Confessions of a Bibliophile

Upfront disclaimer: Yet another book I can’t review properly because I just have too much of an attachment to it. I don’t ignore the flaws of Lewis’s work or implications…but I also recognize the fact that I have too many feelings and memories surrounding this book to look at it objectively. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is in fact one of my first introductions to fantasy, having read it in fourth grade (and consequently watching the BBC adaptation. Thank God for WETA and the post-Potter family fantasy film boom, for better or worse.) Actually, I didn’t read the other six books in the series until much later on, not out of ignorance, just…this is what I was most familiar with.But as I said, this is my first proper introduction to classic/modern fantasy and there’s still a lot I love about it. Mostly because of Lewis’s world-building and his tendency to throw every aspect of mythology/modern folklore, and while the narrative style is very reminiscent of the time, it does give a certain charm to the books. (Plus highlighting the disconnect of Narnia vs. our world, particularly in the final pages.) And a lot of the scenery is incredibly vivid and really jumps off the page, which is why I think this had such an effect on me when I was younger.However—I have reread the books in the last few years, whenever the last movie came out—it is a very thin plot, and a book that wouldn’t take me all too long to read nowadays. Events happen quickly without a lot of prelude and a lot of the plot happens by chance. Yet even recognizing this, and for the specific audience that it was written for, it’s a strong book, especially with the expansion in the later books and the full consequences of the Pevensies’ time in Narnia (or even people of our world’s interaction with it) . It is a good stepping stone into fantasy, especially for a pre-Potter¬ age audience.(Again, I do recognize the flaws of Lewis’s arguments especially in the later books and the heavy-handedness of the message. Very heavy-handedness. However…I have a lot of memories of this book growing up, it’s very hard to detach them from that.Btw, publication/film order over chronological/intended.)