#204808 - Sat Dec 06 2003 03:36 AM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Moderator
Registered: Thu Sep 30 1999
Posts: 12593
Loc: Kowloon Tong Hong Kong
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I am reading this aloud in chapters to a class of children, so I get to enjoy it again.
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#204809 - Sat Dec 06 2003 12:26 PM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Forum Champion
Registered: Tue Jul 10 2001
Posts: 6168
Loc: Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA
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I've read the entire Narnia series, and I still continue to read them even though I'm 32.
My favorite three books are "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe," "The Magician's Nephew" and "The Last Battle."
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#204810 - Sat Dec 06 2003 06:26 PM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Mainstay
Registered: Thu Jan 30 2003
Posts: 631
Loc: Virginia USA
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In the boxed set I had as a child, The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe was always placed first, since he wrote it as first in the series. I have noticed that in modern sets, however (at least here in the U.S.), The Magician's Nephew is placed first, and, where numbering is used, numbered volume 1, with The Lion, etc. numbered volume 2. I think it best, however, to read them in Lewis's original intended order. Rather than starting off in a magical world, therefore, we begin with the seeming ordinary world of children, and are transported. The second book, The Magician's Nephew, then serves as a kind of flashback.
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#204811 - Mon Dec 08 2003 04:20 AM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Multiloquent
Registered: Sat Jun 15 2002
Posts: 2214
Loc: the amusement arcade of life
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I managed to blag a copy from a friend's daughter. Of course, the plot was already very well known to me having been churned out so many times as various screen adaptations, but this was the first time that I had actually read it for myself. Well, sorry folks, but I honestly can't help wondering why so many people rave about it.
No, I didn't miss the message behind Lewis' story. It would have been rather difficult not to have noticed all the biblical allegories cleverly woven into the plot, however subtle, after the children were referred to as "sons of Adam" and "daughters of Eve".
Just about everything appears to have been thrown in, the belief, sins, doubts, betrayal, forgiveness of the children. The introduction of Aslan as the saviour figure, the way he went meekly to his death and his subsequent resurrection. For me there were just too many parallels, making it far too contrived for my liking.
As children's literature goes I have to agree that it is a good book, but I wouldn't rate it amongst the literary masterpieces. Perhaps it needs to be read in context with the other six books in the series to be fully appreciated.
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#204812 - Mon Dec 08 2003 07:49 AM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Mainstay
Registered: Thu Jan 30 2003
Posts: 631
Loc: Virginia USA
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Well, it's an intentional allegory, so to say there are too many parallels in an allegory seems a strange criticism to me. I guess it is simply to say that allegory itself is not among the highest forms of literature.
I wouldn't call the book a general literary classic, but I would call it a children's literary classic. It isn't the parallels that impress me; it's those moments of creative communication of complex theological concepts to children. L'Engle does something similiar in her Wrinkle in Time series. Indeed, she had a hard time publishing the books because publishers kept telling her children wouldn't understand theological concepts, and she said children can understand far more than most adults give them credit for. Of course, she was right, and those books were very successful. To me, much modern children's literature seems a bit dumbed-down by comparison.
Reading it as an adult and reading it as a child, however, are too completely different experiences. I remember it affecting me quite powerfully as a child; I don't expect that this second time around.
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#204813 - Tue Dec 09 2003 02:30 AM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Multiloquent
Registered: Sat Jun 15 2002
Posts: 2214
Loc: the amusement arcade of life
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I can only speak as I find, Skylarb, and personally I didn't find it as awe inspiring as many people appear to have done.
Indeed, over the years, the Chronicles of Narnia as a whole have been highly praised by some as a work of incredible Christian literature, but denounced by others as the devil's work. Both are a bit over the top as far as I'm concerned. I'm of the opinion that in an attempt to cram in as many metaphors as he possibly could, some have managed to come across with an 'anti' message.
I certainly don't think that one has to be a Christian to appreciate this book, that would be absurd. Most children won't even understand any underlying messages anyway, unless they have the book read to them and certain aspects explained along the way.
