Sci-fi Women discussion
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C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis sci-fi trilogy
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Do you mind if we take a break for a week or two? My son bounced on my Kindle, may it rest in pieces. It takes me a lot longer to read things on my phone. I'm sure you have heard about the Syrian refugee thing that is going on in Europe and we have been busy trying to coordinate water and snacks as the people come into the port here.
I don't mind a break at all. I think that will make it easier for me as well as you. I wish you the best of luck with the refugees, it sounds like a lot of co-ordination with the numbers I've been hearing. And I hope you aren't stuck reading on a phone too long.
Shall we aim for the 26th to start up again? Or do you want to go to October 3rd? Or just wing it?
The 26th should be fine :) Thanks for understanding.
Hey Kristin, how are you doing? I have to admit I'm still lagging on that hideous strength. Sorry.
I'm just so bored by the opening that I have to admit I can only read for a few minutes at a time before I get exasperated and close the book because I just don't care. I'm still trying but honestly I don't think I'm far enough to discuss anything.
Would you by any chance need more time as well?
Hahaha, I am having the exact same problem. I got to 30% in yesterday and I absolutely had to stop for a break. I think our first point of discussion could be how exasperating the Studdocks are. Take as much time as you need.
Thanks. I think I'm finding everyone exasperating. I just have nothing to hook into yet. It's definitely bad when someone calls something Merlin's Well and I shrug.
I know!! I was like, "Merlin?!" But so far nothing has come of it. I suspect a few things, and I detected one mention of what I believe to be the Anti-Christ, but so far those are the only intriguing things. I think it gets a bit more interesting once Mark gets to NICE, but that is when him and Jane start to seem so unintelligent. They care too much about what others think instead of trying to see the situation for what it is, which is extremely dangerous.
Kristin, being honest, I hate this book. I can't stand the characters. I don't like the writing. I'm getting bored at half page intervals at this point. My kindle has generously given me another 7 hours to finish it which means I might get it done by next Tuesday, maybe. Have you gotten to a point where it has improved and so you want to keep talking about it? Because if you haven't, I'd rather quit.
I know, the characters are horrible until a certain point. I am almost finished with it (50 minutes) and there are huge chunks I could have skipped over... now that I'm almost finished. But there are some very interesting things that happen, and Lewis does address some intriguing points. If you want, once I finish, I can summarize and bring up a few specific quotes for discussion. I think you have enough context to discuss things still. Spoiler alert: Merlin is actually alive and hibernating under Bragdon Wood. Once he awakens the interactions between him and Ransom are pretty cool. I thought that would interest you.
That sounds good to me. I'll get as far as I can force myself. And once you're done we'll talk about what we can.
I really did just give up. Don't worry about spoiling anything. I'll catch as catch can. Mr. I can't be bothered to remember his name has joined NICE and kind of been disturbed by but liked the head mistress of the NICE Stazi. And Jane has met with the kind of useless good guys and learned that because she is a Tudor she has visions and she's left in a huff and is now pondering going back. I did go and read a summary of the rest of the book though. Which made me feel glad I quit because it just sounds terrible. How did you end up liking it after getting all the way through it?
I thought it was interesting, but it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I have to admit that this was my least favorite C.S. Lewis book. Ever. Jane and Mark were horrible, and in the very end they finally realize that they were being stupid and wasting their marriage, but not until the very last sentence, literally. Ransom was barely in it. The most interesting thing was the bear. The Head was creepy, but I didn't find anything about it that monumental, and as it turns out he wasn't the antichrist. I thought it was going to be the end of the world thing, but it wasn't.
Meh. What was the point then? I did see someone say in the reviews that it wasn't a fictionalized essay but that he did later write an essay on the relationship between the genders and that he stated that that essay on genders is what he was trying to say in That Hideous Strength. Essentially that that was the real point, and why it is the last sentence, that it is really about Jane and Mark having a bad relationship because she isn't submissive enough to him and he is too focused on his ambition instead of being focused on her needs for attention and guidance. :/ It really didn't feel like this was the third book in the series. This felt like a book that just happened to be set in the same universe. Ransom was barely there. The elilda were barely there. If the head wasn't the anti-christ then it isn't even really the true fight against the bent one. Which kind of feels offensive with how fascistic NICE was. NICE felt disturbingly evil to me, like 'I don't want to read about this' evil. And then it isn't the full on Bent plan? Meh.
I'm with you. This is my least favorite C.S. Lewis book. Ever.
The message about their marriage was way too subtle if that was his intention. They were both like selfish teenagers that happened to have super advanced education. It was mostly like this was not from the series, although Ransom did leave to go back to Perelandra at the end where he met up with King Arthur and Enoch among others, with people who didn't really die. Obviously that is suggestive about Arthur because he did die in the stories (which was the worst! I couldn't believe Merlin couldn't save him after everything they went through together... I'm an optimist, what can I say?). I think we should both read Screwtape Letters and pretend That Hideous Strength doesn't exist. At least that's my plan on how to forgot I spent over 500 pages on this book.
XD! I feel like that's not a bad plan. Though I think I'm for a break from Lewis at this point but screwtape is absolutely on my list of things to read. I suppose Perelandra would be paradise at this point in the mythology that Lewis has set up. Just seems a little weird. Go live with the green people, welcome to paradise.
Sorry the trilogy ended on such a bummer note. Bleh. But it was fun to finally read it after having meant to for so long. Thanks for setting it up ^_^
Sci-fi Women
Books mentioned in this topic
Perelandra (other topics)The Screwtape Letters (other topics)
The Great Divorce (other topics)
Mere Christianity (other topics)
That the Queen had already made her decision was unclear to me. It honestly felt a bit to me like the decision was being taken out of her hands and given in the final moments to Ransom. I don't think less of her accomplishment, that way, she held out against the full reason and deception of the devil for many days without giving in. That is an accomplishment that many Eldil should be proud of, let alone smaller more mortal things.
I have to admit I think I would have liked it better if the King had come into it somehow before the end. He even addressed it himself, that all blessings of Maledil are gifts and he is benefitting from the work of the Queen. The King rules first in the world in reward for the Queen's actions. And that's ok because everything so great is a gift in the end. And that just rubbed me the wrong way altogether. I get the religious statement that everything is gift and everything must be given because we're all imperfect but it still seems unjust to me. That the King rises high on the Queen's work.
And it weirdly reminds me a bit of Paradise Lost. Just how it all got blamed on Eve but the picture painted was that Adam was the one actually responsible. He failed in his duty to guide Eve but Eve is the one who gets all the blame and Men are still less blameless. Which always annoyed me no end about that book and it annoys me again here. If the King is the one who is going to be the first among the rulers, then why isn't he the one that is tested? Why isn't he the one who must rise to the challenge to prove his worth? Or why not have second place be the gift? To have the Queen be first and the King gifted to rule with her in second place, I think might have satisfued both me and the gift argument.
I don't know. That one just really annoys me. Did it bother you at all? Or does the gift speech make more sense to you than it does to me?
And what did you think of the final recitation of Maledil's greatness?
I should also say I'm behind on That Hideous Strength. Sorry. Are you already done with it? I'll try and get it done this week but I'm not sure I will. Is there a time you're looking for to start talking about it?