About this title: One of the most highly respected fantasy novels ever written, THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE can be seen as both an exciting children's adventure story and an allegory about faith. The story begins when the Pevensie siblings (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy) escape the dangers of World War II-era London by relocating to the country home of family friend Professor Kirke. One day, while playing hide-and-seek, Lucy hides in an old wardrobe and finds herself transported to the world of Narnia, a magical land frozen in eternal winter by the evil White Witch. With the help of her siblings, ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
"I have never seen the movie ET. This often baffles friends who can't imagine how I could reach the 21st century without weeping over ET or understanding "phone home" references. More than ET, though, I find it amazing that I hit forty without reading the Chronicles of Narnia. An inherited boxed set has sat on my shelf for years, minus volume one, for which I've patiently waited to open volume 2. Unfortunately, when I finally picked up 1 (Lion, Witch, Wardrobe) it came used with a young hand upon it. Apparently, the reader was writing a paper about temperature and every reference to "cold," "ice," "snow," "freeze," etc. has been underlined. ("The tea had grown cold.") A nasty distraction from a simple read. What I appreciated about LWW was exactly the same thing that I resented. It was quick and to the point. An easy tale to tell a child, lacking the detail of character, action and motive that could have turned it into something to be read again as an adult à la Lord of the Rings or Lloyd Alexander. It's a wonderfully constructed story (nice allegory, regardless of your feelings about christianity) for an eight year-old and I wish I'd read it then rather than now. I might have liked it. All that said, I think I'll get through the rest of the box if only to understand why they've meant so much to others and to prompt some greater thought on writing for children.
...Alright, so they got better. Not enough to merit individual reviews, but good enough to get through them all in a couple of sittings. And even LWW looks better in retrospect if only for its setting the stage for a more complex universe."
"Sometimes when a book gets praised -- by seemingly everyone -- you start thinking it can't possibly be that good. This is. And more. It is truly a classic, in the truest sense of the word."
"I had fond memories of this from when I read it as a child, so when I spied my neighbour's complete collection, I thought I would give them a go. I didn't read much fantasy when young, save for Lord of the Rings and these, but I've been reading a hell of a lot after I turned thirty. So, I look upon this with an adult's eye and pronounce it garbage. I missed all the religious connotations when younger, but they are more obvious now. The story is paltry, the writing is twee (borrowed that from a critic at the New Yorker), and it is sparse, especially compared to the grand epics of modern writers, or, even when they don't create epics, the details and creativity of modern fantasy writers. I won't say it is child abuse to give this to your kids, but try to avoid Narnia."
"I am tempted to give this book a one but the idea of going through the wardrobe to another land is fantastic. Everything else, however, is not fantastic, including:
The over-the-top Christian allegory. The complete absence of dramatic tension - the characters are static and the conclusion is foregone. There is nothing to keep you reading, to challenge you, or to even vaguely interest you. The writing is mediocre at best. The dialogue is mediocre at best.
Awful book, it as if someone read Matthew through John, and then said these four gospels are good but it would take a master writer to retell them with talking animals and have it be worse to the point of complete boredom."
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