Setting all the biblical references in the book to one side and just taking it as a children's fairy tale it does have all the required elements to capture a child's imagination. There's a liberal mix of danger and adventure, the triumph of good over evil with a handful of morals thrown in along the way for good measure.
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#204814 - Tue Dec 09 2003 09:08 AM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Mainstay
Registered: Thu Sep 05 2002
Posts: 527
Loc: Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA
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I actually never read this book as a child, it wasn't until I was in my early 20's that I checked the series out from the library and read them. The irony of that statement is that as a child I was not allowed to read this series for religious reasons (our religion discouraged books promoting fantasy, wizards etc).
As an adult all I wanted was to see what the hype was behind this book. I also have never seen a movie adaptation of this book so my reading this was done without having been prejudiced.
I can understand as a child the appeal because of the fantastical elements, good versus evil, and the main characters being children. But as mentioned before it is a classic children's book, not necessarily the best book in the world. I read "Wrinkle in Time" that same year and was more impressed with that book than I was "Lion".
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#204815 - Thu Dec 11 2003 12:18 PM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Mainstay
Registered: Thu Jan 30 2003
Posts: 631
Loc: Virginia USA
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Quote:
Indeed, over the years, the Chronicles of Narnia as a whole have been highly praised by some as a work of incredible Christian literature, but denounced by others as the devil's work.
I was really unaware of the latter. I had never heard it denounced. Is it because it employs magic and witches? (If so, it seems somewhat a silly objection, because the Bible too has witch stories abd magic; this is a mere backdrop--the Chronicles series does not portray magic as something that OUGHT to be PRACTICED by human beings, which is what the religious prohibition is about.) I'd be curious to know the context of some of the attacks. I have heard Lord of the Rings so attacked, and Harry Potter, but neither of those are explicitly Christian works (though their authors are), and the latter, at least, portrays the human practice of magic in a positive light (rather than just having a magical context or portraying it as something not to be trifled with by humans--as Lewis does in later books). I still don't really understand the vehement objection in some Christian circles to LOR or HP either, but that's another subject entirely. I'd be curious to know the details of attacks on the Chronicles. (Perhaps one may be a theological attack because Lewis almost implies a concept like universal salvation in the Last Battle.)
Quote:
I'm of the opinion that in an attempt to cram in as many metaphors as he possibly could, some have managed to come across with an 'anti' message.
Intrigued by this comment, as I don't understand it. An anti-what message?
One thing interesting--these books (when published) were much more popular in the United States than in Britian. Any thoughts as to why that might be?
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"Why don’t you write books people can read?"
- Nora Joyce, to her husband James
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#204816 - Thu Dec 11 2003 06:49 PM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Mainstay
Registered: Thu Oct 24 2002
Posts: 778
Loc: Blackpool UK
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Superb guys! What a magnificent leg pull, who’s idea was it? I cannot believe that you gave over a whole month of Book Club to the cause of winding up poor Tielhard. I shall however resist the urge to rant, rave, foam at the mouth and condemn this odious work of Christian propaganda as I have done it so many times already on this Forum.
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#204817 - Thu Dec 11 2003 08:27 PM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Enthusiast
Registered: Fri Jan 25 2002
Posts: 293
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I first read this book as a kid and didn't like it at all. (I was, however, thrilled with its predecessor, The Magician's Nephew.) After a few years I picked it up again and found it more to my liking.
Are we really sure kids like this book at all, or is it just adults that claim it "appeals to children?" It wasn't until I grew up a bit that I appreciated it, and even then I've never regarded it as a masterpiece.
Perhaps I'll dig it out again after next week's finals.
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#204818 - Fri Dec 12 2003 04:15 AM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Multiloquent
Registered: Sat Jun 15 2002
Posts: 2214
Loc: the amusement arcade of life
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Quote:
Skylarb wrote:
I had never heard it denounced. Is it because it employs magic and witches?... [cut] ...
I don't understand it. An anti-what message?
I think it was the blasphemy inferred by Aslan being referred to as "Him", along with several references to drinking, gambling and drugs which some groups have objected vehemently to in the past. I haven't made a specific search on the internet, and I don't have the luxury of too much spare time at present, but I have no doubt that many sites could be found quite easily.
