What kind of book is narnia

Young Polly and Diggory are swept up in the experiments of a magician attempting to find other worlds. In doing so they discover the beginning of Narnia, and so start off the tales. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. But he's good. He's the king, I tell you. Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy discover Narnia through the back of a wardrobe. Their battles with the white witch are legendary.

The Horse and his Boy "Do not by any means destroy yourself, for if you live you may yet have good fortune but all the dead are dead alike. Having both run away - they seek a better life in Narnia, becoming involved in a battle between the Narnians and the Calormenes. Prince Caspian "But things never happen the same way twice. It has been hard for us all in Narnia before now. They aid the rightful heir to the throne in his attempts to stop his evil uncle from destroying Narnia. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader A swashbuckling tale full of adventures!

Only Edmund and Lucy return this time, taking with them their dreadful cousin Eustace. They land on the deck of a ship with Prince Caspian - on a journey to find 7 missing dukes. The Silver Chair "He was not a perfectly enormous giant; that is to say, he was rather taller than an apple tree but nothing like so tall as a telegraph pole.

To find the missing Prince whose disappearance has led to numerous others going missing in search of him. Their journey takes them to the land of giants and to the world underground. Also the best character - Puddleglum the Marsh Wiggle is in this one. I love him! The Last Battle "All worlds draw to an end and that noble death is a treasure which no one is too poor to buy.

An evil ape is using trickery and deceit to cause the Narnians to live in fear. This is the battle to end all battles and none will be the same again! Narnia is a wonderful place with the most incredible cast of characters. Like I said it certainly has flaws but its achievements overcome those big time! View all 43 comments. Jul 18, Ahmad Sharabiani rated it it was amazing Shelves: fantasy , 20th-century , childrens-young-readers , classics.

Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels by C. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over million copies in 47 languages. Written by Lewis, illustrated by Pauline Baynes, and originally published in London between and , The Chronicles of Narnia has been adapted several times, complete or in part, for radio, television, the stage The Chronicles of Narnia Chronicles of Narnia , C.

Written by Lewis, illustrated by Pauline Baynes, and originally published in London between and , The Chronicles of Narnia has been adapted several times, complete or in part, for radio, television, the stage, and film. Set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts, and talking animals, the series narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of that world.

Except in The Horse and His Boy, the protagonists are all children from the real world, magically transported to Narnia, where they are called upon by the lion Aslan to protect Narnia from evil and restore the throne to its rightful line.

The books span the entire history of Narnia, from its creation in The Magician's Nephew to its eventual destruction in The Last Battle. View all 10 comments. Feb 14, Kat Kennedy rated it it was amazing Shelves: leaves-awesomeness-behind , kat-s-book-reviews.

I discovered The Chronicles of Narnia when I was six years old halfway through my first year of school. It was the lowest shelf, the one that rested on the ground and I had to crouch down to wiggle the book out from amongst its peers. By the time I'd finished first grade I'd read them all and searched high and low for any book series that could be a I discovered The Chronicles of Narnia when I was six years old halfway through my first year of school. By the time I'd finished first grade I'd read them all and searched high and low for any book series that could be as wonderful and magical as this one had been.

Now I could dismiss my love of these books as some quaint, childhood memory that I was unwilling to let go of. Certainly that is a factor. However, the magic has never faded.

I've read them all so many times that I've memorized them. I've memorized them so thoroughly that I've told them as bed time stories to children that I've done baby sitting for.

It's not just children, either. My husband and I read a book, a proper book for half an hour for our son every night. For the past month that has been The Chronicles of Narnia. It's gotten to the point where he doesn't want to stop. Our son's bedtime comes and goes and my husband insists on reading just a little bit more. He says things like, "I wish I'd read these as a child! They're fantastic! The Last Battle is a hard and frustrating read. The Magician's Nephew is a little awkward.

But they're so, so worth the read. To me, there's a magic to these books that time and life has never managed to dim. View all 17 comments.

Quick review Terrific fantasy setting and storyline spoilt by extremely unsubtle allegory and as the story progresses excessive Christian preachiness. Warning: Racial stereotypes abound and may offend. Recommended for adults who thrive in a Christian religious environment or those who can overlook these aspects totally and enjoy the story. Not for gullible children, unless accompanied by a discerning adult. Detailed review I won't insult the intelligence of respected GoodReaders by giving Quick review Terrific fantasy setting and storyline spoilt by extremely unsubtle allegory and as the story progresses excessive Christian preachiness.

