** spoiler alert ** I finally got around to reading these all the way through. I'm pretty sure I read through book 4 when I was much younger, but really, it was a different experience reading them as a twenty-something. I vividly remember the moment several years ago when my mother and I were watching a televised version of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe... and suddenly made the connection that the whole thing was a giant allegory with Aslan as Jesus. We just looked at each other going, gee, this is sounding very familiar all of a sudden. Well, if you think that particular book smacks you across the face with Christian metaphors (and obviously as a small child I didn't pick up on this at all), wait til you hit some of the later books (especially The Last Battle).

The end of the series completely shocked me. I understand the whole thing was a Christian allegory to begin with, but HOLY COW. I will try not to spoil it here, but... it's vaguely creepy to see how enthusiastic they are, and also horrible to think that Susan is now left behind. I did read that Susan's fate is meant to be an example, that rather than showing that she is now damned/unable to someday go to New Narnia, her fate is left open—if she repents and returns to believing in Aslan, and asks him for forgiveness, she will be able to join her family. Still creepy and shocking though.

You can also see in A Horse and His Boy how harshly Lewis contrasts the Calormenes with the Narnians. The Calormenes are repeatedly referred to as "dark," "smelling of garlic and onions," with "curved swords..." he even says their poetry is far inferior to the Narnians'. The picture he is trying to paint here is painfully obvious, as all the Calormenes' culture reflects that of the Middle East (whereas the Narnians are obviously very similar to medieval England). It's a seriously bigoted world view, one that I'm sure was more acceptable at the time the books were written, but now is rather jarring to read.

I did enjoy reading these books. I'd thought them awfully dry the first time through—stuffy English children in a fairly entertaining magical land, etc... The difference this time was, I watched the 2005 movie first. The movie completely blew me away, and while reading the first book (and even the succeeding books which involve the Pevensie children) I was able to imagine those warm, courageous and yet flawed children in place of the stuffy English ones, and it added a wonderful new dimension to the story. It was enough to carry me through the boks I didn't like as much, and made me enjoy my favorites even more (those would be The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Horse and His Boy).

Overall, I'd recommend them (they're a super-quick read too, you could probably finish one in a single day if you tried), but only after viewing the 2005 film first. :D Can't wait til movie #2!