Into the Wardrobe

I was at another website and there were some facts for our enjoyment. This one fact was that Tolkein disliked the Lion,Witch and Wardrobe so much that C S Lewis almost didn't finish the book or the series......... can anyone tell me why he disliked this book so much?

thanx

It's understood that the stories weren't to Tolkien's liking.
In George Sayer's bio, "Jack", he says:

"[Lewis] had always been constructively helpful and sympathetic with Tolkien's writing, and he probably expected similar treatment. He was hurt, astonished and discouraged when Tolkien said that he thought the book was almost worthless, that it seemed like a jumble of unrelated mythologies....."
Tolkien didn't like his having put together creatures from different backgrounds/mythologies. "The effect was incongruous, and for him, painful...." Lewis argued that they existed in both their minds together, but Tolkien disagreed. "He soon gave up trying to read them. He also thought they were carelessly and superficially written. His condemnation was so severe that one suspects he envied the speed with which Jack wrote, and compared it with his own laborious method of composition."

One of the ironies of this disagreement is that so many readers are keen fans of both men and their two styles.

Thanx Carol
for responding to my question with such depth and detail. I really appreciate it. Something that was brought to my attention is that Tolkein wrote his books with much more depth. I am curious......... what audience was Tolkein seeking with his books concerning the Hobbit and the ones that follow? The Narnia books were geared to children (my guess anywhere from 8-14 yr. olds).......... whereas TLR were for an older audience therefore the authors style of writing should be different, right!? maybe I am just rambling and not making sense.....hmmmm.... I dont know...................

Well, actually, The Hobbit was originally written-- and published-- to be a children's book. However, I do suspect The Lord of the Rings was intended for an older audience (but then again, there is a couple of children of my acquaintance whose mother has read LotR to them every year since the oldest child was six or seven and they love it).

From what I have read and heard, it seems that Tolkien started writing LOTR without a view to publication at all, and was writing for himself and his (adult) friends.

Leslie that is very interesting........ thanx for sharing!

Slyvia, maybe it is just me but at age 18, i couldn't get "into" the LoTR. I am very surprised young people are so interested in them and that the books can hold their attention..............i love to read but other than CoN and A Wrinkle in Time i never was interested in "Fantasy" and "Sci-Fi" books............anywayz..........