Detailed review I won't insult the intelligence of respected GoodReaders by giving a synopsis of the Narnia stories - I don't think there will be many here who do not know this story, even if you have not actually read the books. The stories of the four Pevensie children who discover the magical land of Narnia through the back of a wardrobe is the stuff of legend in literary circles - a land which they rule over as kings and queens after freeing it from the enchantment of the White Witch, under the benign yet firm supervision of Aslan the lion.

As fantasies for children go, this is a terrific universe filled with possibilities. There are talking animals, magical creatures from Greek mythology and English fairy-lore, and suitably satisfying and mysterious landscape worthy of exploration again and again. So one feels that if only the author in C. Lewis had let himself go he could have produced something similar to the The Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately, he does not do that. The author sublimates himself to the Christian, so that the story becomes allegory - and mostly allegory.

The spirit of gung-ho adventure is coated over with sickly-sweet preachiness which becomes so cloying towards the end that one almost feels like throwing up. The Magician's Nephew 2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 3. The Horse and His Boy 4.

Prince Caspian 5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 6. The Silver Chair 7. The Last Battle However, the actual order in which the books were published is: 1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 2. Prince Caspian 3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 4. The Silver Chair 5. The Magician's Nephew 6. The Horse and His Boy 7. The Last Battle It seems that there is a hot dispute going on about the order in which the books should be read. After reading them in the chronological sequence, I would advise reading them in the sequence of publication.

More about that later. Aslan the Lion is Christ - this becomes evident in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe itself view spoiler [ he sacrifices himself to save Edmund Pevensie, and is immediately resurrected hide spoiler ]. I was a bit surprised that there was no sign of the gentleman with the horns and the forked tail.

Evil is entirely feminine - that too, with a perverse sort of sexual attractiveness. It seems Lewis was genuinely frightened of woman's sexuality: Susan becomes a "non-friend of Narnia" the moment she becomes a nubile young woman. Lewis's protagonists, like that of Lewis Carroll, are prepubescent girls. The Christian world view is evident from the word go - for example, the animals and birds can all be killed and eaten, provided that they are not "talking animals"!

They have been specially blessed as such by Aslan, we are told, in the story of the creation of Narnia in The Magician's Nephew.

This evidently comes from the Bible where Man is given dominion over every living thing on earth. In case we don't get it, Aslan continuously addresses the boys as "Sons of Adam" and the girls as "Daughters of Eve" and says that only they can rule over Narnia. As the story progresses, it becomes more prevalent - and now racism and intolerance of the heathens also come into play. The Calormenes - dark-skinned foreigners who worship a savage god Tash, wear turbans and carry scimitar-like swords - are an Englishman's fantasy of the bloodthirsty and lecherous Turk.

In their country, young girls are routinely married off to old codgers, and they wage war on the free countries like Narnia to rape and pillage. Their God Tash, however, is a pagan deity who is loosely associated with the gentleman I mentioned earlier - the guy with horns. The unlikeable brat Eustace Scrubb is the son of liberal parents who are pacifists and vegetarians. He studies in a school which does not have corporal punishment and which does not teach the Bible - and is therefore full of bullies who are encouraged by the Principal!

However, Eustace reforms after a visit to Narnia, and returns back to the school and hammers the living daylights out of the bullies. The Principal is removed from the school and ultimately becomes a Member of Parliament, where she lives happily ever after note the point: M. It is in the last book that Lewis outdoes himself. There is an ape who presents a donkey as Aslan. The ape is part of a conspiracy with the Caloremenes who present their God Tash and Aslan as the same, but don't believe in either.

Also, the ending is patently silly view spoiler [ all the friends of Narnia being killed in a train accident so that they can inhabit Aslan's timeless paradise hide spoiler ] and for me, it was disgusting. Then why the three stars? Well, if you can ignore the allegory and the preachiness, there are some pretty interesting adventures here. The first three books are rather well-written although a bit simplistic and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is your classic sea adventure.

The Magician's Nephew is extremely funny in parts. One advise to prospective readers though - please give the last book a miss. View all 48 comments.

Mar 20, Michael Finocchiaro rated it really liked it Shelves: fiction , englishth-c , kids , fantasy , classics. Read this as a kid and re-read later on, these 7 books were a great form of escapism despite the somewhat overbearing Christian symbolism that is pervasive throughout.

