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Ferdy's Reviews > The Magician's Nephew
The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)
by C.S. Lewis
by C.S. Lewis
Really DULL - the writing, the story, the main characters were all utterly boring. It was a struggle to get through so short a book - I honestly thought it would never end.
The protagonists, Polly and Digory, had very little personality — they've got to be two of the blandest characters I've ever read. Them talking like adults instead of like kids didn't help matters… Maybe all kids back in the day sounded like that? Their adventures and discoveries in other worlds should have been at least somewhat fascinating, yet they somehow managed to fuck that up and make it seem boring as hell.
I was really disappointed that it took more then half the book for Polly and Digory to actually get to Narnia. The first half was just them oohing and aahing, and clutching their pearls at random rubbish.
The evul queen and Digory's mad uncle were hugely cliched characters, but I have to admit that they were mildly entertaining.
I did get a bit of a kick out of reading about the origin/birth of Narnia, and the wardrobe.
I'm hoping that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will be more of a decent read.
The protagonists, Polly and Digory, had very little personality — they've got to be two of the blandest characters I've ever read. Them talking like adults instead of like kids didn't help matters… Maybe all kids back in the day sounded like that? Their adventures and discoveries in other worlds should have been at least somewhat fascinating, yet they somehow managed to fuck that up and make it seem boring as hell.
I was really disappointed that it took more then half the book for Polly and Digory to actually get to Narnia. The first half was just them oohing and aahing, and clutching their pearls at random rubbish.
The evul queen and Digory's mad uncle were hugely cliched characters, but I have to admit that they were mildly entertaining.
I did get a bit of a kick out of reading about the origin/birth of Narnia, and the wardrobe.
I'm hoping that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will be more of a decent read.
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Reading Progress
| 05/12/2013 | marked as: | currently-reading | ||
| 05/15/2013 | marked as: | read | ||
Comments (showing 1-31 of 31) (31 new)
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Kristina
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May 13, 2013 04:32PM
I need to go back and read this series. I tried when I was 14 or so and I got bored. I'll have to give it another go.
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Yea, it's really boring so far. I'm struggling to get through it even though it's very short - the MC's are rather dull. I just want to read about the forur siblings not the two random MC's in The Magician's Nephew. I'm going to try and finish it off soon, so I can start with the second book which has the main gang.
Ferdy wrote: "Yea, it's really boring so far. I'm struggling to get through it even though it's very short - the MC's are rather dull. I just want to read about the forur siblings not the two random MC's in The ..."The Doctor Who Christmas special from 2 years ago (2? I just watched it a few weeks ago) was very "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" and made me interested in reading the series again. We'll see.
Yes.. I remember that episode. That was when I actually decided to buy the series :D
I absolutely loved these books back when I was eight, but I don't think I could go back and read them. Just watching the movies annoyed me. lol
Willowfaerie wrote: "I absolutely loved these books back when I was eight, but I don't think I could go back and read them. Just watching the movies annoyed me. lol"I tried reading the Hobbit when I was 12 or so and hated it, but now as an adult I LOVE the book and the Lord of the Rings books. So maybe the same thing will work for C.S. Lewis? I'm skeptical, but willing to give it a go.
Willowfaerie wrote: "I absolutely loved these books back when I was eight, but I don't think I could go back and read them. Just watching the movies annoyed me. lol"I wish I'd read them as a child, I think I would have liked them more then than I do now. I'm finding them rather dull.
I thought the first movie was okay but I wasn't all that impressed with the other one.
Willowfaerie wrote: "I absolutely loved these books back when I was eight, but I don't think I could go back and read them. Just watching the movies annoyed me. lol"I wish I'd read them as a child, I think I would have liked them more then than I do now. I'm finding them rather dull.
I thought the first movie was okay but I wasn't all that impressed with the other one.
This was my favorite of all the books. However I wonder if part of the reason I love it so much is because of the memories I have of my dad reading it and going, "Dem fine woman! Dem fine!" I listened to an audiobook of "A Wrinkle in Time" as an adult (never read it as a child), and while it was OK, I didn't much care for it.
I really enjoyed this one too...but my older edition started with LWW instead of this one. (Magician's Nephew was numbered second-to-last, IIRC.) I don't like how the newer editions are so strictly chronological; it adds to this one if you experience the other Narnia stories, then read it & think "oh, so THAT'S where that came from."My dad read these aloud to me too. :) I've not read them on paper since grade school, though.
Sarah wrote: "I really enjoyed this one too...but my older edition started with LWW instead of this one. (Magician's Nephew was numbered second-to-last, IIRC.) I don't like how the newer editions are so strict..."I only read TMN first because it was labelled as no 1 in the boxset - I wanted to skip it altogether but I thought I might miss something important. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I read it after and noticed all the easter eggs :(
I'm thinking of reading the Oz books instead of finishing the Narnia books - even though I'm only on the 2nd Narnia book, they're really dragging.
Crystal Starr Light wrote: "This was my favorite of all the books. However I wonder if part of the reason I love it so much is because of the memories I have of my dad reading it and going, "Dem fine woman! Dem fine!" I li..."
I'm enjoying TLtWatW more then I did TMN - it's not great but it's okay.
