The Curious Curator's Book Blog

Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed.

A young girl meets a young boy who lives with his aunt, sick mother and excentric uncle in the house next door. As they explore the world that surrounds them, they inadvertently come upon the boy's uncle while he is doing experiments with magic, and he tricks them into trying on magic rings that transport them to another dimension. And thus starts the chronological story of Narnia. 

Lately my instinct for choosing books to read hasn't been very good, so I picked up the first in the Chronicles of Narnia series thinking it would be a safe choice. After all, it's widely been considered a classic of the fantasy genre, enchanting kids and entertaining adults for the last decades. So I was really sad when I started reading and found myself utterly underwhelmed.

The problem isn't lack of imagination; C.S. Lewis clearly has plenty of it, and I won't deny the marvel of the worlds he created. But the way he writes is so insipid and simplistic, as are the characters. The story feels very moralistic, bordering on instructive, not to mention that the references to Christianity are as subtle as a kick in the face. Maybe if I had read this when I was a lot younger I would have appreciated it, but I doubt it would ever have become a favourite of mine.

I am disappointed, but I will probably read at least one more in the series to see if it's worth it. Oh, what am I saying, I will probably read the whole series whether I think the books are good or not. What can I say, I'm just that kind of reader.