A must for kids. View 1 comment. Mar 30, Christian Guzman rated it liked it. Overall I would give this book 3 stars. At first I was skeptical about reading the book in chronological order as opposed to publication order. Now that I look back at it, it works well both ways. I also had some trouble at first with the way the style of writing was presented, but I got used to it pretty quickly.

The world of Narnia is well written and detailed thanks to C. S Lewis. I can safely say that I liked the introduction of e Overall I would give this book 3 stars. I can safely say that I liked the introduction of every story. This book nonetheless will be someone else's treasure, not mine.

Such an original plot! I enjoyed every minute of it. Getting to know the backstory and how Narnia was created was interesting to me. There were a few metaphors between Adam, Eve, and the tree of wisdom.

Digory and Uncle Andrew were my favorite characters, even though at times the uncle seemed quite cynical. My favorite moment would have to the fight at the lamp post and how they escaped. It also depends on what sort of person you are. My favorite character were the two youngest ones: Lucy and Edmund. They seemed to always have something going on with them. Again, there are several religious metaphors present in this story too. It was pleasurable reading and seeing all the symbolism. We also get to see more of the magical world of Narnia in this story so that is exciting.

I had fun with this story! The desert scene felt eternal to me and unexciting. It was ok. Prince Caspian: 3 stars In this story we are introduced to Prince Caspian and I must say he was a well written character. The backstory about him and finding out how he commences his journey is interesting.

I seem to enjoy the introductions of each story quite immensely, this one being one of my favorites. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: 3 stars My favorite part of this story was the involvement of the new character Eustace.

Even though he was portrayed negatively at first it was interesting viewing how he slowly changed. The dragon scene was enjoyable to me. The Silver Chair: 2 stars The beginning of the novel was fun, which is when Eustace and Jill embark on their new adventure.

They are sent on a mission and we read about their journey. I found many parts dull. View all 11 comments. Apr 20, Mansoor rated it liked it. The Magician's Nephew is easily the best story of the Chronicles.

First of all, it's the least overtly religious. There is a creation-of-the-world element, but it's not our world so it seems more fantastic than religious.

Not only is there a veil over the religiosity, there's so much creativity in this story: the magical rings, the in-between place, the Deplorable Word, the founding of Narnia. And because of the talking, fighting animals, the fantasy seems aimed at children. I might have enjoyed it more at age The next story in the series, The Horse and His Boy , takes a dark, ethnocentric turn with its unfavorable depiction of the Arab-like "Calormen" shoes turned up at the toe, scimitars, suffixed phrases of praise, "son of" lineage declarations.

They bowed most politely to Caspian and paid him long compliments The Voyage of the Dawn Treader demonstrates the problem with using God or Jesus in a story: there are no real conflicts. When the Dawn Treader stops at Dragon Island, the boy passenger Eustace wanders off, encounters a magical spell, and is turned into a dragon.

This raises all kinds of serious issues about how to keep Eustace the Dragon with them, but none of these problems matter because, within 24 hours, Aslan just changes Eustace back to a boy. To save Edmund's soul, Aslan sacrifices his life. But it wasn't Aslan's only life, he had another one ready.

One thing I found especially creative about The Chronicles is how a story involving talking animals justifies eating animals.

I can't even begin to count how many times I've read "The Chronicles of Narnia. Sure, I followed the story, but the deeper meaning was completely lost on me. Someone later told me that it was a Christian story and when I read the I can't even begin to count how many times I've read "The Chronicles of Narnia. Someone later told me that it was a Christian story and when I read the book again as a young teenager, I picked up on that element of it. In the many times I've read the books as an adult, I've come to find that the underlying meaning - not just of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," but of the other books as well - becomes gradually clearer until you can't believe you didn't see it all along.

The books are like Narnia itself, unfolding like an onion, layer upon layer, Narnia upon Narnia, but each layer is bigger and better than the one above it. In order of the events that unfold in the story but not in the order that the books were published , the Chronicles of Narnia include: "The Magician's Nephew" - the Narnian creation story. Two children living in London are magically transported to other worlds and witness the dawn of Narnia.

The story incorporates such familiar elements as a Tree of Knowledge and the fall of man. With the help of Aslan, the great Lion, they seek to free Narnia. This is the most obvious Christian parable, as Aslan represents Jesus and the story parallels the Resurrection story. Shasta, a Calormene fisherman's son, runs away when he hears his father negotiating to sell him into slavery. Together with two talking horses and a noble Calormene girl running away from an arranged marriage, he tries to get to Narnia.