I've already given back the book I was reading from so I can't give specific quotes here, but I do remember the children giving odds of ten to one over various things they were discussing.
There was also a paragraph early on in the book where one of the children, Susan I think, was told how wonderful Narnia used to be when Bacchus would visit and turn the rivers into wine and jollification was had by all for weeks on end.
What message do you suppose Lewis was trying to give to his young readers there?
Quote:
Misty wrote:
Are we really sure kids like this book at all, or is it just adults that claim it "appeals to children?"
Misty, "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" has been voted amongst the top 21 books of all time in the UK's "The Big Read" competition, I'd say that confirms its popularity. The final vote is coming up tomorrow evening so I'll let you know where it finishes on the list and how many votes the book received. I'm not sure if there is any way of finding out what percentage of those votes were cast by adults or children though.
Quote:
Tielhard wrote:
I shall however resist the urge to rant, rave, foam at the mouth and condemn this odious work of Christian propaganda as I have done it so many times already on this Forum.
Oh, Tielhard, what a disappointment! I had a quick browse for your past outpourings over the last year looking hopefully through book forum threads with promising subjects lines such as Laugh-Out-Loud-Novels, Books that will raise your "IQ" and even Worse Stinker, all to no avail.  In fact I could only find one single sentence regarding this book, and that was in The Big Read thread. Skylarb queried your condemnation of the book, but you either didn't notice or couldn't be bothered to reply. So please feel free to froth at the mouth and indulge us with your thoughts, that is what the Book of the Month Club is all about.
Edited by izzi (Fri Dec 12 2003 04:26 AM)
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#204820 - Fri Dec 12 2003 09:34 AM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Mainstay
Registered: Thu Jan 30 2003
Posts: 631
Loc: Virginia USA
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Quote:
I think it was the blasphemy inferred by Aslan being referred to as "Him",
Ah, yes, a failure of literalism. Lewis's Screwtape Letters was also condemnend. The book is a satire in which one devil instructs another on how to tempt human beings. One clergyman cancelled his subscription to a paper that serialized it, entirely missing the point, and writing (very comically, I think), that the advice given in the letters seemed to him "not only erroneous but diabolical.”
Quote:
along with several references to drinking,
I was just thinking of this today as I was reading the chapter in which they meet the beaver, who serves up some beer. Yes, certain teetotaling Christian groups would no doubt object.
Quote:
There was also a paragraph early on in the book where one of the children, Susan I think, was told how wonderful Narnia used to be when Bacchus would visit and turn the rivers into wine and jollification was had by all for weeks on end.
What message do you suppose Lewis was trying to give to his young readers there?
Lewis has a theory that the Greek and Roman gods were really misunderstood/misrepresented angels who were erroneously worshiped as gods in themselves, and mis-depicted with human qualities, when in fact they were but servants of God. (Other Christians have the theory that Greek and Roman gods were fallen angels or devils. Most Christians, I would guess, have the theory that they were neither, but simply did not exist at all.) There is also a long literary tradition among scholarly Christians of incorporating Greek and Roman mythology into Christian works, and often of using those pagan gods as symbols of things in Christianity; only in the last 100 years or so has this literary method become an object of vehement objection (or perhaps misunderstaning) to certain groups of Christians.
Quote:
Misty wrote:
Are we really sure kids like this book at all, or is it just adults that claim it "appeals to children?"
That's an interesting question. I also recall that as a child, though I liked it and it affected me, "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" was not my favorite in the series--not by a long shot. In fact, I preferred most of the other books. "Magician's Nephew" and "Last Battle" were probably my favorites.
Quote:
Tielhard wrote:
I shall however resist the urge to rant, rave, foam at the mouth and condemn this odious work of Christian propaganda as I have done it so many times already on this Forum.
Tielhard, would not any pro-Christian work be anathema to you, or is this one particularly odious for some reason? More odius than Pilgrim's Progress, even?
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- Nora Joyce, to her husband James
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#204823 - Fri Dec 12 2003 12:22 PM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Enthusiast
Registered: Tue Mar 18 2003
Posts: 309
Loc: Minnesota / Iowa USA
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Quote:
Santa Claus not being allowed to come - Now that was a bit too much for me. I don't see why C.S Lewis did not introduce that. That possibly suggests a bit of a rude attitude to the Christians.
