Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)It seems difficult to think about the Chronicles of Narnia critically from a literary perspective. I recall being read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (LWW) by my 2nd grade teacher and being entranced by the story. When I finally purchased the Chronicles set for myself I made it a point to purchase the exact same edition from which I was read. Many people, I'm sure, feel this same sort of bond with the books that seem to transcend critical thinking since they grip our hearts so firmly.
A Reader's Guide Through the Wardrobe: Exploring C.S. Lewis' Classic Story challenges us to take a critical look at the first of the Narnian stories. The authors begin by making it clear in the introduction that this guide should be used after initially reading LWW purely for enjoyment. The rest of the book is divided into two parts. Part One contains 18 chapters following each chapter of LWW.
Part One is called the "Guided Tour." Each chapter introduces some aspect of literary device that Lewis utilized, such as foiling, archetypes, foreshadowing. Throughout the chapters reflective quotes from Lewis and Lewis scholars are interspersed to add insight. There are plenty of scattered study questions as well, all of which are geared toward helping the reader think through the different elements in LWW.
Part Two offers extended background information and follows a more typical book format. Chapter 19 looks at how the Chronicles came to be written. Chapter 20 examines the reception of the series, including a number of criticisms that have been leveled against Lewis. The final chapter outlines the Christian elements in LWW. There is also a brief biography of Lewis and appendix on the order by which to read the series at the end.
For the most part, this book pleasantly surprised me. I wasn't sure what to expect out of a reader's guide, since I haven't read one before. It essentially teaches readers how to think about the book, while leaving what to think about it mostly to the reader. The guide was consistently interesting and insightful into both Lewis and literature in general. The authors compliment each other terrifically- Leland Ryken being a literary specialist and Marjorie Lamp Mead being a Lewis scholar.
The only part of the book that I thought could use improvement was the last chapter on the Christian vision of LWW. While there were some noteworthy points made in it, it didn't seem to have the solid structure and flow of content the rest of the book has. With that only exception, A Reader's Guide Through the Wardrobe is an excellent tool for helping those of us already romantically familiar with Lewis' masterpiece to take our affections to the next level. With the insights from Ryken and Mead, I believe I can now appreciate Narnia, as well as other fictional literature, more profoundly.
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