The book is a meditation on faith and the concept that God helps those who help themselves. It's also my favorite of the seven books. Not the most overtly religious of the stories. It doesn't seem all that religious until the end of the book, which encourages people to seek God in their own lives. The book is a parable of the End of Days, with chaos, confusion, war, unbelief and the worship of false gods.

Tirian, Eustace, Jill and their friends can only hope that Aslan returns to Narnia to deliver them. Read them, then read them again and again and again. You won't be sorry. View all 5 comments. Shelves: physically-owned , favorites , fantasy , middle-grade , adult , harper-collins.

The film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was what made me want to read this thick, heavenly book. Little yet valiant Lucy was very close to my heart, as well as her siblings who occasionally thought she was crazy. I was so enthralled by the movie, and I asked my parents if they could buy me the series for my birthday. My uncle in the US was the one who granted my wish.

Hence, this book literally traveled to my hands. I was overwhelmed with happiness when it finally arrived. After all, it was the first series I had ever owned.

After caressing it for a long time, I tucked myself into bed and got down to business. Little did I know that this would be the series that would transform me into a devoted booknerd.

At the age of 12, I managed to fly through each novel because they were just so beautiful and fantastic. The perfect mix of magic, adventure, and biblical allusions captivated me from start to finish.

In totality, The Chronicles of Narnia will always have a special place in my heart and library. Just looking at Aslan's face on the cover fills me with much happiness and nostalgia. If I were the Ruler of Books, I would require everyone in the planet to read this timeless series.

One of my favorite series growing up. Very formative to me as it combined a love of fantasy with my religious upbringing. The chronicles of Narnia strikes me now as a unique series. Not only does C. S Lewis push Christian ideology over commercial appeal.

Which oddly enough lead to lasting commercial success. But he has One of my favorite series growing up. But he has a rotating cast of human characters from our world in the four Pevensie children, their cousin Eustace his friend Jill Pole uncle Digory and his friend Polly Plummer. The only constant character in the book is Aslan the lion. R Tolkien. Lewis takes you to other kingdoms, across the eastern sea, and to the underworld. Also spans the whole expanse of time in narnia from creation to destruction.

Which is a really neat concept for a series. There's so much good in here magic, honor, valor, and friendship lots of lessons taught in this series. Great for kids and adults alike. The sixth book in particular the silver chair i did not remember at all. Recommend to everyone young and old, Christian or not, fantasy or non fiction reader. View 2 comments. Nov 17, Erth rated it it was amazing.

This read could not be described any better than this: Journeys to the end of the world, fantastic creatures, and epic battles between good and evil—what more could any reader ask for in one book? At the sound of his roar, sorrow will be no more. When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death. And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again. Narnia is a magical place that feels me with warmth and dreams, hope and wishes.

Just thinking about it brings a smile to my face. It was like coming back home after a long while traveling, comforting and comfortable. But it also brought a new sight to my eyes respecting them. I love how the story-telling employed by Lewis how it was very simple, yet you could always picture everything perfectly. Though sometimes it became a little too specific in areas that would have done well with just a quick mention.

Still, most of the time, the narrative is engrossing and simple and fast. Of course, we can't forget the beautiful characters! I love them so much, especially Edmund!!! I would get so excited whenever a mention of any of the Pevensies came out.

I love them so much except Susan I can't even. I have known one that did. Let me see Oh, yeah! I can talk about my favorite book. I think it has something to do with the fact that it fills, a little, that big, empty space where I wish there was a novel about the golden age of Narnia. Of course, that's just a part of it. The book really captured me in its own right and can safely say I love it.

And helped filled any voids or questions I had respecting the history, timeline, or creatures of Narnia. Really appreciated. Let the music blast people, life is getting back on track. Here is what happened. My brother and I share the kindle account, which apparently is connected to my Goodreads account - who knew? Ugh, so frustrating, especially since it's not the first time it happens.

I am planning to read it soon though! View all 15 comments. Mar 28, Ruth rated it it was amazing. I love how you can see Aslan as Jesus giving up his life for us.

And the greater power or deaper magic that brings him back to life. View all 4 comments. Aug 16, Jarod rated it really liked it. A mostly well-written, very imaginative, thoroughly enjoyable read. The narration is warm and witty, the protagonists are well developed and likable but not perfect written perfectly, but with flaws that give the stories depth , and the settings are vivid and fantastic remember those loony one-footed invisible things that hop around?

