Which Narnia Book Should Be Read First?

[Amy]

In your opinion, which Narnia book should be read first?

The Magician's Nephew
or
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

And if it is the latter, when should "The Magician's Nephew" be read? (I can't remember.)

[Manybooks, Fiction Club host]

Kirei wrote: "In your opinion, which Narnia book should be read first?

The Magician's Nephew
or
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

And if it is the latter, when should "The Magician's Nephew" be read? (I c..."

I think that this is basically one of "personal choice" but I would read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first.

[Lisa]

Personally, I'm very grateful I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first. I still think it belongs first. But, I can understand other readers choosing differently.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I agree with Nicola & others. Either way is ok, but I prefer to read them in the order the author intended them to be read (as best we can tell, by using publication date.)

[Amy]

Thanks, everyone! I think I will do the "Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe" first, my main reason being that "The Magician's Nephew" is my favorite in the series and I would rather work up to it than work down from it.

[Christopher]

Personally I think it depends on whether you've read the books or not. It is, of course, personal choice, but I think if one hasn't read the books yet then one should read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first. If you have read them, then whatever you prefer.

A lot of people prefer to read them in chronological order after they've read the series.

[Claire]

When I was a kid, I read the books in the order published, which of course places Wardrobe first. The box set I had placed them in the published order, so that made sense to me (I think it even numbered them). I agree with BunWat; Wardrobe sets up the series. Then you have the delicious fun of discovering a prequel when you get to Nephew. Part of why I love that sequence is that I get to crawl inside Lewis's mind as he wrote them, one after the other. But the other reason is that it was a huge part of my childhood, so it just feels right. A huge bias. But they're great in any order!

[Dena]

I would read The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe first. It was published first, so I've always read it first.

[Jessika]

I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first, but that was because I read it for school and that was my first exposure to the series. I think you could really read either one first, it's personal preference.

[Amy]

Well, update. We did do "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" first. Now "The Horse and his Boy". Is it my imagination or is this book rather racist????? I guess the southern country is supposed to be Islamic countries and Narnia is of course wonderful and perfect England. Just sort of disappointed...........

[Amy]

On merriamwebster.com, it defines "race" as
a : a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stock
b : a class or kind of people unified by shared interests, habits, or characteristics

So I do mean race.

And besides....if you read the book, it talks a lot about skin color. The people of Calormen are dark-skinned. Narnians are light-skinned. There is a racist feel to the book.

[Claire]

Well said, Abigail! You're absolutely right.

[Claire]

My feeling is that Calormen was fashioned after Lewis's impressions of Arab/Mideastern culture and had little to do with religion. He may even have thought he was being less biased by talking about some positive aspects (storytelling abilities, etc.). But he seemed locked in the biases of his time, which are so starkly evident now.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I too was disturbed by the racist feel to the book, and yet 'locked in the biases of his time' is a good phrase to describe what's happening. Fortunately good parents who discuss books with their kids, and offer them other stories with more modern & loving messages, will easily counter messages of bigotry.