Actually, his birthday was yesterday, November 29th, but I was neck-deep in edits; today I'm only hip-deep. :D
Today, Lewis is best known for his children's series, The Chronicles of Narnia, but he wrote many more books. Most of them, I believe, have Christian themes, as do the Narnia books. However, I've only read his Narnia books so I may be mistaken.
As a child I loved the Narnia books, they were among my favorites. I only owned "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" but I regularly checked out the others from my school library, the town library and the base library and read them repeatedly. I just realized, I still only own the first book; I never did get around to buying the entire series. :D Bad Bea!
It wasn't until I was in college that I really realized all of the Christian subtext in the Narnia books. My roommate my sophomore year loved the books also and we stayed up late many nights discussing the books: the characters, the action, the detailing, the themes and subtexts. We had many, many discussions that lasted until the early morning hours.
If you're not familiar with the Narnia books, they take place in another world, accessed from Earth, but they are fantasy, not sci fi. Four siblings travel to Narnia and have many adventures. I loved the talking animals, the mythological creatures, and I really loved that little Lucy, the youngest of the siblings, was the smart, courageous, steadfast one. She was the youngest and the littlest, and on Earth, got the least amount of respect, but in Narnia, she was hot stuff. Being the youngest of four, two boys and two girls, just like the books, I could relate.
I was very happy when the first Narnia live action film came out a few years ago; I hoped it would equal or rival the Harry Potter films but alas, that failed to happen. :( So far, there have been 3 books made into movies; the first is my favorite but it was also my favorite of the books. I still have hope that the remaining 4 books will be turned into films. I would see them for sure! Hey, I've had my ticket to The Hobbit for several weeks now! Only 2 more weeks until it comes out. :)
I don't know how I'll make the time but sometime soon, I need to re-read the series. Library, here I come!
Today, Lewis is best known for his children's series, The Chronicles of Narnia, but he wrote many more books. Most of them, I believe, have Christian themes, as do the Narnia books. However, I've only read his Narnia books so I may be mistaken.
As a child I loved the Narnia books, they were among my favorites. I only owned "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" but I regularly checked out the others from my school library, the town library and the base library and read them repeatedly. I just realized, I still only own the first book; I never did get around to buying the entire series. :D Bad Bea!
It wasn't until I was in college that I really realized all of the Christian subtext in the Narnia books. My roommate my sophomore year loved the books also and we stayed up late many nights discussing the books: the characters, the action, the detailing, the themes and subtexts. We had many, many discussions that lasted until the early morning hours.
If you're not familiar with the Narnia books, they take place in another world, accessed from Earth, but they are fantasy, not sci fi. Four siblings travel to Narnia and have many adventures. I loved the talking animals, the mythological creatures, and I really loved that little Lucy, the youngest of the siblings, was the smart, courageous, steadfast one. She was the youngest and the littlest, and on Earth, got the least amount of respect, but in Narnia, she was hot stuff. Being the youngest of four, two boys and two girls, just like the books, I could relate.
I was very happy when the first Narnia live action film came out a few years ago; I hoped it would equal or rival the Harry Potter films but alas, that failed to happen. :( So far, there have been 3 books made into movies; the first is my favorite but it was also my favorite of the books. I still have hope that the remaining 4 books will be turned into films. I would see them for sure! Hey, I've had my ticket to The Hobbit for several weeks now! Only 2 more weeks until it comes out. :)
I don't know how I'll make the time but sometime soon, I need to re-read the series. Library, here I come!
The Narnia books are very definitely children's books, but ones that can be enjoyed by children of all ages. Personally, I've loved them ever since I was small - they tell simple tales of adventure and imagination, but with layers of meaning underneath that means they resonate with older readers.
ReplyDeleteThe ambiguity of many modern stories has its place, but there is something refreshing and uplifting about the straightforwardness on offer here - it's the reading equivalent of taking a long, hot bath.