I'm always annoyed when people confound the qualit A mostly well-written, very imaginative, thoroughly enjoyable read. I'm always annoyed when people confound the quality of this series as literature with the quality of the worldview it allegedly expounds, as if the literary world is some kind of neo-Stalinist monolith where the only legitimate art is that which edifies us by propounding a correct ethical system.

It's just a story, and a good one at that. Furthermore, as an atheist, I think 1 the religious content of the novels is overstated, and 2 even if it isn't, oh fucking well, that doesn't detract from the novels one whit. The books really don't have any more to do with Christianity in particular than does any other story with a character who gives up his life to save others.

See Harry Potter 7; see also, religious archetypes in general. As for the Calormen, I think it's highly possible that the garb was just supposed to convey the exotic, and this particular nation just happens to be bad in the world of the book. Everything is not a political statement. In sum, it's a good story, and even if all the criticisms of the book-- it's racist, it's Christian, etc. Shelves: fantasy.

Back in the early 70s, I encountered this wonderful series through the first of the books to be written, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Below, I quote most of my review of that book, insofar as it applies to the whole series. I subsequently discovered the whole series, and in the 90s read it to my wife, who loved it as much as I do. We didn't read it in this omnibus edition, but as individual books; and for a long time, I intended to eventually review each book separately.

But since th Back in the early 70s, I encountered this wonderful series through the first of the books to be written, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. But since the series has so much commonality, I decided that reviewing it as a single entity is more practical.

Note: This omnibus volume lists the seven books of the series in their internal chronological order, starting with The Magician's Nephew , which describes Aslan's creation of Narnia; and this is the order in which Lewis himself recommended that they be read. Barb and I, however, read and experienced the series in the order in which the books were written. Lewis fans debate which order is preferable, and I can see both sides of that.

Usually, my preference is to read a series in internal chronological order. But the way that we read this one probably provides for more of a feeling of resonance in the later ones, as certain things that were mysterious before fall into place later. Most people know that C. Lewis was an effective Christian nonfiction apologist, using the tools of reason and logic to build the philosophical case for Christian faith.

But he ultimately became convinced that an even more effective apologetic is available through the "truth of art," the instinctive and emotional appeal that stories exert -- especially the kinds of stories that draw on the deep, mythical archetypes of fantasy to illuminate the real universe. The Chronicles of Narnia, his classic fantasy series, was the fruit of that discovery, set in Narnia, a magical land whose world lies in another universe, in which magic works and time moves differently than it does here, and in which Christ is incarnate as the great talking lion Aslan.

The first book of the series presents one of the most powerful symbolic literary presentations of the Christian gospel ever written. Although the intended audience, in Lewis' mind, was children and his various direct addresses to the readers as author presuppose this , there is nothing invidiously "juvenile" about the quality of the writing; it can be enthusiastically appreciated by anyone who loves tales of imagination and adventure, fantasy and wonder; and the truths here, like those in Jesus' parables, are simple enough to speak to children but profound enough to challenge adults.

The Christian message is an essential part of all of the books in the Narnia series. We all react to fiction based partly on how we feel about the message s it conveys, and that's appropriate. So readers whose view of Christianity, or of religion in general, is highly negative could hardly be expected to give the Narnia series unqualified praise. The converse applies, of course, to books like the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman, who avowedly seeks to be the "anti-Lewis;" it isn't surprising that his work is less appreciated by readers who hold a very negative view of militant atheism.

That's a subjective assessment, and fair enough as such. Some other criticisms of Lewis' series, though, are intended to be more objective, and can be debated objectively.

This discussion might contain some "spoilers. But if this is so, then the theistic view of real life is that it has no real conflicts either, since God has miraculous power to resolve them. But no theists that I'm aware of view real life in that way, least of all Lewis, as his other writings indicate and insights from all of his writings are valuable in interpreting the Narnia books, since his thought was highly unified. As his writings on miracles make clear, he believed that God can intervene in the natural order miraculously --but doesn't do so very often, because intervening on a wholesale basis would negate the predictability of natural law and leave us unable to recognize a miracle when one did happen!

And, very importantly, God doesn't make people's choices for them; they exercise free will, which requires that their choices have meaningful consequences --good or bad. So in Narnia, as in the real world, Aslan doesn't intervene very often; and most readers observe quite a bit of conflict.

