The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 1)
by C. S. Lewis
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Book Summary Information
Author: C. S. LewisBrand: Harper Collins Publishers
Illustrator: Pauline Baynes
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1994-07-01
ISBN: 0064471047
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: HarperCollins
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780064471046
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 1)
Book Review: One of the finest children books ever written
Summary: 5 Stars
In my humble opinion, THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE is the finest children's story of the past century. The story contains both enormously imaginative touches combined with childlike simplicity, and the solid yet uncomplex prose belies a story of great sophistication. It also is a story intended for children, yet so respectful of their intelligence that adults can read it with equal appreciation.
There should be absolutely no controversy about where this novel should come in the seven-novel sequence that comprises The Chronicle of Narnia: it is the first, and it is required to be the first both by the quality of the novel and by the way it fits into the overall structure of the series. Shifting it from the first spot in the series to the second is quite possibly the worst publishing decision of which I am aware. The justification for the change is exceedingly weak. A child wrote Lewis saying that in their opinion the series should be read beginning with THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW, which tells, among other things, of the creation of Narnia. Therefore, they felt that THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW should be the first and THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE second, with a subsequent reordering of the other books to reflect the chronology of Narnia instead of the kids that discover Narnia. Lewis replied that he agreed, and this agreement is used as the excuse to reorder the books. I have two huge problems with this. First, my guess is that Lewis was, as a wise adult will often do, affirming the child rather than stating his conviction that the books should be reordered. Second, even if Lewis did think the books should be reordered, it is not clear that he actually would have authorized it actually being done, nor that he would have resisted the efforts of any decent publisher to point out to him that reordering was a dreadful idea. Why? Because what is so magical about the original ordering of the series is that it focuses on the extremely subjective experience of the discovery of Narnia by children. The original order maintains a chronology based on its exploration and discovery by children and in reading the books that is going to be the concern of any child or childlike adult in reading the story. Who cares about the narrative from the standpoint of Narnia when the far greater concern is the narrative from the standpoint of children? A lesser but still pertinent criticism of the reordering is that it places one of the weakest novels in the sequence in the first position. When I first read the series, THE MAGICIAN'S NEWPHEW was, along with THE SILVER CHAIR and A HORSE AND HIS BOY, the weakest stories in the sequence. Why put your worst foot forward? The Narnia books are about to be made into a series of feature films by the Disney studios, and they have quite correctly decided to film the books in the original and correct order.
As noted initially, THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE is a nearly perfect story. The manner in which the children first discover Narnia, by entering it through the back of an ordinary wardrobe, is the most exciting entrance into a magical land at least since THE WIZARD OF OZ and probably ALICE IN WONDERLAND and THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS. What they discover is a land under the worst of all possible curses: it is always winter, but never gets to be Christmas. The land is temporarily ruled by a beautiful but evil witch who entices children with Turkish Delight. As literature it is all so delightfully perfect, and one marvels that an enormously literate Oxford don could have written it, though perhaps not so surprising when remembering that another Oxford professor, the mathematician and logician Rev. Charles L. Dodgson, wrote ALICE IN WONDERLAND under the pseudonym of Lewis Carroll.
Of course, Narnia isn't really ruled by the witch, but by a magnificent, enormous lion by the name of Aslan, who, as we are often reminded, is not a tame lion. Anyone reading Narnia will instant recognize a host of parallels between Aslan and Jesus, known as the Lion of Judah, but Lewis cautioned that no one should imagine Aslan a mere Christ figure: he is Lewis's conception of what Christ would have been like had he been incarnated into a magical land called Narnia as a great lion. During the course of the book Lewis retells the story of the death and resurrection of Christ through the character of Aslan, yet he ever gets to the point of preaching or dogmatism. A very close friend of mine, raised Jewish, was aware of the Christ overtones of the story, yet still declared that it was her favorite book as a child.
This is also one of the books with the largest potential audience of which I know. I first read and loved it in college, but elementary school children can delight in reading it, and even younger children can love having it read to them. And it would take a pretty somber and sober adult to not be seduced by its beautiful simplicity. Absolutely no one should deny themselves the joys of exploring Narnia, but make sure you start your tour with this book and not another.
More The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 1) reviews:
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Summary of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 1)
They open a door and enter a world
Narnia ... a land frozen in eternal winter ... a country waiting to be set free.
Four adventurers step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia -- a land enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change ... and a great sacrifice.
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