Tag: C.S. Lewis Page 1 of 2

It’s finally time to wrap these lists, with my favorites in Theology and Christian Living (and related things). There’s some overlap in some of these titles, which just shows what kinds of things I was thinking about this year, I guess. I didn’t read as many books along these lines as I expected to/usually do–mostly because the ones I did read took some work to get through (and I had too many “project reads”). But these would’ve floated to the top in any year.

As always, re-reads don’t count for these lists.

(in alphabetical order by author)

Wisdom for Life: 52 Old Testament Meditations

by Michael P. V. Barrett

Barrett writes brief devotional meditations on some Old Testament passages (I’m not sure how brief because I read electronically, but they didn’t take terribly long to read). Which is good enough for a book–but Barrett writes with a depth that I don’t think I’ve come across in a devotional before. He gets to the heart and the nitty-gritty of the passages he looks at–and writes in a way that the reader will find application for their life, understanding of the passage, and a new/renewed reason to worship and serve the One who bought them.

The only thing that impressed me–almost every week–as much as the content was Barret’s ability to accomplish it so briefly.

Walking the Way of the Wise: A Biblical Theology of Wisdom

by Mitchell L. Chase

My original post
I personally benefited from Chase’s definition of “wisdom” and how to find it in Scripture. I really appreciated his unwillingness to make Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and James the epicenter of his discussion, but to look for it throughout the Scriptures (see above). Tackling the topic of wisdom from a Redemptive Historical point of view rather than a Systematic perspective (which is what I’m used to, as I expect most are), really helped me to see the breadth of it—and even to help with my Systematic understanding of it (as it should).

All in all, this is a truly helpful and insightful read.

The Anti-Greed Gospel:
Why the Love of Money Is the Root of Racism and How the Church Can Create a New Way Forward

by Malcolm Foley

I’ve tried on at least four occasions to write a post about this book, and keep failing. I’m going to keep trying, but in the meantime, I’ll just say that this is one of the best books I read in 2025 regardless of genre/topic. Foley starts with Ida Wells’ point tying racism to money, and expands on that. He traces the connection between the love of money (which we know to be the root of all sorts of evil) and racism/racism-friendly policies and attitudes throughout U.S. History–particularly after the Civil War. And how the Church, to her shame, participates in those.

Then he points the way forward–using a variety of theological tools. Including the Westminster Larger Catechism’s teaching on the Eighth Commandment. It’s inspiring, it’s convicting, it’s full of hope.

Becoming God’s Family: Why the Church Still Matters

by Carmen Joy Imes

My original post
Is this the most rigorous, robust work that I’ve ever read on The Church? No. Is this the most technical, theological work I’ve come across? No. Did this take a lot of effort to get through? No (and what a relief). Is this perhaps the most passionate work on the subject I’ve read? Yes. Is it perhaps the most persuasive about the need for individual believers (particularly in an individualist culture) to be involved with the Church? Also, yes.

It’s warm, it’s approachable, it’s learned in a non-off-putting way. Imes is a great guide through the topic and a fun companion through the stroll. She pointed out some things I hadn’t thought of before—and helped me grasp a couple of texts that I’ve struggled with for years.

Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer

by C. S. Lewis

There’s a lot of this book that I disagree with–but I appreciate the way that Lewis got to his conclusions. I also admit that Lewis might be closer to right than I am on those points. But the opening letter on prayer is one of the best things I’ve read on the topic, and while the rest of the book doesn’t reach those heights, I truly enjoyed and benefited from considering them. This is one of those books by him I hadn’t gotten around to reading in the past until my little Lewis-immersion project last year. It won’t be the last time.

The Commentary of Dr. Zacharias Ursinus on the Heidelberg Catechism

by Zacharias Ursinus

As this is written by one of the chief authors of the Heidelberg Catechism, it’s impossible to get a more authoritative take on it. This is essentially the director’s cut of the catechism. Sure, we all know the answers, but how’d you get to that answer? Well, you think like so….

This is a treasure for anyone trying to understand and use the Heidelberg Catechism for personal use or for trying to raise the generation to follow.

The Canvas of Creation: A Biblical Response to the Heresy of Racial Superiority

by Drew Poplin

My original post
I hate the fact that books decrying the sin (or, in Poplin’s argument, heresy) of racism need to be written now. But the need for them is pretty clear to anyone in the American Church. This brief (perhaps too brief) book is a compelling read, calling racism what it is, an attack on God and His creation. Convicting, and hopefully convincing. It’s well worth the time to read.

Christ of Consummation: The Testimony of Acts and Paul

by O. Palmer Robertson

Did this floor me as much as the first volume of this set (on the Gospels) did? Nope. But am I going to study Acts or Paul’s letters without consulting this in the future? Bigger nope. Robertson first traces the development of revelation and the Church’s understanding of it through Acts, then he spends the bulk of the book watching Paul’s themes develop and change over the course of his career–never contradictory, never inconsistent, but starting with certain emphases that develop into new ones given the events of his life and the needs of the Church throughout the First Century. It’s really a handy book to work through and to keep on hand for future use.

Did Jesus Really Say He Was God?: Making Sense of His Historical Claims

by Mikel Del Rosario

My original post
Del Rosario’s approach to the subject alone could put him on this list–let’s take an in-depth look at two passages and see what Jesus is claiming for himself in both. Let’s consider what the original audience heard–and seek to understand that by the way they reacted. Then let’s consider the implications of both. Del Rosario writes clearly and compellingly. The text—even when it gets technical—is straightforward and approachable by people who aren’t historical scholars.