I do think I would have liked TMN more as a child especially if it was being read to me :)
LOL, the evul uncle was quite entertaining especially his awe at the witch.
Maybe you should try the Narnia books again later? Sometimes books just don't digest properly for whatever reason. But I do think they're more fun when you first read them as a kid, esp if they're read aloud. I've never tried any of the Oz books, so I've no idea how they'll turn out for you.
I've finished the second Narnia book. I'm putting the other installments to one side thoughbecause I'm not in the mood for them. I bought volume 1 and 2 of Oz (the first 6 books), I want to start those soon - I hope they turn out good!
I wish I'd read the Narnia books as kid, I would have deffo enjoyed them more.
I thought I'd read one of them but I actually don't think I did because reading the first two haven't jogged any memories.
The new movies are terrible. Well, the first movie is okay (I'd give it a C+ overall), but it's not great. The Caspian movie was awful, though; it didn't follow the book properly, & I wanted to vomit when they inserted that stupid angsty puppy-eyed romance between Susan & Caspian. Puh-lease. I couldn't even bear to watch the third one.
It's been a few years since I saw most of the movies, but I remember really liking the first one (it was so pretty!), being "eh" about the second one, and liking the third one a bit more than the second.Second one - why the frak did they need to do the stupid Susan-Caspian "love story"? BLECH!
Third one - they did NOT need to add the dumb "smoke monster" to give the story a cohesive plot thread. The book actually HAD a plot - the whole point was for Caspian to discover what happened to the princes. The smoke monster was superfluous. Not to mention some of the coolest scenes from the book (the island where you turned into gold and Eustace as a dragon) weren't that well done.
Ugh, from what you've said it's a good thing I didn't bother watching the third film. I'd have been grinding my teeth all through the lame add-ins & grumbling about the gold-turning island scene not being done properly.(And the guy who plays Edmund is NOT Edmund as I see him in my mind. *glower* I like the guy who plays him in the campy '80s BBC mini-series.)
The movies was so frickin' boring. I started fast forwarding through them to get to the end. I didn't even try to watch the 3rd one. I think the movies is what made me start disliking the books.
Now that I think back, I do think The Magician's Nephew was one of my least favorite. But the worst is The Last Battle. That one was a real snorefest. Talk about ending the series with a clunker.
Not a fan of "The Last Battle" myself. Sad what happened to Susan but almost more sad how none of her family is sad.
I thought the first movie was done well, I tried to watch the other one but it was too boring. LOL, you guys are putting me off finishing the series altogether.. The next book (The Horse and His Boy) looks especially boring.
Sad what happened to Susan but almost more sad how none of her family is sad.
What happened to her? Did she die?
Well, I don't want to spoil, but here it is in case you are curious:(view spoiler)
I do hope you continue the series; I'd love to hear what you think of it!!
Thanks for the spoiler.. I didn't like Susan but that's kind of depressing especially how none of them seem to care about her not being with them. I'll prob read the rest of the series in the next few months. I was originally planning on reading them back to back but I think I'll enjoy them more if I have breals in between :)
I remember hearing about a story called “The Problem of Susan,” and I actually looked it up on Wikipedia. Here is what it said: Fantasy author Neil Gaiman's 2004 short story "The Problem of Susan" depicts its protagonist, Professor Hastings (who strongly resembles an adult version of Susan), dealing with the grief and trauma of her entire family's death in a train crash, as she is interviewed by a college literature student regarding her opinion on Susan's place in the Narnia books.
Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling has also commented on the same issue.
“ There comes a point where Susan, who was the older girl, is lost to Narnia because she becomes interested in lipstick. She's become irreligious basically because she found sex. I have a big problem with that.
Since the publication of Gaiman's story, "the problem of Susan" has become used more widely as a catchphrase for the literary and feminist investigation into Susan's treatment.
I really liked Susan, and while I think I get the religious aspect Lewis was trying to include, I just go, "Why Susan? Why not Peter? Why not any of the other men?"Thanks, Willowfaerie, for that!! I'd like to find Gaiman's story and read it, just to see what it's like.
It's annoying that Susan suffered and ended up alone because she grew up yet none of the male characters did.I'm also going to look out for Gaiman's story, it sounds interesting.
this report is wrong,wrong ,wrong! it's not boring it's cool! I totally contradict you I think that you must have read the book upside down or somthing because you don't get this book!
Finn Alan Bradfield wrote: "this report is wrong,wrong ,wrong! it's not boring it's cool! I totally contradict you I think that you must have read the book upside down or somthing because you don't get this book!"Ugh. Your comment is wrong, wrong, wrong!! The Magician's Nephew was boring, not cool. I totally contradict your comment you must have read the book upside down or something because you didn't get how bloody boring the book was.
all I'm gonna say is why are you letting him change what you think about this wonderful book!?!
Finn Alan Bradfield wrote: "all I'm gonna say is why are you letting him change what you think about this wonderful book!?!"No-one changed my opinion of the book, it was always boring to me.
You got a live one, Ferdy!!!Hey, Finn, how's about you take a note from other people (who posted above differing opinions from Ferdy), and respect her opinion on a book instead of claiming she is wrong?
Crystal Starr Light wrote: "You got a live one, Ferdy!!!"Yep, there's always one. Didn't expect to have someone get riled over an old children's book though! :D
