The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia)

Book Details
Author: C.S. Lewis (Clive Staples Lewis)
Published: Oct. 16th, 1950
Pages: 206 (Paperback)
Genre: Children's Literature, Fantasy

"Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia."

The first book to be published in the acclaimed series, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" follows the adventures of the four Pevensie children as they explore a strange and mysterious world hidden behind the doors of an old wardrobe.

The main character of this particular story is arguably Lucy Pevensie, the youngest of the children. During a game of hide and seek she stumbles upon the world of Narnia and a faun named Mr. Tumnus. In this world it is always Winter and never Christmas, ruled by the wicked White Witch. When Lucy returns to her world, she is not taken seriously by her siblings and teased relentlessly by her brother Edmund. (He later follows her and meets the White Witch.)

When all four children end up in Narnia, they set off an old prophecy and set off on a quest to reclaim the world from the icy grip of the White Witch.

Thoughts
On my quest to re-read the entirety of "The Chronicles of Narnia" I was overwhelmed with nostalgia over this particular book. This was the first book for me. In more ways than one. When I was very small I had watched a cartoon from the late 70s based on this book and it completely took over my fantasy. I read the book only a year or so later (I was either 6 or 7 when I read it the first time) and I even had a stuffed lion that I named Aslan after the title Lion. (And yes, I still have him, 24 years later, and I still cuddle him sometimes, even though I am almost 29.)

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was everything my small heart wanted it to be when I was a child. A fierce and loving lion that protected and guided these small children through a fantasy world where good and evil was so black and white. There was no gray area like the real world. It also built up this idea that good always triumphs over evil. No matter what.

Re-reading it was bittersweet for a few reasons.

Firstly, I am far from the naive 5 year old who carried her stuffed lion with her everywhere and truly believed that the world was a fair and just place.

Secondly, I was better able to understand the many, many, references to Christianity that I had not noticed prior. I always knew that Aslan was supposed to be a symbol for Jesus, but I also totally believed in Jesus at the time. Nowadays, not so much, so that was a little disheartening. My favourite childhood book is Christian propaganda that I greedily consumed and believed as a child.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book. I was very self-aware while reading it though. I would still recommend it as a beginner fantasy. A significant portion of the Christian elements could be interchanged with some pagan mythology which makes it a little more palpable.

If you are an adult reading this for the first time (or again, like I did) you can definitely tell these are children.

One of the funniest thoughts I had while re-reading was "An adult would be like 'what kind of Nigerian prince scam is this bull****? I just met you, but I want to raise you as a prince to be King of Narnia when I am gone. Please just wire me 50,000 usd first. I mean... er... your brother and sisters.'"

Rating
Okay, so this is the tough part. Like "The Magician's Nephew" I originally gave this a 5 out of 5 on Goodreads. And, much like the previous book, it probably deserves more of a 4.

For our rating system I'd give it a 7 out of 10 due to some casual misogyny (you'll find a lot of that through out this series) and religious propaganda.

It is rated G for general readers. It's a quick read and a decent starter for any reader wanting to explore the fantasy genre. It is very light on actual violence.

I'd recommend it for children, probably starting at age 6 or 7, people who are getting into the genre and people who don't mind reading christian propaganda.