I don't understand how that is rude towards Christians, chinky. Wasn't the beaver saying that the White Witch was refusing to allow Santa to come, and when Aslan came, Father Christmas finally appeared as a good character? Are you saying that Christians wouldn't agree with Santa's presence?
These next statements are just my rambling thoughts about the book. I would agree that the way Aslan was killed was very intense for a child. However, I think calling the kids sons of Adam and daughters of Eve was an interesting choice. Why did Lewis have to be so blatant? Did he think it was possible that adults who were not Christians would read the book and just think it was a good story, completely missing the underlying meaning? I doubt it would happen, but I do think that as a story on its own, without any Biblical comparison, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a good book with a decent plot and enough twists thrown in to keep it interesting. And after all, it is a children's book. Of course adults won't find it as complex as what we consider "great classics."
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#204824 - Fri Dec 12 2003 04:26 PM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Mainstay
Registered: Thu Oct 24 2002
Posts: 778
Loc: Blackpool UK
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Izzi, not wishing to deprive you of a Tielhard rant but not wanting to repeat myself too much I suggest that you read the "What is the Best Fantasy Series?" thread started by Vanyar which contains a fair exposition of my views. My complaint against Lewis and the Narnia books can be summarised as follows. They are not overtly Christian books, they are rather traps to ensnare innocent children into the Christian mythos and mind set by subterfuge. The fact that these propaganda pieces were produced by an academic one who supposedly seeks after truth makes them even more contemptible. To address the question posed by skylarb "would not any pro-Christian work be anathema to you, or is this one particularly odious for some reason?". I first note that the term "anathema" in this context is particularly inappropriate! To answer the intended question then rather than the one that was asked, yes these books are particularly odious. I have in general no particular dislike of pro-Christian works, I enjoy Milton’s proud Satan raging against the throne, Blake’s "Songs of Innocence" and, "Inferno" was a slog bur enjoyable. Wilde’s "Selfish Giant" which is also aimed at children uses none of the snide and underhand methods found in TLWAW, I find it very moving.
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#204825 - Mon Dec 15 2003 08:51 AM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Multiloquent
Registered: Sat Jun 15 2002
Posts: 2214
Loc: the amusement arcade of life
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Chinky123 wrote: Quote:
The brutal way in which Aslan got killed - I think there was really too much of violence there.
Lewis appears to have written Aslan's death in that manner in an attempt to kindle the strong emotions of anger and sympathy in his young readers. The passage was supposed to mirror the passion of Christ, and the comparisons are clearly there for those readers who have already read or know of the biblical stories.
Aslan was led bound and muzzled up the hill to the place of his death, the witch's followers beating him and jeering at him remorselessly along the way. The actual moment of ritualistic murder was very carefully avoided by Lewis who had written the scene through the eyes of Lucy and Susan. They couldn't bear to watch for themselves and the scene is cut to the two girls weeping at Aslan's side while freeing him from his bonds and bathing his scarred, dead body.
Quote:
The Turkish Delight - Too much eating for me there.
Not only do we have the sin of gluttony here, far worse that that, Edmund appears to have been so addicted to the 'goodies' that he was even prepared to deliver his siblings into the hands of the evil witch because of his cravings.
Quote:
Santa Claus not being allowed to come
I mean no offence here, but as far as I'm concerned, Father Christmas has very little to do with the spirit of Christmas (note spirit, not spiritual side of Christmas). To me St. Nicholas is the patron saint of commercialism.
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#204826 - Mon Dec 15 2003 08:56 AM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Multiloquent
Registered: Sat Jun 15 2002
Posts: 2214
Loc: the amusement arcade of life
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How kind of you to point me in the right direction, Tielhard. I've found, read and inwardly digested your previous posts regarding this book. Quote:
Tielhard wrote:
They are not overtly Christian books, they are rather traps to ensnare innocent children into the Christian mythos and mind set by subterfuge.
I can see the point you are making, but as mentioned previously, this book has even been condemned by devout Christians because they fear that in amongst the 'pro Christian values' there are also distinctly 'anti Christian values' written into the text which could possibly warp innocent, young minds.
