by C.S. Lewis
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; The Horse and his Boy; The Magician’s Nephew; The Last Battle
Reviewed by: Susan Buckner
About Susan Buckner
Another beautiful sequence of books, the Chronicles of Narnia can be read over and over again. I first stumbled into Narnia at the age of eight, and I was delighted to find a fantasy world where animals could talk and a Lion ruled the land. Despite the Christian symbolism written into much of the tales, they can be enjoyed for what they are: A delightful sojourn into a simpler, wilder land.
The first four books of the sequence tell of four English children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, who travel to the magical kingdom of Narnia. First through an enchanted wardrobe (which I, an American girl, took to be something like a ladies’ vanity table), then in other mystic means. They meet Aslan, the great Lion, who is the ruler and the god of Narnia. He rules the Talking Animals, the Trees and Rivers, and all the other inhabitants of the land. They also become Kings and Queens themselves, and rule over Narnia under Aslan’s guidance.
The Magician’s Nephew tells of the founding of Narnia; how it was sung into being by Aslan, and how a human boy and girl brought evil into the newly-born realm. And, in The Last Battle, Aslan leads his people to a new paradise, which is Paradise, and Aslan is revealed as God.
But the Narnia Chronicles aren’t really about religion, although they are about the tenets of religion. In terms of teaching people to lead a godly life, they’re probably better than dozens of weightier tomes, and certainly a more enjoyable read.
The Chronicles of Narnia have recently been re-released and re-numbered, so that The Magician’s Nephew is the first one to be read; but I find this a bit annoying. There’s no reason to read the books sequentially; they can be read just as well in the original order. Whichever way you read them, they’re wonderful, magical, and delightful.
Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: The Chronicles of Narnia
Copyright © by Susan Buckner, 2002
Reviewed by Susan Buckner:
-- Gone With the Wind - by Margaret Mitchell
-- Watership Down - by Richard Adams
-- The Chronicles of Narnia - by C.S. Lewis
-- The Dark is Rising Sequence - by Susan Cooper
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