Favourite Lewis books

[jo]

[john]

[jo]

[sehoy]

[Alan]

[john]

[Alan]

I read it yet again just last month.

( It's a Grandfather's sacred duty to read his Granddaughter all of the Chronicles no matter what his personal prejudices may be. )

For me there is less subtlety in the characters than there is in the other books particularly the characters of the Calormenes ( except of course Aravis ).

[Guest]

Just for the record, I'm not sure I actually have a favorite. I think if you asked me again in a month or so I may give you a different answer. From the poll, I see "Till We Have Faces" ; I haven't read that so . . . you think I should put it on my must read list? Whats it about?

Oh, favorite Narnia book . . . I'd have to say LLW. At least till I re-read another and it becomes fresh in my mind!:)

Elaine

[Leslie]

What's up with the book burning?

[Genie]

I also find The Horse and his Boy (it's not The Boy and His Horse?) a bit out of place. It's like, while reading the whole series at one time, which I did last year and musing, gee, how did I get to this place?
I was also aware of the not politically correct description of the Arabs.
Peace,
Genie

[jo]

oooh TWHF is wonderful, please read it. It's a re-working of the myth of Cupid and Psyche, beautifully written, much more sensitive to a woman's perspective than I ever thought Lewis could be. It's one of my favourite books of all time.

[jo]

Yeah I don't like HHB much either. And yes, I do think that Lewis's depiction of the Calomenes is - let's be honest - rather offensive. People get very hot under the collar when anyone dares suggest that Lewis based the Calomenes on Arabs but I can hardly see how it can be otherwise. I am NOT accusing Lewis of racism, before anyone infers that I am, but still, it wasn't entirely necessary for the race to SO closely parallel Arabs.

[Larry W.]

Of the Chronicles of Narnia, I like The Voyage of the Dawn Treader best. I loved the voyage to the eastern end of that world, especially the part when Prince Caspian and the others reached Ramandu's island and what follows in their voyage through the last seas. It seemed so real to me-- as if you were making the journey yourself.

It's really hard to choose one favorite book from the Narnia series. I like The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and The Silver Chair almost as much as the Dawn Treader. The other books in the series have their own appeal-- it is difficult not to like them. Some people do not care for Trumpkin the Dwarf's retold story in Prince Caspian. I have noticed that Prince Caspian is the least favorite in some of the polls on other websites-- I wondered if that could be the reason. Although that book is not at the top of my list, I do like it.

Larry W.

[Larry W.]

Genie:

I do not remember disliking the The Horse and His Boy. What is not politically correct in the book? There might be some flaws in it I was not aware of (C.S. Lewis was only human). But I had enjoyed the story, especially the talking horses.

Larry W.

[Alan]

I'm not sure that Lewis really tried to make the Calormenes look like Arabs.

If that has occured I feel it has more to do with Pauline Baynes' illustrations.

It's hard to put my finger on what makes me a touch uneasy with HHB but it definitely has to do with the cliched characterisation of the Calormenes. With the exception of Aravis they are a little too two dimensional for my tastes.