Monday, July 3, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Magician's Nephew [Book Review]

[Only minor spoilers.]

"The Magicians Nephew" is the chronologically first book in "The Chronicles of Narnia" series written by C. S. Lewis. It was published in 1955. These books were written out of order, but in America, we got the books numbered by chronology, and I have been looking forward to reading them in that way for a long time now.

This book deals with the actual creation of Narnia, so you may be surprised to note that, not only does the world not exist at the beginning, but there is a completely different universe in existence called Charn. It kind of blows the mind really. I once wrote a story that had God dealing with multiple versions of reality as well, so I was smiling a lot while I read this,

Charn was also really surreal since nearly everyone in it was dead. For some reason, as the kids wondered through it, I was thinking back to "The Time Machine" where the protagonist of that book was walking through an ancient museum. The two scenes were somewhat similar, I think. Both were very surreal and a bit disturbing.

The actual creation of Narnia is one of the most powerful things I have ever read. You almost feel like you're reading something forbidden. Imagine if you were at the beginning of Creation and just... standing there. You might feel a bit weird for just being there, and the author sought to do that to his characters as well as his readers. Pretty intense stuff.

Despite being written like a children's books, this author does not pull his punches at any time. It hits hard. Everything hits hard. C. S. Lewis seems to have a strong understanding of magic and how it relates to both evil people and God Himself. It's kinda nuts how deep this book goes.

Of course, I recommend the book. It is an intense exciting read, and it pretty much cinched me having to read all the other ones. I freaking loved it, and I should even say it was one of the best books I ever read in my life.

This blog was written on June 10, 2023.

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6 comments:

  1. I have read all seven books. This one is my favorite. I agree with you on every point. My favorite scene was when they visited Charn. The sun was a red giant and the sky starless, if memory serves: signs that it was a dead world soon to fade away. The story behind its destruction is relevant today, and Aslan hints at that.

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    1. The world of Charn was so surreal and spooky. You kind of forget this is a book for children at that point.

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  2. I read all these books when I was in High School and loved them. I agree, Charn and the creation of Narnia felt like you were seeing behind the scenes of EVERYTHING. C.S. Lewis went deep and didn't pull his punches, "The Magician's Nephew" is full of insight and is beautifully intense.

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    1. There is no movie for this book but I feel like I saw a movie after reading it.

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  3. Having read some of his other works, I am aware of how deep his spirituality goes. He explored his faith in detail, because it was something real to him. Even this series is full of surprises.

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    1. I have read another one as well and he is amazing.

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