Review #24: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Title: Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Harper Collins. 1950. Tr. $15.34. 189 pages. ISBN 978-0-06-023481-2

Genre: Fantasy/Christian Literature
Reading Level/Interest Level: 5.5/ Grades 5-8
Awards: None
Series: Chronicles of Narnia

·         The Horse and His Boy

       ·         The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
       ·         The Magician's Nephew
       ·         The Silver Chair
       ·         The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Similar Titles: Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle,  His Dark Materials by Phipl Pullman.

In war ravaged England, siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy find themselves hidden away on a country estate off a reclusive gentleman, for safe keeping. During one of their long and dreary days, Lucy finds that the ornately carved wardrobe in the home not only stores old furs, but the doorway to a hidden world as well. Upon initially finding herself in a snowy glen, talking to a faun, otherwise known as the satyr, Mr. Tumnus, Lucy comes to know of the tyrannical and cruel ruler, The White Witch, whose castle holds great evil. She has cast a spell of eternal winter upon Narnia, the land she now finds herself in, and terrorizes the land and its creatures, all of whom talk and walk as humans do. One shining hope remains, as a revolution grows surrounding a prophecy of the return of the mighty lion ruler, Aslan, and the coming of the daughters of Eve and the sons of Adam.

Returning with her brothers and sister, Lucy attempts to acclimate them to the Narnian plight. Unfortunately, Edmund, disenchanted and bitter, forges a terrible alliance, which puts him and all of Narnia in danger. Can Lucy, Peter and Susan journey to the White Witch’s castle to save Edmund and return alive? Will they take up arms and defend Narnia, bringing peace back to the castle at Cair Paravel, and heralding the return of the mighty Aslan? Will they leave their own world, forever?

In a tale that is heavy with Christian sentiment, and characters based off of scripture (Jesus as the lion, the light of man), the eternal battle of good and evil is enough to carry even the greatest theologian nay-sayer to the next novel. With brilliantly written scenes, mythological creatures and deep characters that represent the struggles of every child in finding their own path, and their own sense of wrong and right, Lewis creates a rich tapestry of imagination, fantasy and hope for generations to come.  While this novel was the beginning point of the series when I read them as a child, the order has been shifted to begin with  A Horse and His Boy. However, readers will still be able to start with either novel and get the full experience as it was intended, as puzzle pieces to larger picture.

Also a major motion picture.