I knocked out both The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Out of the Silent Planet in about a week and then a night. I have difficulty with reading and writing reviews, because I don't want to give the plot away. I think I have succeeded in avoiding that, and hope that what you read here will encourage you to read or reread these books.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is vying for my favorite of the Narnia series. From the marvelous opening line to the last adventure, the book keeps the reader enthralled to see what will come next. The overall message of the Narnia books, the theology within them was greatly increased by this book, and I found myself stewing on the message for a few days after. It is an effective, adventurous story, perhaps the best in the series. The nugget of truth here was not lost in all the excitement.
Out of the Silent Planet took me about five hours to read, and well worth the time, even if all you want to do is find out why a planet is silent...and why others aren't. Lewis introduces more mysteries that he answers as the story progresses. Can you figure out where all the places and who the good guys are?
In the middle of that fun, Lewis explores an interesting take on theology. I believe it to be a work of fiction, but it makes you think about the state of our world in a new way. Even the just man is unjust, by admission. Besides for all this, Lewis makes short work of imagery, but he uses it so well, the lack of words is not noticed because the mental image is so well constructed, as with the Narnia stories. If you can find one, I recommend a version of this book that does not show an image on the cover. Mine did, which took away some of the thrill of trying to realize where everything is. Of course, the cover art is very interesting, as well, which may convince those who have not read my review (inconceivable!) to give the book a go.
Taken together, these books, reveal that Lewis is a thinking man who uses imagination to draw interesting parallels between the real world and the ones born in his mind. The parallels call into question who we are, the state of the world, God, justice and mercy, putting them on the floor to be examined by the readers. Even those that do not wish to think of all of these things will be spellbound by his personal and descriptive relation of the stories, with which nearly anyone can identify.
Regi G
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2 comments:
Good point about the strength of Lewis' thought overcoming the sparing way he describes the worlds. He isn't detail obsessed, like Tolkien, but his vision still gets conveyed.
Now you've got me thinking about the no-picture-cover issue.
Lewis appeals to me, precisely because he is so articulate. I know that this is a drawback for many, but it works for him because he is so adept at word choice, and becausee it's nice to get through a good story in one sitting.
I have not read Mere Christianity yet, but it looks more wordy.
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