Bad things happen, and they aren't always deserved; evil isn't automatically and instantly punished; and good characters suffer and inevitably die, some well before their time. And characters experience a good deal of conflict in struggling to decide on the right course of action --or on whether or not to do what they think is right, when all the rewards would appear to gained by doing wrong.

In one of the books, Eustace is indeed changed back from dragon to boy --but only after he learns a lesson about the value of human friendship; and that doesn't come easily to him. And in the first book, yes, Aslan will be resurrected after giving his life for Edmund --but his death is still an awful experience that he undergoes for someone whose welfare, viewed from a coldly objective standpoint, is nothing to him; most of us wouldn't undergo it, even with the guarantee of resurrection.

Like most non-vegetarians, Lewis views eating of meat as appropriate when the meat is that of a non- rational, nonthinking creature; eating a being who can speak is cannibalism, no matter what that being looks like.

Whether or not one regards that as a significant distinction, or how significant it's seen as being, is a matter of opinion; but it is a genuine distinction between humans and, for instance, cattle. Probably the most significant criticism here is the accusation of ethnocentrism and racism in the portrayal of the Calormen. Calormen are darker in color than Narnians; their culture differs from the Narnian one; and their government is a despotic empire that would like to add Narnia to its domains.

Neither Narnian nor Calormen culture are identical with any culture in our world, though like all fantasy writers Lewis uses this world's cultures as a grab-bag from which he can pull various features.

Calormen is mostly desert, but its polity is much more Turkish than "Arab-like," and the idolatrous cult of Tash doesn't resemble Islam. Some readers assume that any mention of dark skin means that the people so depicted have to be racially inferior; that race and culture are the same thing, with the former dictating the features of the latter, and that the character of a government mirrors the character of a people; and that if Narnia and Calormen's governments tend to be hostile and suspicious toward each other, that must mean that everything Narnian is good and everything Calormen is evil.

But there are good reasons to think that Lewis didn't share these assumptions, nor want to convey them. Two of the most sympathetic and positively treated characters in the series are the Calormenes Aravis and Emeth.

Aravis is a strong, gutsy and capable heroine; she winds up marrying Prince Cor, and their son grows up to be Archenland's greatest king. And Emeth whose name, not coincidentally, is the word for "truth" in Hebrew is readily welcomed by Aslan into heaven, having amply demonstrated his moral worth. This certainly suggests that Lewis judges, and wants his readers to judge, Calormenes "not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. In the latter novel, closer to the end, Lewis lays out a theory of human cultures in which all of them, at their best and truest, are unique and distinct embodiments of moral and social truth, making a kind of truly multicultural mosaic in which the differences are respected and appreciated.

This idea is reflected in The Last Battle , where Aslan's true country is made up of the Platonic ideal of every created country --including Calormen, where Lucy sees the towers of the true Tashbaan.

So Calormen's cultural differences from Narnia can be viewed in this light --there is no reason to think Lewis' view of "shoes turned up at the toe, scimitars, suffixed phrases of praise, 'son-of' lineage declarations" was "unfavorable. He contrasts the Calormen oral story-telling tradition favorably with English teaching practices; and if Calormen culture is called "cruel" in one place which, Lewis would say, is a deformation caused by sin , it's also called "wise.

This is far and away one of my favorite fantasy series. I'd highly recommend it for any readers who appreciate imaginative literature, and I believe most would find it both intensely entertaining and thought-provoking. Mar 28, whalesister rated it it was amazing Shelves: middle-grade. I read the entire series, one right after another, eight times in a row when I got them for Christmas in fourth grade. Obviously I loved them then. Just finished reading them again to Eric, my 8-year-old, and loved them maybe just as must as I did as a year-old.

Eric couldn't stop giggling through the last pages of Horse and His Boy, which we had to reread when we finished the rest, since it was his favorite. We're starting Prince Caspian again, too--another favorite. I realized this go aroun I read the entire series, one right after another, eight times in a row when I got them for Christmas in fourth grade. This paperback box set of C. Lewis's classic fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia includes cover art by two time Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator Chris van Allsburg and the complete black-and-white original interior art by Pauline Baynes.

For over sixty years, readers of all ages have been enchanted by the magical realms, the epic battles between good and evil, and the unforgettable creatures of Narnia.

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 , when 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. To date, the Narnia books have sold over million copies and have been transformed into three major motion pictures.