Quote:
Mayserell wrote:
I think calling the kids sons of Adam and daughters of Eve was an interesting choice. Why did Lewis have to be so blatant? Did he think it was possible that adults who were not Christians would read the book and just think it was a good story, completely missing the underlying meaning?
As far as I know this book wasn't originally intended as a Christian allegory. It evolved into its final form after Lewis had a dream about a lion which gave him the idea of using Aslan as a 'Christlike' figure. So in all probability "Sons of Adam" and "Daughters of Eve" could have been just an afterthought used to spark a train of thought into the mind of his readers.
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#204827 - Mon Dec 15 2003 09:48 AM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Multiloquent
Registered: Sat Jun 15 2002
Posts: 2214
Loc: the amusement arcade of life
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Please excuse the multi-posting, but separating my thoughts into different threads make them easier to read.
Misty, I said that I'd update you with the results of BBC's The Big Read competition. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was voted in at ninth position out of almost 6000 initial nominations.
Interestingly, there was also a separate vote taken by registered readers' groups and their top five came in as follows:
1st "To Kill A Mockingbird"
2nd "1984"
Joint 3rd "Jane Eyre" and "Pride and Prejudice"
5th "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"
Edited by izzi (Tue Dec 16 2003 08:36 AM)
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#204828 - Mon Dec 15 2003 06:00 PM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Moderator
Registered: Wed Oct 17 2001
Posts: 8479
Loc: Hastings Sussex
England UK
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On the general merits of the book, I agree with izzi and skylarb that it’s a very good children’s book but not an absolute classic of literature.
Like Chinky, I liked the occasional direct appeal to the child-readers’ own experience (“Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you…”; “If you’ve been up all night and cried,” etc). I also read “The Magician’s Nephew” (narrated in the 1950s present but set a couple of generations back): in that book I similarly enjoyed Lewis’s frequent reminders on the lines of “That was a thing that happened quite often in those days.”
I have no religious belief myself, but I don’t see anything insidious or reprehensible about the obvious Christian import of the story. Like izzi, I don’t think children will understand the specifically Christian dimension unless it’s explained to them. Children who have already had a Christian upbringing may recognize the parallels. But a child with little or no grounding in Christianity will surely simply enjoy a good tale of the triumph of good over evil: I don’t think he will be persuaded to subscribe to Christian doctrines like the divinity of Jesus, the fall of Man through Adam’s sin and Man’s redemption through the passion and death of Jesus.
Skylarb pointed out that the Narnia books were more popular in the US than in Britain, and Misty wondered whether children really liked them. I found this interesting, because the books were published in my childhood (I would have been five years old when “Lion” was published and eleven when “The Last Battle” appeared), and I don’t remember hearing about them then. I can’t remember kids at school talking about them. Indeed, I can’t remember when I first heard of them: I’m pretty sure that my first acquaintance with Lewis was coming across “The Allegory of Love” in my literary studies. The first film version seems to have been a BBC TV series in 1967. The books probably therefore took off fairly slowly in the UK. Even today, I could only find a couple of Narnia books on the shelves at the local branch of W H Smith (a big British chain of booksellers and newsagents), whereas there were piles and piles of Harry Potters and “His Dark Materials.” So the showing in the BBC’s “Big Read” poll is a bit of a surprise. Maybe the book has made a very profound impression on a comparatively small number of readers, who will rate it above any other book they’ve read
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#204829 - Mon Dec 15 2003 07:53 PM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Mainstay
Registered: Thu Jan 30 2003
Posts: 631
Loc: Virginia USA
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Quote:
I have in general no particular dislike of pro-Christian works, I enjoy Milton’s proud Satan raging against the throne, Blake’s "Songs of Innocence" and, "Inferno" was a slog bur enjoyable. Wilde’s "Selfish Giant" which is also aimed at children uses none of the snide and underhand methods found in TLWAW, I find it very moving.
Since Lewis was a known Christian apologist, I see nothing underhanded about his Chronicles of Narnia. I don't think he was trying to hide what he was doing; I think he was trying to write works that communicated a Christian message without obvious preaching and didacticism--something very, very few Christian writers seem capable of doing.
