Book Review: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

“Safe?" said Mr Beaver "Who said anything about safe?  'Course he isn't safe. But he's good.  He's the King, I tell you.”

Summary:

I've been reading this book with my son over his summer break, and thought it would be great to review here.  Yes, I know, another C.S. Lewis book.  And, yes, I know this is a children's fantasy book, but that doesn't mean that people of all ages can't learn from it.  But I'll put just as a quick summary for those unfamiliar or who haven't picked it up in a while.  It's one of the seven books in the Chronicles of Narnia series (first or second in order, depending on which way you prefer - you can look around online if you want more discussion on that).  The novel follows four siblings, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, who are on summer break at an estate in England in the 1940s.  Their explorations around the house take them into an old wardrobe that transports them into the magical land of Narnia, full of magical creatures and talking animals.  However, they find that Narnia is frozen, literally, in eternal winter (with Christmas never coming), but their arrival sparks the return of good in the land as Aslan, the lion who is the true King of the land, comes to restore order.  Empowered by gifts from Father Christmas and emboldened by Aslan, the children and the good creatures of Narnia battle the White Witch and take back their land, re-establishing the intended rule of the land.  

While the book does have plenty of Christian metaphors and undertones throughout, it is a fantasy novel with the classic story of good prevailing over evil after overcoming many obstacles and setbacks.  But that in and of itself is important for all of us - children and adults alike - to remember: good conquers evil, love wins.  We are surrounded by negativity in this modern culture with news and social media bombarding our attentions constantly, but we must teach our children to believe, and, likely, it means we need to re-teach ourselves as well.  We must be like those four adventurous children, and be a positive conduit for change, making the world a better place with all that we do.

Key Takeaways:

My first takeaway from this book was the power of emotion.  It is interesting reading this with my perspective as a father and adult, as Lewis expertly weaves in the highs and lows of our lives throughout the story: Edmund's betrayal and redemption, Aslan's sacrifice, Peter's valor, and Susan and Lucy's empathy.  The emotions elicited in these events created little windows to explain some of life's deeper topics at a surface level with my son, for which I'm grateful.  

And my second takeaway, with everything else going on in the world, sometimes it is a welcome reprieve to lose yourself in a world far away.   C.S. Lewis captures something pretty special at the onset of the book in writing his dedication to his Goddaughter, and it touches what I tried to convey in my post on taking ourselves too seriously.  From Lewis: "But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again."  And with that, we must try to live and regain our childlike wonder at the world, being inquisitive, learning, and taking none of it for granted.