Book Review - Narnia Beyond The Wardrobe

Recently, I finished reading books about the Chronicles of Narnia movie and a supplement to Gods and Generals. First, I'll review the Chronicles of Narnia book.

The book is published by Harper Collins Publishers. It is called an official guide to Narnia. It tells of C.S. Lewis's life, some of the friends he knew including J. R. R. Tolkien, and how the Chronicles came to be written. It's an interesting book if you want to know the history of the Chronicles. It also has some interesting comments by Lewis. One thing that saddened me about the Chronicles was that Susan Pevensie stops believing in Aslan and Narnia. She gets caught up in being all grown-up. At the end of the The Last Battle it is Susan who is left behind in the shadow earth. A reader mentioned how sad this was to Lewis. Lewis replied that it was possible that Susan might turn away from her new self and in time make her own to Aslan's land like her parents do. We'll never know if she does but one can always hope.

The book also has some nice pictures from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe movie. One interesting thing I found about the book is that it doesn't acknowledge all the references to Christianity in the book. This may have to do with how Disney Corporation handled the movie. Disney claimed the movie was just a fantasy movie though to other groups, it acknowledged the fact that Lewis was a celebrated CHRISTIAN writer. I suspect the Harper Collins Publishers chose to duck the issue about the references to Christianity in the Chronicles. Overall, I was pleased with the book. Page wise, it comes in at 127 pages making it an easy read. I found some of the information in it really interesting. I never know that Tolkien criticized the Chronicles because he felt Lewis wasn't consistent in his mythology. Lewis did pull parts from a number of different mythological groups. Yet, I think Tolkien was wrong in his criticism. Lewis strove to make the books fun and took bits and pieces from where ever he liked so long as it helped to make the books enjoyable and aided in the messages Lewis tried to send in the books. Also, Lewis was writing the books for children. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings on the other hand I believe is very much oriented toward an adult reader. My only complaint with Lewis is I wish he'd written more books in the Chronicles. Seven books wasn't nearly enough.

In conclusion, I want to mention one comment Lewis made about himself. Lewis believed that before he died he would be forgotten as a writer. As events turned out, Lewis couldn't have been more wrong. If anything, I think he remains more popular than ever and with more Chronicle movies on the horizon, his popularity promises to increase further. If you haven't read the Chronicles and you like fantasy, I'd highly recommend them to you. The books were written for children but people of all ages can find enjoyment in Lewis's wonderful Chronicles of Narnia series.