Not only does reading this help buttress the confidence a reader has in the passage and Jesus’ claims in them, but Del Rosario gives his readers a model to follow when they come across similar passages.

The Ten Commandments

by Cornelius Van Til

My original post
This is some pretty clear writing from a man widely considered not to be terribly clear all the time. Some of the commandments don’t get the same level of attention as others–and it makes sense given who Van Til is and his own driving focus.

It’s a very sound introduction, in line with the bulk of the Reformed stream of thought on the Law and its usage from the time of the Reformation forward. But a little more approachable given the length and the fact it was written in the 20th Century.

A Few Scattered Thoughts on My Latest Reading of The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

By HCNewton

On January 7, 2026

In C.S. Lewis, Fantasy, Fiction, Further Up and Further In

Further Up and Further In A Year with C.S.Lewis

The Last Battle

by C. S. Lewis , illustrated by Pauline Baynes

DETAILS:
Series: The Chronicles of Narnia, #7
Publication Date: June 25, 1994
Format: Paperback
Length: 211 pg.
Read Date: December 24, 2025

If you need to know what this book is about, or anything about this series…seriously, just stop what you’re doing and pick up this book. I don’t mean to be a snob, or maybe I do, but something was missing from your childhood, and now is your time to fix it. I realize that there are many legitimate reasons for people not to have read this (more than some of the earlier), and I’m not questioning the choices you or your parents made (actually, I guess I am). But I’m not going to try to talk about this book like I do most others.

If only because everything worth saying has been said by other, better, writers. Probably several times.

I’ve also read this too many times to count as a child—even through my college years, and at least once a decade since. I’ll probably pick up the pace of re-reading them so I can talk to the grandcritters about them, too.

But I feel the need to say something now, so here are a few things that jumped out at me during this read:

bullet Shift is the first Narnian primate we’ve seen, right? There’s probably a lot of meaning to be mined from that. hmmm….
bullet A couple of pages of watching Shift in action is enough to make a guy want to go hang out with pre-Dragon Island Eustace just for the company.
bullet I just want to yell at Tirian to pay attention to the Centaur and his reading of the stars. I mean sure the astrology is nonsense (or is it in Narnia?), but the rest of it…
bullet Then just a few pages later, we get word that “Aslan” is ordering tress to be cut down and sold. Sorry, just how clueless are Tirian, Jewel, and anyone else who thinks, “yeah, this could maybe be the guy.”
bullet

The King was so dizzy from being knocked down that he hardly knew what was happening until the Calormenes untied his wrists and put his arms straight down by his sides and set him with his back against an ash tree. Then they bound ropes round his ankles and his knees and his waist and his chest and left him there. What worried him worst at the moment—for it is often little things that are hardest to stand—was that his lip was bleeding where they had hit him and he couldn’t wipe the little trickle of blood away although it tickled him.

That is just a great little detail there at the end. Hard to resist the impulse to wipe your mouth/chin there.
bullet Even in the midst of the end of the world, Lewis can find time to bring a smile with something like this:

…in Narnia your good clothes were never your uncomfortable ones. They knew how to make things that felt beautiful as well as looking beautiful in Narnia: and there was no such thing as starch or flannel or elastic to be found from one end of the country to the other.

bullet I thought about talking about Susan’s absence at the end, but it seems even less controversial to me on this read than on others. Also, I just got my hands on Gaiman’s “The Problem with Susan,” and should keep my powder dry until I can read/interact with it.
bullet I didn’t take that many notes while reading this one–I think I just caught up in the reading. Oops. I really liked Jill here (nothing against Eustace, but Jill really got to shine).
bullet This isn’t a wholly satisfying ending to the series, but it’s such a good one. I wonder a bit if Lewis could’ve done more–but I really can’t complain. It’d have been really easy for him to bungle this–I’ll take a pretty good conclusion over a mess.

And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can: most truly say that they all lived happily ever after, But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
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A Few Scattered Thoughts on My Latest Reading of The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis

By HCNewton

On January 1, 2026

In C.S. Lewis, Fantasy, Fiction, Further Up and Further In

Further Up and Further In A Year with C.S.Lewis

The Magician’s Nephew

by C. S. Lewis , illustrated by Pauline Baynes

DETAILS:
Series: The Chronicles of Narnia, #6
Publication Date: June 25, 1994
Format: Paperback
Length: 202 pg.
Read Date: December 19-20, 2025

If only because everything worth saying has been said by other, better, writers. Probably several times.

But I feel the need to say something now, so here are a few things that jumped out at me during this read:

bullet

“The Wood between the Worlds,” said Polly dreamily. “It sounds rather nice.”

I wholeheartedly agree, Polly. And I do wish you two had taken the opportunity to dip in and out of a few more before you stumbled into the worst pool possible.
bullet Ugh. I hate reading things like this:

And you could see at once, not only from her crown and robes, but fro mthe flash of her eyes and the curve of her lips, that she was a great queen.