It is interesting that you mention Milton. Lewis was a decent writer but not a truly great literary artist; rather, he was a great Christian apologist (what you call a "propagandist.") Milton was the opposite--a terrible apologist but a sublime artist. Even though his "Paradise Lost" was written in an attempt to "justify the ways of God to man," he botched that goal terribly. His Christ is flat and unappealing; his Satan majestic and sympathetic, tragic and inviting. His apology for Christianity is unconvincing. But his work is a literary masterpiece. Lewis, on the other hand, produces a good children's story--nothing phenomenal, nothing epic--just a good children's story, nothing more. But as apology, it is very well done--well done, enough, at least, to make someone like you consider it "odious." It sounds like you may believe that these books plant seeds in the minds of young children that may later make them susceptible to the Christian message. In your opinion, of course, that's a bad thing, and smacks of dishonesty. (As you can perhaps guess, it's not a bad thing in my opinion, and it is a perfectly legitimate style of apology--or what you call "propaganda.") If that is true--if Lewis is really subtle enough to make Christian thinkers out of unsuspecting children--then he may well be the most successful Christian evangelist of the 20th century. (I wouldn't credit him with that degree of influence, though I do think his works probably have worked on the minds of SOME children at SOME level.)
It is the Chronicles very allegorical subtlety that leads you to disapprove of them. To me, on the other hand, that is what makes them better than many Christian allegories which, like Pilgrim's Progress, are just too blatant and are consequently dull--unable to stand as stories in and of themselves apart from the Christian message. The Chronicles can stand alone as stories, apart from the message.
****
Now, moving onto another topic. I would have said one reason the Narnia books may be more popular in the US than in the UK is that in terms of percentage of the population, there are more Christian evangelicals in the US than in the UK, and they do tend to have a very strong appetite for popular fiction. (Sales of books through Christian book distributors and Christian bookstores in the US exceed $4 billion a year; perhaps not that well known since bestseller lists like those found in The New York Times and USA Today do not include any books sold outside of mainstream bookstores.)
But then, again, a few here have pointed out that some Christians have objected to some of the contents of the Chronicles, so my theory may not be a very good one after all. (I really had not before heard much about such objections to this particular series, however; perhaps they are rare.)
I think, though, that these books were much more popular in my childhood than they are today; Harry Potter seems to have supplanted everything. Nevertheless, in any major US bookstore, you will always come across boxed sets of the Chronicles in the children's section.
This was a nice, easy, quick read for the hectic month of December, and it has been very interesting to here the differing opinions.
Edited by skylarb (Mon Dec 15 2003 08:30 PM)
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- Nora Joyce, to her husband James
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#204830 - Tue Dec 16 2003 03:51 AM
Re: Book Club(Dec): The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe
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Multiloquent
Registered: Sat Jun 15 2002
Posts: 2214
Loc: the amusement arcade of life
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As I was reading I was struck by a few similarities to another of our Book Club choices, "The Lord of the Flies" by William Golding.
The children in both books were war time evacuees, finding danger and adventure in a strange land, some going off the rails without the influence of adult supervision. Both books can be read on more than one level, either purely as an adventure story, or one with deeper meanings for those who recognise the symbolism and metaphors of Christian allegory.
I personally I felt that Golding handled this aspect particulary delicately and beautifully, whereas most of Lewis' efforts came across as rather clumsy to me. I have to admit that throughout TLW&W the many ways that Lewis portrayed good and evil as varying shades of darkness and light were very cleverly done. So much so, in fact, that I actually wondered if some examples were just unintentional coincidences that I'd noticed myself.
I feel I ought to go back to a comment I made earlier about Santa Claus. It was probably a little mean spirited of me to go so far with the remarks I made. Nowadays Christmas is far too commercialised but I have to concede that this book was written about a time during the second world war when children would have received very little in their stockings because of rationing. Most of the gifts they would have been given must have been useful handmade items lovingly crafted out of whatever little was readily available at the time. That's a gesture I wholeheartedly approve of today.
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fully paid up member of paronomasiacs anonymous
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