my opinion. Some of the later ones were very disappointing but I read them anyway because well....they were classics and I was one of those kids!! But this definitely wasn't among my childhood favourites but I did always have that soft spot for Mr Tumnus because he was the first character you meet in that magical winter wonderland in the back of the wardrobe....it's such a beautiful little premise :)
Masooma wrote: "Lovely review, Emer :)"Thank you darling Masooma. I LOVE HOW YOU ARE BACK!!!! Have I told you that before???? ;) <33333
Oh, I still have 4 stories to finish (have read only those became films), but there's no fire in me to do so. Maybe I had to read all of them early. Or maybe I just need a better mood to come. And maybe this mood is already triggered by your review)) After Howl I got that I need more fairytales in my reading life.
Katerina wrote: "Oh, I still have 4 stories to finish (have read only those became films), but there's no fire in me to do so. Maybe I had to read all of them early. Or maybe I just need a better mood to come. And ..."I think you've probably read the best ones. To the best of my recollections the remaining books just weren't as fun. The one that wasn't made into one of the recent films that I liked best was probably The Silver Chair but this is twenty plus years ago and as we all know Kat, our tastes mature and evolve over the years. So sadly, I do think that this is a series very much suited to being read as a little kid. I know I won't be continuing on with rereading the series. But who knows, someday perhaps the mood will strike you to conclude the books. They won't take you very long to read. I read this one in about 2 hours because of the simplicity of the writing due to its target audience so perhaps the last four books could be read just as quick...but then there are so many other books out there to read!!! Oh it's a constant struggle!!!!! XD
Emer (ALittleHaze) wrote: "Katerina wrote: "Oh, I still have 4 stories to finish (have read only those became films), but there's no fire in me to do so. Maybe I had to read all of them early. Or maybe I just need a better m..."You're right! Something I liked even a few years ago pained me hard when I look at them now, but I want to believe that fairytales are eternal)) Oh, I remember me starting The Silver Chair... I guess, I've read almost half of the story before I moved on to something else. Well, now I need to finish at least this one))
Katerina wrote: "Emer (ALittleHaze) wrote: "Katerina wrote: "Oh, I still have 4 stories to finish (have read only those became films), but there's no fire in me to do so. Maybe I had to read all of them early. Or m..."I certainly do believe that fairy tales are eternal...however so are disappointing plot lines! And for me, even as a little girl, the remaining books in this series were sadly disappointing. But think of something like Hans Christian Anderson fairytales; those are truly eternal for me. The Little Mermaid or The Snow Queen or The Tinderbox or The Little Match Girl: all utterly timeless and always heartwrenchingly beautiful no matter our age! :)) Gosh I've put myself in the mind to flick through my old hardback of his works from my childhood this weekend :)))
Emer (ALittleHaze) wrote: "Katerina wrote: "Emer (ALittleHaze) wrote: "Katerina wrote: "Oh, I still have 4 stories to finish (have read only those became films), but there's no fire in me to do so. Maybe I had to read all of..."I remember me stopping reading about Narnia after I got how strong was the religious spirit between lines. I hate when book try to teach me how o believe and in whom. Yes! I loved and love Anderson's tales. Also I had many faaat books with tales from all over the world. Different cultures, myths, legends. My childhood was full of them)
Katerina wrote: "Emer (ALittleHaze) wrote: "Katerina wrote: "Emer (ALittleHaze) wrote: "Katerina wrote: "Oh, I still have 4 stories to finish (have read only those became films), but there's no fire in me to do so...."There is rather a lot of Christian allegory in the Narnia books and from reading about the series in later years many people have said that it did increase as the books progressed. As a child reading the stories I must admit I never noticed the religious overtones. It was just simply a fight of good against evil but definitely when I was reading this one now I was able to see a lot of biblical influences. They didn't bother me because I was reading this with somewhat of a dispassionate mindset. It was all about getting a book read so I could discuss it in my book group lol!
Emer (ALittleHaze) wrote: "Katerina wrote: "Emer (ALittleHaze) wrote: "Katerina wrote: "Emer (ALittleHaze) wrote: "Katerina wrote: "Oh, I still have 4 stories to finish (have read only those became films), but there's no fir..."I've been reading this series when I was 20, and still got little biblical vibes from the first books, but then I've found an article about Christian undertone in Narnia's book and was like, 'How could I miss it?'. After that I couldn't stop noticing. What's seen can't be unseen xDDD
I've been reading the first five books of this series over the past few months and have to say that the books are really more enjoyable as a young kid, maybe 10 or 12 years or even younger. I only knew the Hollywood film version which I liked a lot when I was way younger, though I'm also kind of sad about not having read all the books when I was a child. If I had done it then, then I suppose it would have been way easier to fall in love with the series and Lewis' writing. So to sum this comment up, I absolutely agree with your opinion, Emer. :)
Councillor wrote: "I've been reading the first five books of this series over the past few months and have to say that the books are really more enjoyable as a young kid, maybe 10 or 12 years or even younger. I only ..."I read the whole series from when I was around 8 until maybe 10??? Hard to exactly recall. Definitely suited to quite young kids in my opinion. But I didn't really love them that much back then either so maybe you wouldn't have loved them any more either. However, maybe my ambivalence towards the series as a whole is more to do with my tendency to not being such a fantasy fan. I think this one and The Silver Chair were my favs. Have you got many more books left to conclude the series? I definitely felt that the latter books steadily decreased in their quality unfortunately but I'll be interested to hear your opinions on them as you keep reading.
Emer (ALittleHaze) wrote: "Masooma wrote: "Lovely review, Emer :)"Thank you darling Masooma. I LOVE HOW YOU ARE BACK!!!! Have I told you that before???? ;) <33333"
And I love having you as my friend! Have I told that to you?
Emer (ALittleHaze) wrote: "Councillor wrote: "I've been reading the first five books of this series over the past few months and have to say that the books are really more enjoyable as a young kid, maybe 10 or 12 years or ev..."I have two books left to conclude the series, and since they are generally quite short I may read them one day and then perhaps write a complete review for all the seven books. The Silver Chair was also the other one I really liked! But also not being a real fantasy fan, I honestly don't know yet if I am ultimately going to do it. Maybe :D
Councillor wrote: "Emer (ALittleHaze) wrote: "Councillor wrote: "I've been reading the first five books of this series over the past few months and have to say that the books are really more enjoyable as a young kid,..."They are very definitely quick reads but when there are so many great books out there to read.... Hard to make up your mind right!?!? Anyway I'll keep an eye out if you ever post reviews!! :))
Masooma wrote: "Emer (ALittleHaze) wrote: "Masooma wrote: "Lovely review, Emer :)"Thank you darling Masooma. I LOVE HOW YOU ARE BACK!!!! Have I told you that before???? ;)
And I love having you as my friend! H..."
You and me bud. I feel the same way about this. I don't think I would have loved this even of I had read this as a child. The thought is somehow sad to me but the book felt like one I should read at some point in my life. Lovely review, Ems :))
Anne wrote: "You and me bud. I feel the same way about this. I don't think I would have loved this even of I had read this as a child. The thought is somehow sad to me but the book felt like one I should read a..."I know what you mean. There's something beautiful about this story...but it's an intangible beauty. Just out of our reach and it stops us from loving it as we should... But we can still appreciate it from afar. Thank you Anne dearest Xx
