I’ve bought two boxed sets of C S Lewis’ Narnia Chronicles in my life and (I think) had one bought for me… I certainly had all the books when I was a child, but I have no idea what happened to them. And, indeed, they may not have been in a box. But I digress … The first set I bought was for my daughter kalunina when she was small, and the second a few years ago, from Amazon, for myself.
that last set sat on the bookshelves, unopened, until we catalogued all the books last year, when I did at least rip the cellophane off them. I hadn’t read them myself for over about 35 years, probably, and I decided to do so over the recent late December holiday period.
I’m sure I bought them from Amazon UK, and was somewhat irritated to find that it is a US printing – odd typefaces, spelling USAnianised in places, and very badly proofread / typeset, with paragraphs repeating themselves in places.
I had remembered the the stories with much fondness – religious allegory and all – after all, I’m a convent girl, and I can brush religious allegory aside when need be. I was really looking forward to them, but oh *dear*. The Xian stuff reads to me now as though it’s been shovelled on with a JCB, and the whole middle class mores jarred horribly. And the stories themselves are really quite light in most respects. I was actually pleased to finish the last one this morning – I was determined to get through them, but it was tough work.
I doubt I’ll read them again, and I’ll wait for LWW on DVD, I think.
next up: Alan Bennett’s Untold Stories – looking forward to that.
Yup, by comparison with his mate Tolkien, Lewis’s stories were a bit thin, weren’t they? I suspect that is at the root of the many disappointed reviews of the Narnia film — people might have been expecting something of the depth of LoTR, or at least the complexity of Harry Potter, and got neither — and that’s with one of the most story-filled books in the series! It’s the small details I always liked in the Narnia books — of how the lamp post was there to light Lucy’s way, of the singing into existence of Narnia, and so on. I’ll still nip along to see the film once the kids have gone back to school, I think, but I won’t have huge expectations.
yes indeed – comparisons are invidious, but I simply can’t help standing Narnia and Tolkien’s work side by side, and Lewis doesn’t come out well.
it’s not all bad – of course it’s not. But there’s just not much *of* it.
I loathed Narnia as a kid, and loathed Lewis’ “Cosmic Trilogy” even more as a teenager. I think I have an allegory allergy – or perhaps just an intolerance for apologetics.
Untold Stories is wonderful: you can hear Alan Bennett reading it all. It is however a very different book in tone to Writing Home – much of the first part of the book tells of some of the darker aspects of the Bennett family history and the account of his treatment for cancer is also rather sobering. There is, as always, much of the characteristic Bennett wit and economy with words, but the book leaves a slightly more sombre aftertaste.
I love his work, and have most of it.
I liked The Horse and His Boy… but I won’t see the films because its not going to match what’s inside my head and that (to me) is what counts…
Alan Bennett’s Untold Stories sounds fab but will a Spoken Word edition be released (or does such a thing exist?) I heard an interview on R4 with him and I really liked the sound of his voice. Its so unusual I asked Elinor who whis person was. Quite fascinating.
it was Book of the Week on the Home Service a few months ago, read by himself. My EyeTV thing picked it all up for me, and then last week disaster struck and I lost them all [rant].
Alan Bennett’s Untold Stories is carefully stored away for my next trip away from home training – I find one of the benefits of hotel stays is I get my reading done with fewer interruptions than at home! This book is my treat for me.
And as for Narnia, I think it’s one of those series of books which are fantastic if you read them at the right time of your life but which should never be revisited by an older you.
I read most (but not all) of Narnia as a kid, then a year ago I deliberately read all 7, in order(sic).
As a kid, I enjoyed them. They didn’t have the subtle depths or easy accessibility of Earthsea, nor the doorstep-thick erudition of the real Tolkien, but they were OK.
Re-reading them recently, then just as says, I found them a bit thin. Wardrobe is the best of the bunch, but apart from that they’re woefully thin writing. How about a character with some depth? Puddleglum (surely the inspiration for Marvin) is about as good as it gets. The allegory didn’t bother me as I barely noticed it. For someone who is well known as a true scholar of medievalism thought and allegory, Lewis’ attempt in Narnia is pretty crude in comparison.
and noodling on a guitar is a zappa description of the act. muaah !
aaaargh