Books in Series: The Magician's Nephew; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; The Horse and His Boy; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; The Last Battle
Summaries:
The Magician's Nephew: On a daring quest to save a life, two friends are hurled into another world, where an evil sorceress seeks to enslave them. But then the lion Aslan's song weaves itself into the fabric of a new land, a land that will be known as Narnia. And in Narnia, all things are possible. (This is the story of how Narnia is created, and also how the white witch came to be in Narnia.)
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe:
Four adventurous siblings—Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie—step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia, a land frozen in eternal winter and enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change . . . and a great sacrifice.
The Horse and His Boy
On a desperate journey, two runaways meet and join forces. Though they are only looking to escape their harsh and narrow lives, they soon find themselves at the center of a terrible battle. It is a battle that will decide their fate and the fate of Narnia itself. (This one is the most disconnected from the rest of the books, in that it is about a random character who never surfaces in any other stories. But it was still interesting.)
Prince Caspian
The Pevensie siblings travel back to Narnia to help a prince denied his rightful throne as he gathers an army in a desperate attempt to rid his land of a false king. But in the end, it is a battle of honor between two men alone that will decide the fate of an entire world.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
A king and some unexpected companions embark on a voyage that will take them beyond all known lands. As they sail farther and farther from charted waters, they discover that their quest is more than they imagined and that the world's end is only the beginning.
The Silver Chair
Through dangers untold and caverns deep and dark, a noble band of friends is sent to rescue a prince held captive. But their mission to Underland brings them face-to-face with an evil more beautiful and more deadly than they ever expected.
The Last Battle
During the last days of Narnia, the land faces its fiercest challenge—not an invader from without but an enemy from within. Lies and treachery have taken root, and only the king and a small band of loyal followers can prevent the destruction of all they hold dear in this, the magnificent ending to The Chronicles of Narnia.
My Thoughts: I read all the Narnia books back in 4th grade, but barely remembered how they went, so I decided to read them again, this time specifically looking for the religious aspect of the books. Which was a really fun thing to do really. I enjoyed picking out the parallels between Aslan and Christ, each time the great lion shows up in the stories.I personally feel that while each book is a great, adventuresome story, told in a very personal way (Lewis writes as if he is telling each story to you and only you) there really is no way to escape the religious themes of the books. To me, they were SO OBVIOUS! Which is what made the books so fun to read, for me. I would say my least favorite was "The Horse and His Boy" although I still enjoyed the underlying theme of it that Christ is always there helping us along our path, even if we may not realize it.
My favorite book, hands down was "The Last Battle." There is so much based on religion in that book, I can't even begin to start describing it. But it was so good, particularly the end of it. Honestly, while these books were technically written for children, I would definitely recommend them to any adult, especially a religious one. I felt like I learned so many great lessons about faith, loyalty, redemption, and the love of Christ. It was definitely worth the time it took to reread them all.
No comments:
Post a Comment