Alan Jacobs' The Narnian

[Leslie]

Has anyone else read this newish (2005) Lewis biography? I hadn't heard of it before I came across it yesterday in a bookstore, and of course it came home with me. I'm about halfway through, and quite enjoying it. Jacobs is a Wheaton College English professor, focusing in this book on the development of Lewis' thinking, faith, and imagination.

[Adam Linton]

Yes, I read it some months ago. It presupposes a basic familiarity with the Lewis corpus. I thought that it was good, well written & well researched -- in fact, one of the better recent books about Lewis (along with Justin Phillips' fine C. S. Lewis in a Time of War, which I also much recommend -- about Lewis' work on the BBC during WWII).

Just last month I read Jacobs' Shaming the Devil: Essays in Truthtelling, a collection of literary essays.

[Esther]

[Leslie]

[Esther]

[Sven]

[Esther]

[Sven]

[Esther]

[ijohn_patmos]

[Leslie]

[ijohn_patmos]

[/quote] So there was. I didn't search before I posted this new thread. I see that the previous thread got sidetracked on the same issue you mention here.[/quote]
Leslie, I agree that a lot more could have been said about the merits of this fine book on the previous thread. Yet the issue you say side-tracked the thread is an explosive topic for many people. I think the writer, in all good faith, perhaps went a step too far on this one issue.
John

[Leslie]

[ijohn_patmos]

It may be explosive for some, but it gets only passing mention in the book. I didn't mean to be negative, but I think dwelling on this issue gives the wrong impression of the book.[/quote]

Leslie, it's common ground that theThe Narnian is a splendid work, and I think it unlikely that anything could give a different impression of it. However, although I take your point that in the totality of the book the issue does not get much attention, that is rather the point I wanted to make. After all, as you say, this book is focusing on the development of Lewis' thinking, faith, and imagination. Consequently, if we are to say that present circumstances are different to those of of every other century of the Christian era and that CSL therefore (ignoring his views on chronological snobbery) would have remained silent on the subject, then our contention should be supported with a better argument. That's all.
Regards, John

[Guest]

Although I enjoyed reading The Narnian, I found Jacobs to be a little smug in his writing at some points. I also wish there'd been more Narnian references throughout the book. I had hoped for a biography that related Lewis' life to portions of the Narnian tales. I thought that would be a unique perspective, but there wasn't as much of that as I'd hoped. I did like Jacob's characterization of Lewis as easily "enchanted".

I must admit, that Jacobs got off on the wrong foot with me in his introduction by stating he felt the Harry Potter novels were superior literature to the Chronicles.

Blessings,

Dan