Revisiting Narnia: Fantasy, Myth and Religion in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles

Smart Pop

by Shanna Caughey (Editor), Jacqueline Carey (Collaborator), Sarah Zettel (Collaborator)

Theologians, psychologists, academics, feminists, and fantasists offer humor, insight, and fresh perspectives on the enchanting and beloved Chronicles of Narnia series. Such contributors as fantasists Sarah Zettel and Lawrence Watt-Evans, children's literature scholar Naomi Wood, and C. S. Lewis scholars Colin Duriez and Joseph Pearce discuss topics such as J. R. R. Tolkien and Middle Earth's influence on the conception of Narnia, the relevance of allegory for both Christians and non-Christians, the idea of divine providence in Narnia, and Narnia's influence on modern-day witchcraft. Fans of the wildly popular series will revel in the examination of all aspects of C. S. Lewis and his magical Narnia.

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Philosophy, Literary Criticism

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 2005

Reviews

[Tintinrulz · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Revisiting Narnia" is good but not great. There are 25 essays on display; some are fantastic, some are good and others are dull and/or difficult reads. The essays vary greatly in content and tone - some are humorous but most are seriously scholarly works. There's even an essay by the founder of PETA (and it was fairly reasonable!). The essay I disliked the least was well-written but displayed poor form. It was one written by a man who hates Christianity (it happens) and hates Narnia (say what?) That's just stupid! Why the crap would you write an essay about Narnia to include in a book, when you dislike it so? It's like professional trolling! He then has the gall to offer a Greek Orthodox version of LWW that shows he doesn't understand the fundamental basics of the Christian faith. There are a number of essays written by people I have little in common with eg. a wiccan, a feminist etc. but they wrote some of the more agreeable and enjoyable pieces. All in all, the book is probably worth a read if you're a hard core Narnia fan but it doesn't hold a candle to the brilliant essay anthology, "The Lion, the Witch and the Worldview."

7/10

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

It would be nice if this was mostly a book with several people analyzing Narnia as a literary work. Instead, this book is mostly filled with angry, whiny authors who are taking out their vendetta against Lewis as a Christian and so finding ridiculous "faults" with his characterization of Aslan and other things that happened in the books. The authors endlessly twist and misinterpret everything Lewis wrote, to the point where it seems intentional. If Lewis had followed the advice of these know-it-all authors, Aslan would have been another boring cipher / cliche, the stories would be dreadful, and no one would still be talking about the books 60 years later.

There are a few authors in the book who praise Lewis' work, but none of the articles addresses and corrects the ludicrous, false claims made by the other authors, presented here as fact.

[Jody Mena]

Fascinating collection of perspectives. Just when you think you've delved into every concievable metaphorical and allegorical aspect of Narnia, a new one flowers before your eyes. If you didn't find any value in the Chronicles of Narnia before, you won't be able to deny it once you read this book.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the essays in this book were interesting and thought-provoking - unfortunately some were not. A number of the contributors had their own axes to grind, which they did far less entertainly that Lewis.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collection of 25 short essays on C.S. Lewis' Narnia books. What makes these especially interesting is the wide range of the authors: Protestants, Catholics, a Greek Orthodox person as well as agnostics and pagans. I especially liked the essays discussing the order in which the books should be read.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As of right now this book is very enjoyable. It's opening my eyes to some new aspects of this seven book series.

[Mickey · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a good variety of essays here and most ranged from tolerable to excellent.