Yes, please, Mr. Lewis–let’s focus on the surface appearance. Greatness of appearance=greatness of person. No matter how the adjective “great” is meant here–since when does this work out? He very easily could’ve thrown in some remark that this is how Pool and Diggory thought, but that it obviously was a wrong way to think–he makes that sort of comment all over the place.
bullet Oooh, a growing lamp-post. Now that is interesting and strange. And if you read this in Chronological order, you really won’t care much (or will want to see a lot more of it). But if you read them in the publication order, you get to that point and say, “ahhhhh. That’s cool,” feel a warm glow of recognition/satisfaction, and move on. This is the only time I’m going to say anything about the reading order in this series. But I could go on.
bullet Watching the animals crawl out of the land as they’re created–very cool. Some clever writing, and the best part of this book. Sadly, it’s pretty short.
bullet The bit where the Talking Beasts are trying to figure out just what Uncle Andrew is (animal–but not talking one like them, a tree maybe?) is pretty funny and good engagement.
bullet Where Jadis tempts Diggory with the apple (a bit heavy-handed on the symbolism) is just fantastic. A better bit of temptation than we got with Edward succumbing.
bullet The whole thing with the garden and the apples, the Tree of Protection, etc., feels…I dunno. Sort of crammed in other than the temptation bit. It just left me feeling “meh”–particularly the little quest that Aslan sent Diggory on to get there. I even checked Paul F. Ford’s Companion to Narnia (yes, I am the sort of nerd that has books like that sitting on my shelves), and it was less than helpful on this point.
bullet The book as a whole feels like Lewis is trying to augment the mythology he’s already created for Narnia, fill it out some (how is this the first we’re hearing of former Sons of Adam/Daughters of Eve as rulers??), so he can bring it all home in an epic conclusion. Even if the augment doesn’t make much sense, largely falls flat (in my eyes), and doesn’t do much other than establish a framing device of sorts to get us to The Last Battle. But other than giving us Diggory and Pool, I’m unconvinced that this does anything for the series and is almost entirely skippable.

A Few Scattered Thoughts on My Latest Reading of The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

By HCNewton

On December 24, 2025

In C.S. Lewis, Fantasy, Fiction, Further Up and Further In

Further Up and Further In A Year with C.S.Lewis

The Horse and His Boy

by C. S. Lewis , illustrated by Pauline Baynes

DETAILS:
Series: The Chronicles of Narnia, #5
Publication Date: June 25, 1994
Format: Paperback
Length: 243 pg.
Read Date: December 16-17, 2025

If you need to know what this book is about, or anything about this series…seriously, just stop what you’re doing and pick up this book. I don’t mean to be a snob, or maybe I do, but something was missing from your childhood, and now is your time to fix it. I realize that there are many legitimate reasons for people not to have read this, and I’m not questioning the choices you or your parents made (actually, I guess I am). But I’m not going to try to talk about this book like I do most others.

If only because everything worth saying has been said by other, better, writers. Probably several times.

But I feel the need to say something now, so here are a few things that jumped out at me during this read:

bullet

And when all the serious eating and drinking was over, a blind poet came forward and struck up the grand old tale of Prince Cor and Aravis and the horse Bree, which is called The Horse and His Boy and tells of an adventure that happened in Narnia and Calormen and the lands between, in the Golden Age when Peter was High King in Cair Paravel. (I haven’t time to tell it now, though it is well worth hearing.)

Seriously, who reads this bit from The Silver Chair for the first time, and says, “I want to know that story”?
bullet It is so hard to read all the “true Northern stock,” “dark faces,” and “accursed but beautiful barbarians” of the North stuff. You remember going in that kind of thing is going to be there, along with the pseudo-Arabian caricatures. But remembering it and reading it are two different things.

…Bree said, “And now, Tarkheena, tell us your story. And don’t hurry it—I’m feeling comfortable now.”

Aravis immediately began, sitting quite still and using a rather different tone and style from her nusual one. or in Calormen, story-telling (whether the stories are true or made up) is a thing you’re taught ,just as English boys and girls are taught essay writing. The difference is that people want oto hear the stories, whereas I enver heard of anyone who wanted to read the essays.

Granted, his students were much more advanced than these boys and girls, but this is not really something you want to read after a sleepless night or two finishing up an assignment. (still, who’s going to disagree with him?)
bullet Edmund, Susan, and the rest of their party are indulging in that court-speak that bugged me at the end of LWW. I’m so glad Caspian didn’t get too into that. Surely there’s another way to signal that they’re all royal and grown-up?
bullet During the climactic battle, rather than seeing it from the perspective of a combatant or two, we just get a play-by-play from the Hermit observing it for those with him. This is a fantastic way to get this information—especially for Lewis’ audience. All the highlights, none of the blood and gore.
bullet I thoroughly enjoyed Bree going on about the nature of Aslan (just before meeting him and showing how little he knew)—he reminded me so much of the pompous Liberal from The Great Divorce.
bullet Shasta/Cor’s line, “And by the way, Father’s an absolute brick [how odd that a Calorman uses slang from the UK]. I’d be just as pleased—or very nearly—at finding he’s my father even if he wasn’t a king. Even though Education and all sorts of horrible things are going to happen to me.” Just delights me. Huck Finn lives!
bullet It’s interesting that Lucy is able to tell the tale of the Wardrobe here at the end of the book. How long are the Pevensies around after this before they get to the point that they’ve forgotten it? How are Lucy and Susan (who is likely pursued by more than just this twerp) unmarried in all that time? Pfui—how are Peter and Edmund? The more I think about this point, the more bothered I am.
bullet Speaking of marriage, this is likely my favorite bit of writing from this book (and really, this is book has more genuinely funny moments/depictions than the rest of the series):

Aravis also had many quarrels (and, I’m afraid, even fights) with Cor, but they always made it up again: so that years later, when they were grown up, they were so used to quarreling and making up again that they got married so as to go on doing it more conveniently.

bullet At the end of the day, this is a perfectly fine MG adventure story. Could it be better? Yeah. Does it almost feel like someone was trying to establish the Narnia Cinematic Universe? Yeah. Is it as unsatisfying as The Magician’s Nephew? Nope.

A Few Scattered Thoughts on My Latest Reading of The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

By HCNewton

On December 22, 2025

In C.S. Lewis, Fantasy, Fiction, Further Up and Further In

Further Up and Further In A Year with C.S.Lewis

The Silver Chair

by C. S. Lewis , illustrated by Pauline Baynes

DETAILS:
Series: The Chronicles of Narnia, #4
Publication Date: July 01, 1994
Format: Paperback
Length: 243 pg.
Read Date: December 10-11, 2025

If you need to know what this book is about, or anything about this series…seriously, just stop what you’re doing and pick up this book. I don’t mean to be a snob, or maybe I do, but something was missing from your childhood, and now is your time to fix it. I realize that there are many legitimate reasons for people not to have read this (more for some of the later books), and I’m not questioning the choices you or your parents made (actually, I guess I am). But I’m not going to try to talk about this book like I do most others.

If only because everything worth saying has been said by other, better, writers. Probably several times.

But I feel the need to say something now, so here are a few things that jumped out at me during this read:

bullet Awww, even Eustace gets rejuvinated by the Narnian air. He really changed from the whiney twerp.
bullet Outside of Reepicheep, is there a more fully-drawn charcter in the Chronicles than Puddleglum? It’s also just a great name, summing him up in a nutshell. The other Marsh-wiggles finding him adventurous and devil-may-care is hilarious. As are his encouragements to the children to be more like him–upbeat and happy.
bullet Describing Rilian as “altogether looked a little bit like Hamlet,” is one of the oddest lines in the series.
bullet Everything that the Queen is up to is wrong, that’s a given. But the whole Prince/Queen mother-pseudo son thing is strange–when you add in the wedding plans? Ew, ew, ew, ew, and ew.
bullet That’s an unexpected–and odd–lesson in Centaur anatomy and diets. (one stomach human, one stomach equine and needs to feed both appropriate food). Is this common to other Fantasy uses of Centaurs?
bullet I just didn’t like Aslan this time out–disciplining Jill and wreaking havoc on the entire mission for something simple and understandable?
bullet Even stranger–sending Caspian and an unusually-still-Narnian-garbed Eustace to rough up some human bullies at the end back on Earth. That just doesn’t match with the Aslan we’ve been getting to know.
bullet Take our Lion out of things, and this was a pretty enjoyable adventure.

A Few Scattered Thoughts on My Latest Reading of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

By HCNewton

On December 5, 2025

In C.S. Lewis, Fantasy, Fiction, Further Up and Further In

Further Up and Further In A Year with C.S.Lewis

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

by C. S. Lewis , illustrated by Pauline Baynes

DETAILS:
Series: The Chronicles of Narnia, #3
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: July 1, 1994
Format: Paperback
Length: 248 pg.
Read Date: December 2, 2025

I have a very distinct memory of the day I bought this book (well, my first copy, anyway). I was finished with a 1-2 week thing at a local liberal arts college one summer (I think it was after 4th grade–it might have been after 3rd), and my mother said we could look at the book store there. I got a textbook about the Supreme Court (yes, my 8 or 9 year-old-self had ambition–wasted, I should note) and this book. I could’ve picked any of the 7, but I’d watched parts of the cartoon version of Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe a few months earlier, and wasn’t that interested in it. But his had a cool looking ship on the cover. So I went with it.

In the years since, it remained my most-read of the series (followed closely by Prince Caspian, with Wardrobe coming in third). And it’s the one I have the hardest time being objective about. I also didn’t take as many notes for this post as I read it. I just go swept up in the reading. Still, I do have a few things to say.

bullet

There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.

Is possibly the best sentence Lewis ever wrote. It’s one of my all time favorites.
bullet The rest of the paragraph isn’t too shabby, either:

His parents called him Eustace Clarence and masters called him Scrubb. I can’t tell you how his friends spoke to him, for he had none. He didn’t call his Father and Mother “Father” and “Mother,” but Harold and Alberta. They were very up-to-date and advanced people. They were vegetarians, nonsmokers and teetotalers and wore a special kind of underclothes, In their house there was very little furniture and very few clothes on beds and the windows were always open.

bullet This book features my all-time favorite portal fantasy depiction of someone from “our world” going to another. This may come from it being the first that I remember. But I don’t think so.
bullet

[Lucy] spent a good deal of time sitting on the little bench in the stern playing chess with Reepicheep. It was amusing to see him lifting the pieces, which were far too big for him, with both paws and standing on tiptoes if he made a move near the center of the board. He was a good player and when he remembered what he was domg he usually won. But every now and then Lucy won because the Mouse did something quite ridiculous like sending a knight into the danger of a queen and castle combined. This happened because he had momentarily forgotten it was a game of chess and was thinking of a real battle and making the knight do what he would certainly have done in its place. For his mind was full of forlorn hopes, death-or-glory charges, and last stands.

bullet In case it wasn’t clear from the get-go (and it absolutely was), Eustace swinging Reep around by his tail tells you everything you need to know about the lad–to paraphrase Linda Ronstadt, “He’s no good, he’s no good, he’s no good, Eustace, you’re no good.”
bullet In Chapter 6, “The Adventures of Eustace,” we’re told twice that reading the wrong books (or not reading the right books) keeps you from knowing anything about dragons. Fantasy readers, take heart!
bullet After Eustace is transformed into a dragon, say what you will about the kid, he figures out his situation far quicker than his cousins did theirs in Prince Caspian–and they’d read the right books!
bullet I will just never not love Chapter 6. Whether it’s just on the story front, or if you want to go deeper with an exploration of Sanctification…it doesn’t matter. This one chapter in the Chronicles stands out above all others.
bullet If you’d asked me who my favorite characters in the Chronicles were, Reepicheep would’ve been at the top of my list. But getting to read about him over these last two books reminded me just how much I enjoyed him.
bullet Aslan isn’t overthrowing malevolent kings or queens this time, he largely shows up for little things–a quick morality lesson here and there to keep his people in-line. It’s a different way to see him.
bullet That spellbook that Lucy browses is just cool. Hogwarts wishes it has something cool, Madam Pince would have so many people breaking into the restricted section to get a look at it.
bullet I will defend a lot of what Lewis does in this series–but only referring to Caspian’s eventual bride as “Ramadu’s daughter” is not one of those things. (or pretty much anything about their relationship–the last paragraph of the novel helps a little bit)
bullet Speaking of the last paragraph–nice parting shot at Eustace’s mother.
bullet This is probably the most blatant (pre: The Last Battle or maybe The Magician’s Nephew) time we are told that Aslan is known by a different name in our world. Lewis has apparently decided he should stop being subtle and make it clear who Aslan is to us. I don’t mind this a bit (even if I do have some third commandment-related questions)
bullet Really, we learn more about Aslan in this book than we do any other (with the possible exception of The Magician’s Nephew, I need to revisit that one before I know for sure).

A Few Scattered Thoughts on My Latest Reading of Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

By HCNewton

On November 26, 2025

In C.S. Lewis, Fantasy, Fiction, Further Up and Further In

Further Up and Further In A Year with C.S.Lewis

Prince Caspian

by C. S. Lewis , illustrated by Pauline Baynes

DETAILS:
Series: The Chronicles of Narnia, #2
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: July 01, 1994
Format: Paperback
Length: 223 pg.
Read Date: November 8-10, 2025

If you need to know what this book is about, or anything about this series…seriously, just stop what you’re doing and pick up this book. I don’t mean to be a snob, or maybe I do, but something was missing from your childhood, and now is your time to fix it. I realize that there are many legitimate reasons for people not to have read this (more for some of the later books), and I’m not questioning the choices you or your parents made (actually, I guess I am). But I’m not going to try to talk about this book like I do most others.

If only because everything worth saying has been said by other, better, writers. Probably several times.

But I feel the need to say something now, so here are a few things that jumped out at me during this read:

bullet The cover on the edition we bought for our kids is just bad. The art’s fine, but this is a silly scene to capture. It really makes me miss the version I had growing up.
bullet It’s so hard to be patient with the Pevensies as they suss out where and when they are.
bullet I enjoyed the way that Trumpkin stumbled while trying to recap Caspian’s story and then just had to start at the beginning. I think this was a pretty smart move for impatient readers–give them a little bit of our friends and then go back to tell Caspian’s story–if he’d started with Caspian and his Nurse, how many of us would’ve put the book down? This way we get the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve, some excitement, then the long backstory, and we’re back into the action.
bullet I loved the way Reepicheep was introduced. NB: I love everything about Reepicheep, so I won’t note every example.
bullet It was good to see (and helped the single combat later on be believeable) the way that Narnia is slowly making the Pevensies back into who they were.
bullet

“Such a horrible idea has come into my head, Su.”
“What’s that?”
“Wouldn’t it be dreadful if some day in our won world, at home, men started going wild inside, like the animals here, and still looked like men, so that you’d never know which were which?”
“We’ve got enough to bother about here and now in Narnia,” said the practical Susan, “without imagining things like that.”

And if you like that kids, let me tell you about some books I’ve written for grown-ups…
bullet I truly appreciate the way that Edmund sticks up for Lucy here contra-Peter and Susan when it comes to beliving her experiences. As annoyed as I am with Susuan, Peter actually thinking Lucy’s right, but weaseled away from it is far worse.
bullet The betrayal of Nikabrik and the way he talks about Dwarfs sounds like Mr. Beaver’s prejudice. I’m glad we have Trumpkin, our DLF, and others to show him wrong.
bullet While dictating his letter, I rather enjoyed Peter (who surely looked like a punk kid) getting picky about the spelling used by a noted scholar.
bullet Trufflehunter’s insistence that animals don’t change, their beliefs are rock-solid, unlike flighty humans/human-esque people is striking. That has to be an impact of Eve–but where do Dwarfs come from then?
bullet

The first house they came to was a school: a girls’ school, where a lot of Narnian girls, with their hair done very tight and ugly tight collars round their necks and thick tickly stockings on their legs, were having a history lesson. The sort of “History” that was taught in Narnia under Miraz’s rule was duller than the truest history you ever read and less true than the most exciting adventure story.

That last sentence is such a good one.
bullet

…all the-Talking Beasts surged round-the Lion, with purrs and grunts and squeaks and whinnies of delight, fawning on him with their: tails, rubbing against him, touching him reverently with their noses and going to. and fro under his body and between his legs. If you have ever seen a little cat loving a big dog whom it knows and trusts, you will have a pretty good picture of their behavior.

That last sentence is such a good one, too.
bullet We just don’t get enough time from Caspian’s victory to the end of the book. There wasn’t a lot of denouement in the first volume, either. But this felt too rushed.
bullet That last line–which is simply not good–makes me think of the last line of an 80s TV show. Someone makes a dumb joke while the entire cast is sitting together, they all laugh too hard at it and the picture freezes before the credits roll.

This is the first of 3 Caspian novels–putting him on a level with Lucy and Edmund for appearances. There’s not a lot of deep theology here, just Aslan’s protection of the land with direct intervention when called for–with Old Narnia’s royals along for the ride (somewhat literally). I liked the different way the children were pulled into Narnia–I really like young Caspian here–and everything else. It’s just a fun read.

A Few Scattered Thoughts on My Latest Reading of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

By HCNewton

On November 12, 2025

In C.S. Lewis, Fantasy, Fiction, Further Up and Further In

Further Up and Further In A Year with C.S.Lewis

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

by C. S. Lewis , illustrated by Pauline Baynes

DETAILS:
Series: The Chronicles of Narnia, #1
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: July 01, 1994
Format: Paperback
Length: 189 pg.
Read Date: November 8-10, 2025

If you need to know what this book is about, or anything about this series…seriously, just stop what you’re doing and pick up this book. I don’t mean to be a snob, or maybe I do, but something was missing from your childhood, and now is your time to fix it. I realize that there are many legitimate reasons for people not to have read this (more for some of the later books), and I’m not questioning the choices you or your parents made (actually, I guess I am). But I’m not going to try to talk about this book like I do most others.

If only because everything worth saying has been said by other, better, writers. Probably several times.

But I feel the need to say something now, so here are a few things that jumped out at me during this read:

bullet On the second page of the story, Susan is already trying to act older than she is (which is really the problem that will recur in The Last Battle, people getting worked up about the makeup really miss the boat). Yes, it’s understandable—and maybe even necessary—at this point for her to do so. But it’s a trait that will define her.
bullet I could use another 3 or so chapters about the Professor’s house. Maybe even a book or two. As Lewis writes:

The house of the Professor’s—which even he knew so little about—was so old and famous that people form all over England used to come and ask permission to see over it. It was the sort of house that is mentioned in guide books and even in histories; and well it might be, for all manner of stories were told about it, some of them even stranger than the one I am telling you now.

bullet There is something just so…right…about Baynes’ illustrations. I can’t imagine this series without them (one of the many reasons I’ve avoided picture book retellings).
bullet Lewis stays on-brand by having the Professor bring out a version of the trilemma suited for the question of Lucy’s honesty.
bullet The way the children react just to the sound of Aslan’s name the first time. That’s a great touch.
bullet

This was bad grammar of course, but that is how beavers talk when they are excited; I mean, in Narnia—in our world they susually don’t talk at all.

bullet Mr. Beaver’s comment about not trusting things that look human but aren’t is an odd bit of prejudice. It’s nice to see it quickly shown to be false by the giant Rumblebuffin, unless by size alone, giants don’t look human. Still, I want to make a point to watch out for that idea later on in the series.
bullet I don’t care how many times I’ve read it, Aslan’s walk to the Stone Table is hard to read.
bullet The de-statued lion’s reaction to Aslan including him in the “us lions” group has brought a smile to my face every time I encounter it. Probably for different reasons, but it always works.
bullet I find it interesting that no one other than the adult Pevensies talk in that stuffy, faux-Medieval way throughout the series (maybe A Horse and His Boy will prove me wrong).
bullet The closing paragraphs suggest that the Pevensies are possibly going to encounter many other children who’ve been in Narnia. I wish we’d gotten more evidence of that throughout the books—especially in The Last Battle.

This isn’t a perfect novel—nor a perfect Christian allegory. But I can’t be critical about it, not even a little. I just love this book. (and it’s not even my favorite in the series!)

The World’s Last Night by C.S. Lewis: An Interesting (if Somewhat Scattered) Collection that Starts Off With a Banger

By HCNewton

On August 24, 2025

In C.S. Lewis, Further Up and Further In, Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Further Up and Further In A Year with C.S.Lewis

The World’s Last Night
And Other Essays

by C. S. Lewis

DETAILS:
Publisher: HarperOne
Publication Date: February 14, 2017
Format: Paperback
Length: 122 pg.
Read Date: August 3-10, 2025

What’s The World’s Last Night About?

This is a collection of essays by Lewis, quite simply. I don’t know that they belong together more than that. GIven the original date of publication (1952), he was alive when this was collected, but I have no idea if he was involved in the selection—I am curious about that. So much so that I’ve written 3 more sentences (including this one) about it than I intended to.

Here’s what the jacket flap on my copy says:

In these seven satirical yet poignant essays, C.S. Lewis tackles the temptations of evil. He challenges readers to decide how they would live on thew world’s last night and writes, “We are not the playwright, we are not the producer, we are not even the audience. We are on the stage. To play well the scenes in which we are ‘on’ concerns us much more than to guess about the scenes that follow it.” The infamous Screwtape makes a special appearance with a toast that explores the prospects for exploiting evil. Blending irony, humor, and paradox, Lewis tackles religion’s most difficult and intriguing questions regarding immorality, belief, and the meaning of prayer.

I’m also not sure “satirical” applies to all seven essays. But I didn’t come here to pick a fight with anyone involved with putting this together. So let’s move on with a quick look at each essay (the premise should be clear for most from the title).

The Efficacy of Prayer

I loved this essay. I’m glad I read the collection, if only for this—sadly, the rest of the collection really didn’t live up to it. But I’m okay with paying most of the $17 I spent on the book for this essay. It’s one I will be returning to.

On Obstinancy in Belief

This is sort of a Science v. Faith (a ridiculous debate). Lewis made some pretty good points, and it was generally good. But I’m not sure it’s a home-run.

That demand for our confidence which a true friend makes of us is exactly the same that a confidence trickster would make. That refusal to trust, which is sensible in reply to a confidence trickster, is ungenerous and ignoble to a friend, and deeply damaging to our relation with him. To be forewarned and therefore forearmed against apparently contrary appearance is eminently rational if our belief is true; but if our belief is a delusion, this same forewarning and forearming would obviously be the method whereby the delusion rendered itself incurable. And yet again, to be aware of these possibilities and still to reject them is clearly the precise mode, and the only mode, in which our personal response to God can establish itself. In that sense the ambiguity is not something that conflicts with faith so much as a condition which makes faith possible. When you are asked for trust you may give it or withhold it; it is senseless to say that you will trust if you are given demonstrative certainty. There would be no room for trust if demonstration were given. When demonstration is given what will be left will be simply the sort of relation which results from having trusted, or not having trusted, before it was given.

Lilies that Fester

This is an interesting take on anti-intellectualism and related ideas. It really feels like it could be a recent composition.

There’s a paragraph about a child reading Science Fiction that sold me.

Screwtape Proposes a Toast

I was just going to refer you to what I wrote about this as an add-on to The Screwtape Letters, but apparently, I never finished that post. So, um, that won’t work.

This fell short of the original Screwtape material. It doesn’t have the wit, the insight. It feels like a sequel to The Abolition of Man crammed into Screwtape’s mouth, and it didn’t work nearly as well.

Good Work and Good Works

Second-best essay in the batch.

‘Good works’ in the plural is an expression much more familiar to modern Christendom than ‘good work’. Good works are chiefly alms-giving or ‘helping’ in the parish. They are quite separate from one’s ‘work’. And good works need not be good work, as anyone can see by inspecting some of the objects made to be sold at bazaars for charitable purposes. This is not according to our example. When our Lord provided a poor wedding party with an extra glass of wine all round, He was doing good works, But also good work; it was a wine really worth drinking, Nor is the neglect of goodness in our ‘work’, our job, according to precept. The apostle says everyone must aot only work but work to produce what is ‘good’.

Religion and Rocketry

Huh. Interesting take on extraterrestrial life, etc. I’m not sure what else to say.

The World’s Last Night

There are many reasons why the modern Christian and een the modern theologian may hesitate to give to the doctrine of Christ’s Second Coming that emphasis which was usually laid on it by our ancestors.

It’s hard to believe that someone in the 20th Century could start an essay about escathology that way. But there it is, in black and white.

We must admit at once that this doctrine [of the Second Coming] has, in the past, led Christians into very great follies. Apparently many people find it difficult to believe in this great event without trying to guess its date, or even without accepting as a certainty the date that any quack or hysteric offers them. To write a history of all these exploded predictions would need a book, and a sad, sordid, tragi-comical book it would be.

I’ve read some of those books, and he describes them well.

Overall, this is a really good look at the doctrine of the Second Coming and Judgement and how we should act before then—and why we should do so.

So, what did I think about The World’s Last Night?

I liked this more than some of what I’ve read by Lewis this year, but it doesn’t hold a candle to him at his best. There are moments of brilliance. Moments of spiritual insight and wisdom. Some moments of wit and common sense (which should never be sneezed at). Some moments where you wonder why he has impacted so many (including myself) in such a strong and lasting way.

Still, it’s worth the time—not just for completistis, either. Just know going in that not every essay is going to wow you.

I’m tempted to give it 4 Stars just for the first essay, but let’s not get carried away by such a strong start.

3.5 Stars

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis: Do you listen to the angels on the outskirts?

By HCNewton

On June 29, 2025

In C.S. Lewis, Fantasy, K-O, Theology/Christian Living

Further Up and Further In A Year with C.S.Lewis

The Great Divorce

by C. S. Lewis

DETAILS:
Publisher: Macmillan Publishing Company
Publication Date: 1946
Format: Paperback
Length: 128
Read Date: June 22, 2025

“Then those people are right who say tht Heaven and Hell are only states of mind?”

“Hush,” said he sternly. “Do not blaspheme. Hell is a state of mind—ye never said a truer word, And every state of mind, left to itself, every shutting up of the creature within the dungeon of its own mind—is, in the end, Hell. But Heaven is not a state of mind. Heaven is reality itself. All that is fully real is Heavenly. For all that can be shaken will be shaken and only the unshakable remains.”

Sixpence None the Richer’s “Soul”

Since 1994 (two or three years after I read this for the first time) I haven’t been able to think about, much less read, this book without thinking of this song. So why not let you have it run through your head as you read this?

What’s The Great Divorce About?

The conceit of this book is that C.S. Lewis is granted a vision in a dream of the afterlife. He starts out in a miserable place, full of people that could best be described as miserable (although that might be being too kind). He sees a bunch of them waiting for a bus, and since that’s pretty much the only people he can see around, he joins the queue. Before he knows it, he gets one of the last remaining seats.

After a couple of really unpleasant interactions with fellow passengers, the bus comes to a stop and everyone disembarks. They’re near some trees, but mostly there’s a large amount of grassy land near a cliff. Everyone kind of separates and walks around, while others come from a distance toward them. The best way that Lewis can come up with to describe these people is “Bright Ones” or “Solid People.”

They seem more solid and bright than anyone else—who now pretty much seem like disembodied ghosts to Lewis. Meanwhile, the grass is intensely hard and sharp; the trees and rocks are similarly “more real.” Once the Bright Ones arrive, they all head off to talk to individual ghosts—and the interactions that Lewis watches/overhears, the interactions aren’t all that pleasant.

The Bright Ones, it should be stressed, aren’t the problems. They’re patient, kind, and entirely honest. The Ghosts, on the other hand, are nasty, defensive, selfish, and seem to go out of their way to twist the words of the Bright Ones. The Bright Ones are trying to convince the Ghosts to leave these problems—and so many others behind, so they can find true happiness and forgiveness in the City.

Lewis watches some of these, and then is met by his own Bright One, who answers some questions for him about what’s going on.

Okay, that’s more of a summary than I typically give—but the meat of the book isn’t in that outline, it’s in the individual interactions between Bright Ones and the Ghosts.

“The Transmortal Conditions”

In his Preface, Lewis stresses that this book is a Fantasy, sure, it’s one with a moral—but it’s Fantasy. “The transmortal conditions are solely an imaginative supposal; they are not even a guess or a speculation of what may actually await us.”

That’s for the best because there are many problems with his vision of the realms—but at the same time, he does a wonderful job of depicting them

The loneliness of Hell/Purgatory* and how the denizens exacerbate the problem continuously to their own detriment is utterly fantastic. Even better is the hyper reality of the outskirts of the City and the Bright Ones. Lewis said he got the idea from some article he read by an American whose name he’d forgotten years before.

Between this book and Perelandra, I’m starting to come to the conclusion that Lewis’ best writing is reserved for him trying to capture Paradise and relate it to his readers. He falls short, obviously, but the way he does communicate either the area around Heaven or a Pre-Fall Venus are so fantastic that I find myself trying to describe the ineffable.

* It’s Hell for those who don’t take the opportunity to repent, Purgatory for those who do. An intriguing way to be able to placate either the Roman Catholic or Protestant in his readership.

George MacDonald

On one of the rocks sat a very tall man, almost a giant, with a flowing beard. I had not yet looked one of the Solid People in the face. Now, when I did so, I discovered that one sees them with a kind of double vision. Here was an enthroned and shining god, whose ageless spirit weighed upon mine like a burden of solid gold: and yet, at the very same moment, here was an old weather-beaten man, one who might have been a shepherd—such a man as tourists think simple because he is honest and neighbours think “deep” for the same reason. His eyes had the farseeing look of one who has lived long in open, solitary places; and somehow I divined the network of wrinkles which must have surrounded them before re-birth had washed him in immortality.

Among the many things I forgot about this book is the way that MacDonald serves as Virgil, guiding Lewis around the area, answering many of the questions he has about what he’s seeing and experiencing. Having read Surprised by Joy pretty recently, when he goes into what kind of impact MacDonald made on him really helped underline this part for me.

When so many of the other Ghosts had Bright Spirits appear to them that were someone important to them—mostly family members, Lewis (who isn’t quite a Ghost, but is largely treated as one) gets an author who was instrumental in laying the groundwork for his conversion. A great choice, and a very honest/self-revelatory one.

So, what did I think about The Great Divorce?

Never fear. There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.” All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened

I absolutely loved this. I remembered liking it, but I was just blown away this read-through.

Yes, I’d quibble with some of the theology here—Lewis and I aren’t going to see eye-to-eye on many things until we both arrive in the City to be corrected (and neither of us will care about that then). But this isn’t a systematic theology, it’s a Fantasy story with apologetic aims. As such, it’s wonderful. And, I’m never going to sneeze at the chance to read Lewis describing a paradise.

And this is not an apologetic work in the way most of his are—he’s not trying to make a case for the thoughtfulness of Christianity, the reasonableness in the belief in miracles, or anything like that. He’s looking at the core of people, how they think; how they react; how in every thought, word, and deed they are selfish; it’s all about self-interest, self-importance, self-worth. They may try to dress it up somehow, but eventually—even if it’s just for a moment, it’s about them. Seeing myself in these ghosts—I assume that most readers do—is not unlike seeing yourself in the words of advice that Screwtape gives to his nephew. Neither is a pleasant experience, but the mirror that Lewis holds before his readers is pretty clear.

Of the works by Lewis that I’ve read this year, this is his best writing, his most subtle thinking, his most heart-opening thoughts. I heartily encourage this one to those who are curious—even if just for the Fantasy of it all.

5 Stars