The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis
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Book Reviews of The Screwtape Letters
Book Review: An Awe Inspiring and Serious Piece
Summary: 5 Stars
A novel of deception, mystery, curiosity, and horror set inside the minds of Satan's demons through a series of letters between a seasoned demon and his apprentice. The Screwtape Letters is written such that one feels as if he is reading a secret piece of correspondence. The whole novel is focused around one character, Screwtape. In every chapter, he is writing a letter back to his nephew who is always seeking to squeeze advice from him. Through this one character, Lewis reveals indirectly what he thinks is the devil's way to deceive humans into corruption. In addition, Lewis wrote it in this fashion so that people may notice and create their own strategy to counter the devil and remain faithful to God. For anyone who is deeply interested in religious matters this book is a must read.
For anyone below the age of seventeen, this book would definitely be a challenge to understand. Not that the words themselves are difficult, but that Lewis's style can be tough to comprehend. Every page I read I felt my blood beginning to boil as I further understood the organized execution of such incredible evil. I want to reach into the pages and grab Screwtape by his throat. My blood boils when I realize that there is nothing I can do to stop their cruelty. For all I know, Lewis may be right and my own demons may be at this very moment plotting their next move against me. Lewis's genius is amazing to me because of how I respond to these letters. He makes me ponder continuously about whether or not I have demons in my head who are affecting me. Lewis's use of diction and imagery captivates my mind and reasoning to the point where I have become impressed with the vast knowledge and logic of this extraordinary man.
Book Review: The Hell's-Eye View
Summary: 5 Stars
C.S. Lewis has said that he found it painful to write this book since it required him to spend days on end thinking upside-down. But it is lucky for us that he did, since the result is a book that both delights and enlightens.THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS documents the correspondence between Screwtape, a senior devil, and his nephew Wormwood, a novice tempter. Wormwood's mission is to win a soul for the underworld, and Screwtape offers him the accumulated iwdom of Hell on how to accomplish it. The result is a well-laid out map to the pitfalls to which we humans are all-too prey. Lewis' had great insight into human weakness, especially the uncanny way ou pride pops into almost every thought we might have. He is also alert to the ways our unquestioned assumtions can lead us astray. As Socrates said, the first step towards wisdom is to "know thyself" - and the tempters in this book do all they can to prevent that from happening.
Lewis, of course, is a Christian, but THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS are useful to any person who is seriously engaged on the spiritual quest. I read this book about once a year, and am always chagrined to find that Screwtape is still one step ahead of me! (And he is unfailingly eloquent to boot.)
This volume includes "Screwtape proposes a toast" which employs the same technique to discuss modern education. I find this a weaker part of the volume. It seems Lewis could have done more with the concept, but his arguments about the failings of modern education are much sharper in his book, THE ABOLITION OF MAN.
Still, this is an invaluable volume. It is the book that I most often give away to people - it is laugh-out-loud funny, and sadly all-too true.
Book Review: A wonderful faith book
Summary: 5 Stars
C.S. Lewis writes the ultimate Christian primer -- telling his readers how best to be faithful Christians by showing us how we should NOT behave! Screwtape, a high level denomic bureaucrat, is advising his neophyte demon nephew Wormwood on how to win over to "Our Father Below" his "patient," a new Christian who must be wooed away from "the Enemy," who is, of course, God. What makes this book so profound is that the temptations Screwtape suggests to Wormwood are not just the obvious ones, but the subtle ones that get to us everyday, sometimes under the guise of "doing good." How many of us, for example, have gotten into arguments with a loved one over who was being more unselfish -- "I don't want pepperoni on the pizza, but go ahead, have pepperoni, I don't mind." "No, I insist. No pepperoni, even though I love it so much, because I know you hate it." "No, please, have the pepperoni, darn it!" And so the resentment builds. It is this sort of sin and temptation that Screwtape urges Wormwood to play upon his hapless "patient."But Screwtape knows his "enemy" and he knows his limits. My favorite line, and one well worth hanging on to for all of us who feel we have lost hope: "Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys" (p. 40). And never forget. The demons never deny the existence of either Father or Son.
Book Review: DEVILISHLY CLEVER!
Summary: 5 Stars
Leave it to C.S. Lewis to do the undoable--write an epistolary novel from Hell's vantage that delights as much as it educates, and illuminates even as it sends cold chills up your spine. But Lewis was a genius, and The Screwtape Letters is literary proof.Written as a series of letters from old devil Screwtape to his apprentice nephew, Wormwood, Lewis's novel tells the story of Wormwood's increasingly desperate efforts to ensnare the soul of a young Englishman during World War I. Through this correspondence we follow Wormwood's "patient" through conversion, to doubt, love and his ultimate fate. The novel's suspense comes from the question of whether or not the young man will actually escape becoming a midnight snack for Wormwood, and besides being a genuinely fun read the novel is packed with ingenious observations about innumerable human fallacies: from lust to "falling in love," to cowardice to fanatic patriotism, piety to self-righteousness. One of Lewis's great literary gifts was his ability to pinpoint the subtle flaws in human nature that most of us probably don't think twice about but which we may end up regretting for all eternity. His eye for the touch of evil in the most seemingly innocuous areas of life lets Lewis hit all the major spiritual pressure points with amazing--and sometimes painful--accuracy.
Deliciously funny as only a grand parody can be, yet likewise terrifying in its implications, The Screwtape Letters is a must-read for everyone who ever even thought about religion. A magical novel of wisdom, encouragement, and dire warning, The Screwtape Letters has my wholehearted recommendation.
Book Review: interest, wit, and seriousness
Summary: 5 Stars
Starting the preparation for studying abroad, I began to read "The CHRONICLES of NARNIA," written by C. S. Lewis. It is more interesting than "Harry Potter" - the world bestseller. I was fascinated to C. S. Lewis, so I called last August the month of reading C. S. Lewis. I finished reading "The Screwtape Letters", one of his famous novels.This book is full of interest, wit, and seriousness. A magazine said, "The point about reading C. S. Lewis is that he makes you sure, whatever you believe, that religion accepted or rejected means something extremely serious, demanding entire energy of mind. I totally agree with this. Also, it has many witty sentences about Christianity, human being, and death.
My point about reading this novel is that it makes me discover and understand the mistakes and illusion that I have. The most impressed sentence is this: "Despair is a greater sin than any of the sins which provoke it." These day I have the trouble in preparing to go abroad. I feel l am alone and in a despair. Sometimes my feeling justified escaping my duties. Moreover, my behaviour make me sad. It was I that was in a bed while saying "Somebody kill me please." However I know, but I don't fell as I know. After reading the evil's letters, I believe that my despair is a sin. Although studying abroad is one of the most worried issue, I have never prayed for it. From now on, I will pray for it whether I am in a despair or not.
Reading this valuable book takes a month. Despite forgetting many things that I read a long ago, I memorize much in my heart. The impression keeps me going on the next book, "The Weight of Glory."