Chronicles of Narnia 1: The Magician's Nephew - CS Lewis
Digory and Polly meet and become friends one cold, wet summer in London. Their lives burst into adventure when Digory's Uncle Andrew, who thinks he is a magician, sends them hurtling to… somewhere else. They find their way to Narnia, newborn from the Lion's song, and encounter the evil sorceress Jadis before they finally return home.
So I decided it was time to actually read these bloody things. I tried once, when I was younger, but didn't make it past book 3. Having now read book 1, I'm questioning whether I even started there at all, since none of it was really familiar at all. In any case, though, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to make it through all seven now, as they're ridiculously quick reads.
Sadly, however, they're not enormously well-written quick reads. Lewis's writing lacks pretty much any subtlety whatsoever. I know it was written for kids, but I've read plenty of other kids' books that actually had decent, nuanced writing. Of course, it could also have to do with when it was written. It's been a while since I've read any kids' books of this particular vintage, so maybe books written for kids in the 50s were just… flat. I don't think it would even bother me so much if it were aimed at a slightly younger audience. But seriously, that's how they read - like they're aimed at six-year-olds instead of ten-year-olds. An example of what I mean:
"I wonder what Polly's doing?" thought Digory.
He wondered about this a good deal as the first slow half-hour ticked on. But you need not wonder, for I am going to tell you.
Thanks for that charmingly clunky transition. Ugh. Or how about this one:
"Hullo! What's that?" thought Digory. "Fire-engine? I wonder what house is on fire. Great Scott, it's coming here. Why, it's Her."
I needn't tell you who he meant by Her.
No, you needn't. You needn't point out the lack of necessity, either. Irritating.
And then there's all the religious symbolism. Hoo, boy. I didn't really catch any of it way back when when I actually did read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but I've certainly heard much about it since then, and, looking back at that book, could definitely see some in retrospect. However, if it's as heavy-handed in that one as it was in this one, I honestly can't imagine how, even as a child, I could possibly have missed it. And all those who try to argue that these books are just a nice adventure story, and you don't have to pay any attention or whatever to the religious stuff? Yeah. You're delusional.
Let's see. They arrive in what will become Narnia. In the beginning, there was nothing. Then, as the Lion (although we don't know it's a lion yet) sings (and by the way, I actually thought the idea of the Lion singing the world into existence was kind of beautiful), there was light. And then there were rocks and whatnot. Then there were plants and trees. And then there were animals… Is this sounding remotely familiar to anyone? And then after all that's taken care of, Digory is sent off on a quest to find a particular tree (Why Aslan didn't sing that tree into a more convenient place is beyond me), and bring back an apple from it. When he arrives at the tree, he discovers a notice, admonishing him to not to eat any of the fruit from it. He refrains, but - surprise, surprise - look who shows up to try and talk him into eating some, telling him about all the lovely things he'll learn from it… Oy. Beat me over the head with it a little more, why don't you?
Oh, and one more thing that bugged me. Until they met Aslan and essentially established a portal between Earth and Narnia, they had to travel via these rings that Uncle Andrew had made. It was made very clear at the beginning, and referenced many times after that, that in order for the rings to work, and whisk you off instantly (particularly the one that takes you to the world between worlds), all you have to do is touch it with bare skin. It's insisted upon very strongly that if you touch it by accident, you're screwed. But then, in other places, one of them will take the rings out of his pocket, hand one to the other, they both put the rings on, and then they get whisked away. Dude, seriously. Figure out how these things work, and stick to it. And if you're going to go to the trouble of warning about what could happen if you accidentally touch the ring, maybe consider writing something in somewhere where one of them does, and disappears, and has to be rescued or something. There should at least be a moment or two of tension as a result of this warning. But of course, that would require being consistent with the rings' use. Bah.
Next up: Book 2: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe