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Re: What was Lewis's best book?

PostPosted: May 17th, 2010, 1:45 pm
by Warrior 4 Jesus
I really struggled in reading and trying to understand the Abolition of Man. I didn't get far. It was very high-concept thinking and what I understood was interesting but I found the writing dry and archaic. I found similar themes in his book - That Hideous Strength and enjoyed that much more. But then again, I do generally prefer fiction over non-fiction.

Re: What was Lewis's best book?

PostPosted: May 17th, 2010, 3:49 pm
by Nerd42

Re: What was Lewis's best book?

PostPosted: May 18th, 2010, 12:20 am
by Warrior 4 Jesus
You know it's not just about science vs magic vs religion - the moral law and absolute truth are the real main point(s)

Very true. Yes, I understand that is the case. Thanks

Re: What was Lewis's best book?

PostPosted: May 18th, 2010, 10:05 pm
by JDMalament

Re: What was Lewis's best book?

PostPosted: May 18th, 2010, 11:17 pm
by Nerd42

Re: What was Lewis's best book?

PostPosted: May 19th, 2010, 5:45 am
by Warrior 4 Jesus
I've read Till We Have Faces and I didn't like it at all. I may have to go back and read it again sometime. But I'm in no hurry.
As for The Four Loves, I can't seem to find it. Interesting point about Plato. His teachings were very interesting.

Re: What was Lewis's best book?

PostPosted: May 26th, 2010, 11:17 pm
by equustel
Till We Have Faces is far and away my favorite Lewis; in fact, it is probably my favorite piece of fiction ever. I completely understand why some people have trouble getting through it. Not the most accessible thing Lewis ever wrote, and a big departure from his signature voice and style. But when I first read it, something in me changed. No book before or since has spoken to me on such a level.

Besides the personal significance, I also love how it reflects Lewis's growth as a person. The first part of the book was written before he had become a Christian, which gives it so much added weight (as well as everything that follows). And then there's the way he writes Orual - I think his relationship with Joy is part of what made him able to flesh out such a real, three-dimensional female perspective, with such a geniune voice. Amazing character.

I quote the ending lines all the time, whenever I become too distracted in my pursuit (and occasional demand of) answers to the Big Questions.

Re: What was Lewis's best book?

PostPosted: June 12th, 2010, 3:04 am
by nomad

Re: What was Lewis's best book?

PostPosted: June 12th, 2010, 2:06 pm
by galion

Re: What was Lewis's best book?

PostPosted: June 12th, 2010, 6:39 pm
by Matthew Whaley
Yes, The Shoddy Lands is certainly the worst, but it is kind of funny and I think it was meant to be.

Re: What was Lewis's best book?

PostPosted: June 12th, 2010, 7:05 pm
by galion
The reason I picked it was that it gives an insight into the unregenerate Lewis's idea of what women really think about! - answering Freud's famous question "Was will das Weib??"

Re: What was Lewis's best book?

PostPosted: June 12th, 2010, 7:32 pm
by Matthew Whaley
If Lewis had written little else, one could by todays standards label him a sexist based on that story, but what could he have said about what all young men really think about; would it not have been much worse! (speaking for myself of course!)

To me, aside from his English Literature In The Sixteenth Century Excluding Drama, my favorite is still TWHF.

Re: What was Lewis's best book?

PostPosted: July 12th, 2010, 11:49 am
by Lucys_Wardrobe
I love all of C.S. Lewis's works, and they are all the best in my opinion for different reasons, because a lot of them are deep and make you view things differently after reading them, but I would have to say all the Narnia books are my favorite, because when I read I love to go to a different place, become the characters while reading and escaping the real-world around me. What better place for that to happened than in a fantastic series of books like The Chronicles of Narnia.

Re: What was Lewis's best book?

PostPosted: August 18th, 2010, 3:29 am
by Mavramorn
The Silver Chair ... nuff said

Re: What was Lewis's best book?

PostPosted: August 18th, 2010, 4:35 am
by Matthew Whaley