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Short Stories
This volume of short essays and other pieces by C. S. Lewis is part of a larger collection, C. S. Lewis: Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces. In addition to his many books, letters, and poems, C. S. Lewis wrote a great number of essays and shorter pieces on various subjects. He wrote extensively on Christian theology and the defense of faith but also on ethical issues and the nature of literature and storytelling. Within this audiobook is a treasure trove of Lewis' reflections on diverse topics.
This volume includes:
"The Man Born Blind"
"The Dark Tower"
"Ministering Angels"
"The Shoddy Lands"
"After Ten Years"
"Forms of Things Unknown"
This volume includes:
"The Man Born Blind"
"The Dark Tower"
"Ministering Angels"
"The Shoddy Lands"
"After Ten Years"
"Forms of Things Unknown"
Audible Audio
Published December 10, 2013
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About the author
C.S. Lewis
1,030 books47.9k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]
Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 4, 2021
"The Man Born Blind" — Disturbing.
"The Dark Tower" — The controversy over this one (whether it's really by Lewis or a forgery) is intriguing. I don't have a sense one way or the other. I had no idea it was tied into the space trilogy, or I'd've read it sooner. I know Lewis was to write the space travel story and Tolkien the time travel story, but Tolkien didn't keep his end of the bargain, so I kind of wonder if Lewis thought he might as well try his hand at it. I found it strange but gripping.
"Ministering Angels" — Kind of funny and strange and just a skosh horrific.
"The Shoddy Lands" — Didn't grab me. Between this one and the previous, though, one sure gets a picture of how well Lewis understood certain feminine sins.
"After Ten Years" — Fun concept. Wish he'd been able to finish it.
"Forms of Things Unknown" — Creepy. I guessed it early on, then forgot my guess (I went to the kitchen, and...squirrel!) so I ended up being surprised anyway.
"The Dark Tower" — The controversy over this one (whether it's really by Lewis or a forgery) is intriguing. I don't have a sense one way or the other. I had no idea it was tied into the space trilogy, or I'd've read it sooner. I know Lewis was to write the space travel story and Tolkien the time travel story, but Tolkien didn't keep his end of the bargain, so I kind of wonder if Lewis thought he might as well try his hand at it. I found it strange but gripping.
"Ministering Angels" — Kind of funny and strange and just a skosh horrific.
"The Shoddy Lands" — Didn't grab me. Between this one and the previous, though, one sure gets a picture of how well Lewis understood certain feminine sins.
"After Ten Years" — Fun concept. Wish he'd been able to finish it.
"Forms of Things Unknown" — Creepy. I guessed it early on, then forgot my guess (I went to the kitchen, and...squirrel!) so I ended up being surprised anyway.
September 7, 2017
Wow. So good. The Dark Tower! Wish it had been finished. I am so curious!!
Loved the description and commentary on each piece. I really enjoyed listening. 👍🏼
Loved the description and commentary on each piece. I really enjoyed listening. 👍🏼
April 3, 2017
It was fun to discover stories by Lewis that I'd never heard of before. He is, of course, a master story teller. Sadly, The Dark Tower was incomplete as well as the story of Menelaus and Helen. A bit dry in parts, especially the bits about time and time travel theory in The Dark Tower.
Three stars means "liked it." And I did.
Three stars means "liked it." And I did.
January 25, 2025
Disclaimer: I only listened to this one on Hoopla.
This book is a compilation of the unfinished fiction works of Lewis. Some of the chapters are simply a few pages of narrative while others such as The Dark Tower appear as halfway complete books. While Lewis’s writing is extraordinary, everything found in this compilation is unfinished. Thus, the book is like an uncooked piece of steak. It has plenty of potential, but it needs to be cooked prior to consuming.
This book is a compilation of the unfinished fiction works of Lewis. Some of the chapters are simply a few pages of narrative while others such as The Dark Tower appear as halfway complete books. While Lewis’s writing is extraordinary, everything found in this compilation is unfinished. Thus, the book is like an uncooked piece of steak. It has plenty of potential, but it needs to be cooked prior to consuming.
April 30, 2024
Useful read for Lewis fans. You can see the themes that are beautifully developed in his novels starting in these unfinished stories (most of which would not have stood the test of time). The essays that accompany the stories are helpful perspectives.
August 26, 2016
I believe this is the audio version of this book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
I enjoyed the stories here, but the collection is really only to be recommended to those who are already fans of Lewis as two of the stories are unfinished and the stories on the whole are not perhaps Lewis' best work. Some have even questioned the authenticity of The Dark Tower.
I wished The Dark Tower had been finished. I read this collection immediately after reading the Space Trilogy, and found TDT more engaging than most of the trilogy. Maybe that's evidence for it having been written by someone else, although as an untrained reader the tone and wording didn't stand out as that different to me.
I enjoyed the stories here, but the collection is really only to be recommended to those who are already fans of Lewis as two of the stories are unfinished and the stories on the whole are not perhaps Lewis' best work. Some have even questioned the authenticity of The Dark Tower.
I wished The Dark Tower had been finished. I read this collection immediately after reading the Space Trilogy, and found TDT more engaging than most of the trilogy. Maybe that's evidence for it having been written by someone else, although as an untrained reader the tone and wording didn't stand out as that different to me.
December 7, 2024
Somewhere on the cover or descriptive information, it needs be clearly noted that these pieces are not complete. They are undinished and that can lead to freat frustration if unexpected.
As someone who appeeciates the mind and writings of Lewis, I'm glad to have experienced these pieces.
On the other hand, after investing as much time as I did in the novella of The Black Tower, to have it just stop without resolution had me exclaim, " what the f$@k."
Only avid fans and literary scholars will be content with this assemblage of scraps.
As someone who appeeciates the mind and writings of Lewis, I'm glad to have experienced these pieces.
On the other hand, after investing as much time as I did in the novella of The Black Tower, to have it just stop without resolution had me exclaim, " what the f$@k."
Only avid fans and literary scholars will be content with this assemblage of scraps.
December 20, 2019
Nah...I didn't finish this one. I don't know that Lewis would be sad either haha.
January 28, 2024
I would enjoyed it more except that the main story is missing pages, including the end. Still, I love the imagination of CS Lewis.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews