J.R.R Tolkien and C.S. Lewis: o dom da amizade

by Colin Duriez

Both Tolkien and C.S. Lewis are literary superstars, known around the world as the creators of Middle-earth and Narnia. But few of their readers and fans know about the important and complex friendship between Tolkien and his fellow Oxford academic C.S. Lewis. Without the persistent encouragement of his friend, Tolkien would never have completed The Lord of the Rings. This great tale, along with the connected matter of The Silmarillion, would have remained merely a private hobby. Likewise, all of Lewis' fiction, after the two met at Oxford University in 1926, bears the mark of Tolkien's influence, whether in names he used or in the creation of convincing fantasy worlds.

They quickly discovered their affinity--a love of language and the imagination, a wide reading in northern myth and fairy tale, a desire to write stories themselves in both poetry and prose. The quality of their literary friendship invites comparisons with those of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Cowper and John Newton, and G.K. Chesterton and Hillaire Belloc. Both Tolkien and Lewis were central figures in the informal Oxford literary circle, the Inklings.

This book explores their lives, unfolding the extraordinary story of their complex friendship that lasted, with its ups and downs, until Lewis's death in 1963. Despite their differences--differences of temperament, spiritual emphasis, and view of their storytelling art--what united them was much stronger, a shared vision that continues to inspire their millions of readers throughout the world.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Biography Memoir, Christian, Writing, Christianity

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Colin Duriez is an English writer and scholar best known for his work on the Inklings, the literary circle that included C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Owen Barfield, and Charles Williams. Born in Derbyshire in 1947, he moved to Leicester in 1983 to work as a commissioning editor for the publisher IVP. Over the years he has combined editorial work with teaching, and in 2002 he established his own business, InWriting, in Keswick, Cumbria, providing writing and editorial services as well as book acquisition for publishers.
Winner of the Clyde S. Kilby Award in 1994 for his research on the Inklings, Duriez has been praised as one of the most valuable contemporary scholars on Lewis. His numerous books explore the lives, friendships, and imaginative worlds of Lewis and Tolkien, including Bedeviled: Lewis, Tolkien, and the Shadow of Evil, The Oxford Inklings, and Tolkien and C. S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship. His work has been lauded for accessibility, scholarly insight, and fresh perspectives.
Duriez has also appeared in television documentaries such as A Quest for Meaning – Myth, Imagination & Faith in the Literature of J. R. R. Tolkien & C. S. Lewis. He lives in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colin Duriez here presents us with a double biography of famous author besties John Ronald Reuel “Tollers” Tolkien (1892 – 1973) and Clive Staples “Jack” Lewis (1898 – 1963), to whom nearly all of modern fantasy fiction can be traced.

The book has a good deal of interesting information in it, including some truly insightful quotes. One such passage is fellow Inkling Dr. Robert Havard (nicknamed “the Useless Quack” by his fellow club members), explaining the contrast between Jack and Tollers:

Lewis was a big, full-blown man—overbearing, almost…Tolkien was a slight figure—I’d say three quarters the weight of Lewis. [Tolkien’s] remarks were always made by the way, and not [with a] knock you down, take them or leave them attitude. His whole manner was elusive rather than direct, while Lewis came straight out at you.

This is a basic description of the two men’s physiognomy and self-presentation, but could also very well describe the difference in their approach to literature. Tolkien’s messages are like his Elven processions, glimmering between the trees and seeming to vanish when you look at them directly. Lewis’ are like a Lion, Who is good at camouflaging Himself but will also announce His presence by roaring and pouncing on people. There’s nothing wrong with either approach, although Lewis’ symbolism strikes some folks—including Tolkien—as too heavy-handed.

Unfortunately, those sentiments appear to be shared by Duriez himself, which would have been fine if he had introduced himself as more of a Middle-earther than a Narnian at the beginning. But it’s always frustrating to begin something that you think is balanced and find out that it’s biased, however slightly. Duriez appears to share Tolkien’s disdain of Lewis’ “popular theology” even though so many readers in the intervening decades have found so much wisdom and peace in works like Mere Christianity.

The other thing Duriez disdains is children’s fiction. He skims over The Hobbit and seems to find it interesting only as a prelude to The Lord of the Rings. His analysis of the Chronicles of Narnia is gets strange details wrong—for instance, he portrays Queen Prunaprismia as complicit with her husband, King Miraz, in his plot to assassinate their nephew, Prince Caspian, in the novel of the same name.

Prunaprismia has no lines in the book and has no actions to her name, save giving birth to the son whom Miraz used as an excuse to have Caspian murdered. The novel mentions that she and Caspian never got along, but never implies that she had anything to do with the assassination attempt. The 2008 film (which was five years in the future at the time this book was published) portrays her as an innocent, kept in the dark by her Machiavellian husband: “Dear, I thought you said your brother died in his sleep…”

In the same passage, Duriez describes both Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole as cousins of the Pevensies. Jill is not related, and it’s actually rather important that she isn’t. Eustace is obviously related to the Kings and Queens, and Digory is “a relative of [their] Mother’s” in some editions, so Jill and Polly prove that anyone can be an inter-world traveler and hero in this universe. The Narnia fandom is overrun with nitpicky fan bros anyway—the last thing it needs is bloodline worship like what seems to have infected the Star Wars fandom.

While summarizing The Silver Chair, Duriez claims that the Lady of the Green Kirtle is descended of the line of Jadis. LGK is a character with no backstory at all given—Glimfeather the Owl suspects that she’s “one of the same crew” as Jadis, but in The Magician’s Nephew we learn that Jadis is the last survivor of her empire, Charn, and she killed every singly other life form there hundreds of years earlier with the most powerful incantation in the world (likely an allegory of the atom bomb).

So who could “the same crew” be? Was she pregnant when she left Charn? Or at any point during her stay in Narnia? If so, how were the Narnians unaware that she had descendants? Or maybe “the same crew” refers to acolytes she picked up in Narnia, not biological descendants? In one draft of the book, Lewis seemed to think LGK was the reincarnation of Jadis, although this does not appear to be the case in the final version. (Note that Nephew was written after Chair, and one of the things that drove Tolkien crazy about Lewis was that Jack just didn’t care about continuity).

My point is that the Narnia books are much more intelligent and influential than Duriez gives them credit for, and they deserve for him to have read them carefully and not make unforced errors like these.

I’ll end this review, though, with two excellent passages:

Charles Williams’ analysis of LOTR, as told by Tolkien:

[He] says the great thing is that its centre is not in strife and war and heroism (though they are understood and depicted) but in freedom, peace, ordinary life, and good living.

This is true, and a lot of folks today forget that about the trilogy.

David C. Downing on what makes Jack and Tollers stand out:

Joyce, Woolf, Waugh, Fitzgerald, Faulkner—not to mention Stephen King or Anne Rice—are adept at portraying evil, twisted, neurotic, or self-absorbed characters. But how often does one find good, decent, or wholesome characters portrayed so often and so successfully in modern literature? At both the grand scale (Aslan, Galadriel) and the simple (Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, the hobbits), Lewis and Tolkien could show you what goodness looks like in the flesh.

SO TRUE, and even more so today. There’s room for all kinds of heroes, and the nice wholesome kind can coexist with the morally conflicted variety.

Finally, I'm sad that the two friends' snarking on the subject of Disney, beginning when they hate-watched Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, did not make it into this book. They were such snobs and it was hilarious.

For your entertainment, Tolkien on Disney:

"I recognize [Walt Disney's] talent, but it has always seemed to me hopelessly corrupted. Though in most of the 'pictures' proceeding from his studios there are admirable or charming passages, the effect of all of them to me is disgusting. Some have given me nausea."

Lewis on Disney:

Dwarfs ought to be ugly of course, but not in that way. And the dwarfs’ jazz party was pretty bad. I suppose it never occurred to the poor boob that you could give them any other kind of music. But all the terrifying bits were good, and the animals really most moving: and the use of shadows (of dwarfs and vultures) was real genius. What might not have come of it if this man had been educated–or even brought up in a decent society?

[Jen H · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must say this has been one of my favorite recent reads. And I picked it up for a dollar in the book sale room of my local library! Other reviewers can cite the organizational concept of the book. I'm just going to tell you what I loved about it.

I loved that it gave me a living, breathing view into the relationship that existed between these two literary giants.

I loved that it didn't sugarcoat either their personalities or their stories.

I loved that it explained to me in a way I could understand the important distinctions between creating myth and simply using allegory to tell a story.

I loved that by the time I got to the part when Lewis died, I was so immersed in the story that I cried. And I knew this story, their story, the story of their friendship, prior to reading this book, but this book made them somehow more "touchable."

My favorite *picture* of Tolkien from the book was the picture the author painted of a scholarly Tolkien on his way to classes on his bicycle complete in collar and gown, as was the custom for all who taught at Oxford in the 30's.

And my favorite picture of Lewis (if I MUST confine myself to one favorite) is that of the portly, jolly, joy-loving, philosopher-smoker, half-a-pint guy, sitting with friends, extending hospitality, enjoying life and love and the people he called "friend."

May we be ever so blessed!

Thank you, Colin Duriez, for a delightful foray into the Oxford of The Inklings. I suppose I must, for duty calls, return to 2012. But only long enough to catch my breath before dipping into yet another story from the world of faerie....

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good biography of the two greatest Christian Fiction writers of the 20th Century - C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and their friendship together. I didn't find the book too incredibly interesting because I knew a lot about their friendship before, but if you don't I highly recommend it.

[Othy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alas, all books about amazing people are not amazing themselves. This book read as a biography of both Tolkien and Lewis, though set side by side chronologically. I learned a few new things about Tolkien, and a bit about Lewis, though all of which I would rather read in a full biography, not one on the two men's friendship with one another. Lost in the book was any sense of them being friends, due to the sparsity of quotes from one about the other and also simply the patch-workness of the whole endevour. Luckily the last chapter was full of their collective ideas, though done rather speedily. I got a good bit of thinking done due to the book, and thinking I have not been able to approach for quite some time, though this is due not to the book, but to the brilliance that are Tolkien and Lewis.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Duriez begins the book with biographical accounts of J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis from childhood until they met. He then shows how their personalities, tastes, interests, and ideas blended into friendship. He spends time discussing the other Inklings too, and how their collective group friendship was important to both Tolkien and Lewis. Their writing, their faith, and their careers all get explored here, sometimes in depth. If you are a fan of either author, or you like learning about authors in general, you would probably get a lot out of this book. I know I did!

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not the book to read at bedtime. I think I didn't get as much as I could out of it because I was always sleepy while reading it. But here's my take on it: It was basically two parallel biographies about two people whose lives happened to overlap. They taught at the same college and were members of the same writing club. The author kept saying, over and over, how important the friendship was, but he never showed it. Maybe because I was already familiar with the basics of their friendship, is why I felt dissatisfied with this book. I wanted it to go a lot deeper than it did. However, if you're a fan of both Tolkien and Lewis, but don't know about the Inklings, you would really like this book. It's a good introduction to their lives, views on fantasy literature, and their faith. For all the emphasis on their friendship, though, I thought the author almost made the opposite point. After reading this, it seemed like they were less close than I thought, even though I'm pretty sure the author didn't mean for me to get that impression.

I've also read another book co-written by Duriez, a coffee table book about the Inklings, and I LOVED it. Maybe I just need to read that again! Or read this one not when I'm half asleep.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Without Tolkien, Lewis may not have become a Christian. Without Lewis's encouragement, Tolkien may not have finished and published The Lord of the Rings. This highly readable and insightful "biography" of their friendship will be of interest to fans of Tolkien's and Lewis's work, presenting the synergy that their relationship created in a synergistic manner of its own. The information about World War I, medieval literature, literary criticism as approached at Oxford and Cambridge, and the personal lives of these two great authors is interesting, but the place of their work in the history of literature--when they wrote, there was almost no literature that created "other worlds" for adults--clinches the importance of their contributions. Have you "heard the horns of Elfland"? Have you wanted to discover the road that will lead you beyond the world? Inspiring book about two seminal figures--be prepared to reread their work after you learn more about its creation.

[Daniel Piva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este livro é ótimo.
Não são apenas curiosidades sobre a amizade de Tolkien e Lewis, na verdade é um livro muito inspirador, que nos faz repensar tanto o conceito como a beleza e propósito da imaginação - um presente de Deus para o homem.
Recomendo!

[Maeros · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, and helpful in its purpose; not something I'd recommend as bedside reading, but helped with my Extended Project dissertation, so I can't fault it.

[JP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esse livro é daqueles que você começa e esquece da vida de tão bom. Uma das coisas que mais me chamaram atenção nesse livro, fora a própria relação de amizade de Tolkien e Lewis, foi ver como cada acontecimento na vida deles, seja antes ou depois de sua amizade, seja nos fatos alegres ou tristes, tudo acaba de alguma forma se manifestando em suas obras. É de se admirar quando vc percebe que cada elemento presente nas histórias de Crônicas de Nárnia e Senhor dos Anéis estão lá por algum motivo, por algum ocorrido na vida de ambos autores. Tolkien e Lewis não escreveram apenas livros de fantasia, escreveram suas vidas. Dá gosto de ler.

[Kate Forsyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am, of course, a fan of both J.R.R Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. Their books have had a profound effect on me from a young age. I re-visit their books every half a decade or so, and every year make a pilgrimage to the Bird and Baby pub in Oxford to drink a cider in their memory (the pub is really called The Eagle and Child, and Tollers and Jack used to drink there every Tuesday afternoon with a few of the other Inkling chaps*). I even have framed maps of Narnia and Middle Earth hanging on my sitting-room wall.



I have quite a fine collection of books written by or about them, but am always interested in fresh new perspectives. And I like to read a literary biography every month if I can. Writers and their lives interest me.



This is a great introduction to anyone who would like to know more about Tolkien and Lewis, and their long and fruitful friendship. It is not an in-depth biography, and skims over their relationships with their wives which I thought was a shame. But the book is really about the bond between the two men, their shared love of history, myth and fairy tales, and their influence on each other’s writing; in that respect, it’s superb.



Their friendship was not without tension. Tolkien disliked Narnia, and was perturbed by his friend’s soaring literary popularity at a time when he was doggedly working away on The Lord of the Rings, unsure whether he would ever finish it. Without Lewis’s constant encouragement and support, however, it may well have ended up another unfinished manuscript in Tolkien’s bottom drawer. And Tolkien also did not approve of Lewis’s relationship with Joy Davidman, a divorced American-Jewish writer with decided opinions and metastatic cancer (Jack and Joy’s unconventional marriage has inspired a number of plays and films, including Shadowlands with Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger.)



Tolkien & C. S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship is a deftly handled and very readable biography of two great writers, and a brilliant introduction to the Inklings and their work.



(* Tollers was, of course, Tolkien’s nickname. Lewis’s given names were Clive Staples but he re-named himself Jacksie when he was three after his dog of the same name was hit by a car and never answered to anything else for the rest of his life. The Inklings was an informal literary discussion group in Oxford in the ‘30 and ‘40s that centred around Lewis and Tolkien, and also included Roger Lancelyn Green and Charles Williams).

[Ana Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essa é uma bibliografia dupla que apresenta as histórias de J.R.R. Tolien e C.S. Lewis de forma paralela, ao mesmo tempo que revela onde e quando suas trajetórias se tocam. Eu sabia que os dois eram amigos, mas nesse livro descobri a profundidade dessa amizade e me surpreendi com a influência que um teve na vida do outro.

Junto aos principais acontecimentos de suas vidas, o autor também conseguiu tecer a evolução de suas ideias e interesses resumindo de forma brilhante ambas produções literárias e acadêmicas. Ao final da leitura foi como se toda a obra de Lewis ganhasse uma unidade, como se tudo que já li dele de forma fragmentada ganhasse uma forma integral.

Não só a amizade dos dois, mas todo o ambiente intelectual em que eles amavam estar, seus grupos de debates e estudos, suas reuniões informais dos Inklings para leitura e teste de ideias, tudo isso me tocou de forma viva - tanto que quando o livro narra o arrefecimento dessa amizade conforme a vida foi acontecendo, cheguei a ficar triste.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so glad I read this book. A truly delightful adventure into a history between two incredible men and insightful commentary on the stories they weaved for us to enjoy and refresh our hearts.

“Through stories like the Lord of the Rings, a renewed view of things is given, illuminating the homely, the spiritual, the physical and the moral dimensions of the world… in a sense, we are meant to be like children, who are normally not tired of familiar experiences. This behavior of children, the friends thought, is a true view of things, and by dipping into the world of story adults can restore such a sense of freshness and wonder about the world.”

[Paths and Pages, or just Em :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

When discussing storytellers that have been blessed with immense talent and a magical imagination, it becomes almost impossible to not mention J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. The worlds they created continue to enrich the lives of readers of all ages and all backgrounds across the globe today. To delve into a bit of the biography of each of these writers was enjoyable, but discovering how deep their friendship was and how much that friendship shaped the works we know them for today was the true gem of this book. Their differences in personality, though sometimes radically opposing, never overpowered the similarities that bonded them. From their times at Oxford, and relationships formed with groups such as the Inklings, these two faced a myriad of challenges, but never faced them on their own. At the time, it was “normal” to write children’s fairy stories. Both battled with how to “establish heroic fantasy and romance as contemporary adult literature,” pointing out that an audience existed that was starved for such books. Though each had their own unique stories in development, Tolkien and Lewis agreed that “good imagining was as vital as good thinking, and each was impoverished without the other.” I will often find myself wishing I could be in the mind of a talented author, to feel what it is like to be in those developing thoughts and wild tangents that are shaped into a journey through words. To have been in the mind of either of these two would have been incredible, and to think about how amazing it would have been to sit in on one of their lectures still makes my heart warm with astonishment. Whether it is the protective roar of Aslan, the hot breath of a dragon, or the comforts of the Shire, I will always owe a debt of heartfelt gratitude to these two for showing us the magic of a wonderful story, and the magic of the company of friends.

[Robin Tell-Drake · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful biography for readers interested in these two authors' lives and thoughts as well as their works. Lewis and Tolkien were sufficiently entangled with one another's lives that it is difficult to tell the story of only one of them. And anyway the whole is more interesting than its halves taken separately. As with Shelley and Byron, or Wordsworth and Coleridge, the interplay between them is highly revealing of their natures.

Duriez makes his own voice pretty evident, for better or for worse. He begins each chapter with a few paragraphs of novelistic narrative, a reimagined scene from the lives of his subjects. It's at once tantalizing and graceless; Duriez is too obviously delighting in the chance to indulge his vision of the men he idolizes a bit too much to handle in this mode. He is a bit too circumspect at times, also, in a way that may relate to his own mildly stuffy Christianity: notably, he is delicate to the point of reluctance when mentioning the possibility that Lewis and the older woman with whom he lived for twenty-odd years may have been romantically involved. He dwells on Lewis' more theological writings and lectures sufficiently that the book feels a bit unbalanced, as though it is sixty percent a biography of Lewis.

But all of that is trivia. It's simply lovely to hear the generations-old gossip of what these two remarkable professors had to say to one another.

[Kasia · Rating 1 out of 5]

When you get a chance to read about Tokien and Lewis' friendship, the most boring book ever is the last thing you expect. Well, this one was such a surprise...

[Justin Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good read about the friendship between Tolkien and Lewis written by my friend and scholar Colin Duriez. I highly recommend it.

[Rodrigo Lira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente livro! Colin Duriez consegue nos mostrar de forma muito envolvente a bela amizade entre os grande Lewis e Tolkien, perceber a contribuição que um fez para vida e carreira do outro e nos fazer vislumbrar a beleza de uma amizade verdadeira. Sendo esta descrita por Lewis como algo que "Quem poderia merecer isso?"

Recomendo fortemente a leitura.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

On friendship, as well as the philosophy and Christian fellowship that connected these men. They made adults read fantasy and have only grown more popular over time. Great section about the Inklings

[Becki · Rating 1 out of 5]

For me, this book's subtitle is misleading. The majority of the book has nothing to do with the friendship of Tolkien and Lewis. In fact, the information in the books indicates they were co-workers and writing at the same time/sounding boards at times for each other but not "friends" in that they weren't really involved in each other's lives outside of the college and writing.

So much of the book had nothing to do with the interactions between Lewis and Tolkien. There was back story on a bunch of other people - including what they thought and said and wrote about L & T and their writings. There were lengthy summaries of many of L & T's works (with spoilers included if you haven't read them). There was some philosophy and theology (and not just as related to their beliefs and/or works) thrown in.

The book's structure was lacking as well. It was confusingly organized at times, despite there being dates on the chapter headings. Some places there were a ton of dates and others none at all. Even within those dates, the author jumped back and forth and all around. It had a lot of redundancies as well.

You don't even get any "friendship" information unti around Chapter 5 (page count in the 80's). That in addition to all the randomness had me skimming pages at a time. So much skimming I almost feel bad marking it as "read."

If you're looking for a wonderful book covering the friendship between these two great authors, keep looking. And then come back and comment when you've found one so I can check it out. :)

See more reviews at https://mommyreadsbooks.blogspot.com/

[Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should start by saying I'm a huge Tolkien and Lewis fan, so it should come as no surprise that I gave it five stars. Whether you will, too, depends largely on whether these two figures--who shouldn't be controversial in the least, given they both spent their lives teaching medieval literature at Oxford (and Cambridge, for Lewis, later). This is only different in that it focuses mainly on the interplay and friendship of the two writers. I found Duriez's prose to be enjoyable, informative, and a quick read. I don't remember gaining any revolutionary insights from it, but one could be forgiven for not knowing anything about their friendship, despite the fact that we probably wouldn't have the Lord of the Rings, at least in its current incarnation, if it weren't for Lewis' criticism and prodding--and Narnia probably wouldn't have happened, for the same reason. But I dearly love Inkling stories and this book is a serious attempt to understand the milieu and intellectual underpinnings of that brief but powerful literary encounter. I'd definitely recommend it.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are not nearly enough books that have been written about the subject of friendship.  This particular book seeks to look at two particularly famous and illustrious friends who were both among the greatest Christian writers of the 20th century, and examines their friendship and ends up coming to some very interesting insights.  Admittedly, I would be somewhat concerned of what kind of books would be written about my friendships with other creative people, but this book is a good one.  It was not only an enjoyable book to read on its own terms, as someone who has read a great deal of the writings of both Tolkien and Lewis and enjoys both of them highly, but also the sort of book that makes me wonder why there are not more books in this vein.  It would be a good thing, for example, for friendships that spur on the creativity of the people involved to be reflected upon and commented upon, so that people are made aware of the benefits of having chosen friends wisely as was the case with both of these men.  After all, many people would be happy to have friends like Lewis or Tolkien.  I know I would.

This particular book is about 200 pages long and is divided into twelve chapters along with some other material.  The author begins with a preface and then the book proceeds in a chronological fashion.  First, the author explores the formative years of both Lewis and Tolkien before they met in Oxford around 1925, showing both of them facing World War I and making their friends (1).  After that the author talks about the meeting of minds and imaginations between the two from 1926-1929 (2), their shared interest in myths (3), as well as the context of imaginative orthodoxy that the two of them (along with others) shared (4).  After that the author wrote about the start of the Inklings (5), the early wrings of the two that were influenced by the other (6), and the beginnings of the Lord of the Rings (7).  The author then looks at World War II and the coming of Charles Williams to Oxford (8).  The author then discusses the relationship between Narnia and the Lord of the Rings (9) as well as the distancing that came when Lewis went to Cambridge and married Joy (10).  After that the author explores the period between the death of Lewis and that of Tolkien (11) as well as the gift of friendship the two of them had (12) before two appendices dealing with chronology (i) and the enduring popularity (ii) of Lewis and Tolkien as well as notes, the writings of the two friends, bibliography, acknowledgements, and an index, which close the book.

What do we learn about the friendship of Tolkien and Lewis?  For one, we learn that people can be enduring and successful friends even if they are rather different.  Both Lewis and Tolkien believed differently (Lewis was first an atheist and then an Anglican, Tolkien a Catholic), both had very different styles of writing (Tolkien was a perfectionist, Lewis a fluent and prolific writer), and both of them strongly disagreed about mutual acquaintances, most notably Charles Williams.  And both of them were able to inspire and encourage the other.  It was Lewis' encouragement that likely led to Tolkien being able to write both the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings and other works, serving as an appreciative person who gave evidence that adults could be interested in fairy tales and take fantasy literature seriously.  Tolkien encouraged Lewis to become a Christian early on, and then served as the model for Professor Ransom from Lewis' Space Trilogy.  All of this shows the way that good friends can be a spur to creativity, which is certainly something to think about and reflect on.

[Lívia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sem sombra de dúvidas esse livro é para aqueles reais admiradores das célebres personalidades que foram J. R. R. Tolkien e C. S. Lewis.
Eu confesso que esperava uma narrativa mais focada no na amizade entre os escritores, mas na verdade observamos um panorama geral de suas vidas, desde a infância até a morte, com maior ênfase em suas carreiras profissionais tanto como escritores quanto como integrantes do corpo docente das universidades onde lecionaram por anos.
Conforme os fatos são apresentados vemos também os pontos de interseção entre a vida de ambos os escritores, até o momento que se encontram em definitivo e daí desabrocha essa amizade cheia de altos e baixos mas indiscutivelmente preciosa e também mundialmente relevante, uma vez que Tolkien e Lewis incentivaram um ao outro em suas criações literárias.

O livro é quase que biográfico, o autor consegue dar uma boa resumida na história de vida de "Tollers" e "Jack", mas ao mesmo tempo apresentando detalhes importantes. É uma história bonita de se ler, observar o peso de uma amizade, os caminhos da vida, a resiliência dos relacionamentos mediante adversidades e a força de laços afetivos. Interessante também acompanhar os pormenores da criação de obras que impactaram a literatura mundial, o imaginário popular e a cultura pop. Gostei bastante também da abordagem da relação entre os escritores e suas respectivas caminhadas de fé. É uma construção gradativa e muito delicada que certamente é um deleite para aqueles que são fãs de Lewis, ou Tolkien, ou ambos.

Apesar disso achei o ritmo da leitura um pouco lento em certos pontos do livro, tornando-se mais fluído em sua segunda metade. De qualquer forma o livro é sem dúvida muito especial e acredito eu que seja uma boa leitura complementar das biografias de ambos os autores que são figuras centrais nesta obra.

[Adam Marischuk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two half-books for the price of one full book

Colin Duriez has managed to write two mediocre biographies of two inherently interesting men, but what this book brings is many of the points of connection between the two. Friendship is the word Duriez uses and in many respects their relationship (at least initially) had all the passion of friendship. But passions cool with age and while C.S. Lewis maintained his energy and combativeness J.R.R. Tolkien deepend as a thinker and fell into academia and family life much more comfortably.

Lewis emerges as a kind of Christopher Hitchens populist with infinite energy devoted to pointing against whichever way the winds are blowing like a weathervane. Tolkien is the more somber thinker, the more sensitive soul who retreats deeper into his own richer world. Perhaps this is why I prefer the writings of Tolkien to the pamphleteering of Lewis.

Duriez attempts to tie Lewis' Protestantism and Tolkien's Catholicism as the inspiration for their fiction but I think he doesn't connect the dots sufficiently well. Lewis' writing remains superficial allegory because his religion remained a mere expression of his tastes and upbringing. Tolkien's writing and world is much more complete because he is used to living in a deep world, not bound by national boundaries but by an underlying conflict between good and evil. This is the reason for Tolkien's near universal popularity. Tolkien sensed this and this is why he cooled the relationship.

[Gilles Araujo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pode se considerar uma das amizades mais produtivas de todos os tempos. É notável para qualquer pessoa que conhece as obras de ambos o quanto são grandiosas e belas. A influência e ajuda que os dois exerceram na vida um do outro é notória. O livro traz uma narrativa de fatos da vida de cada um, como um filme que conta a vida de dois personagens em paralelo. É uma biografia mais radiográfica nos pontos individuais de ambos, mas ressaltando com mais detalhes o ponto de encontro dos dois e suas carreiras acadêmicas, seus grupos de leituras, as críticas, os amores, os ciúmes e o ponto em comum: sua fé enraizada na cristandade e no que isso influenciou na forma de enxergarem os contos de fadas. De maneira convincente o livro retrata como cada um via a fantasia e o mito, e como isto está retratado nas obras ficcionais deles.

"Essas são as melhores reuniões[...] Quando colocamos nossos chinelos, nossos pés esticados em direção ao fogo da lareira e nossos drinques ao alcance de nossas mãos; quando o mundo inteiro, e algo além do mundo, se abre para nossas mentes à medida que falamos. E ninguém reivindica ou tem qualquer responsabilidade com o outro, mas todos são pessoas livres e iguais, como se tivessem se encontrado há uma hora, ao mesmo tempo que uma afeição enternecida pelos anos nos envolve. A vida — vida natural — não possui dádiva melhor que essa para dar. Quem poderia merecer isso?"

[Eduardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another day, another Inklings book! This one is focused entirely on the friendship between J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis: how they met, how they influenced and supported each other, and how that friendship evolved until Lewis died.

[Given that Lewis was younger, it’s interesting to me that he died first.]

After reading the last Inklings book, I wondered how much of the more out-there things described in that one would be mentioned here. There are allusions to the ambiguity in the relationship of Lewis and Mrs. Moore, and of Warnie’s alcoholism, though these are not dwelt upon, only briefly mentioned. Charles Williams’s more… eccentric interests are more alluded to than explained, too. It makes sense that it isn’t too heavily focused on, given that’s not the book’s point, just wondered.

It’s a very informative book! If you have read up on the Inklings, I don’t think you’ll find much here that’s new, though. That means, though, that if you are starting on the subject, here is a very good place to start! This book was written in the early 2000’s–the “Lord of the Rings” movies had come out, but not yet the first Walden Media “Narnia” film, though it was in the works, as Duriez mentions that it’s upcoming. So that means it’s probably not the most recent scholarship on the subject, but it’s still very good! It’s not too long, either, so you can pick it up quite easily.

And!! The Appendices have lists of books written by the two authors, as well as places to go find out more.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very informative and interesting and covered the academic and literary lives of Lewis and Tolkien in great detail. It held my attention and I was able to read it in under two weeks, which is odd for me as I’m a slow reader. In this book I found lots of interesting facts, titles, names, and dates to do further reading on the influences of both authors and some of their lesser well known works. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the writing of JRR Tolkien and or CS Lewis and wants a broader knowledge of their history, education, influences, and relationships. Great read.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous! I wasn't sure how I would like this book. It is a bit hard to read if you're used to fantasy books (like me!) because it had a tendency to get "leggy" at some points along the way. Trust me. It's worth those extra steps! I've read one biography on Tolkien before and in December of 2017, we read one that was a biography of Lewis' early life. Neither prepared me for reading this. I learned a lot I didn't already know about those two epic authors and if you like either one of them, please take the time to pick up this book.

[KR · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read multiple biographies on Tolkien and a much longer one on the Inklings, but this is one of my favorites. Duriez does an excellent job of focusing on the relationship of Tolkien and Lewis and not getting pulled into the other biographical matters. I've always wondered about the relationship between these two men and found my curiosity satisfied in this book. As biographies go, it's quite short, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in Tolkien or Lewis.

[Sandra Wassenaar · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets. Far from having more of [Tolkien], having him “to myself” now that Charles is away, I have less of [him]. Hence true Friendship is the least jealous of loves.” — C.S. Lewis on friendship