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blue_lotus13) wrote2005-12-15 12:12 pm
blue_lotus13) wrote2005-12-15 12:12 pm
The Chronicles of Narnia
Over the past few weeks, I've been slowly reading "The Chronicles of Narnia." For some reason, I had missed this series as a child, which is strange because I used to read a lot of fantasy. I had read "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" in Grade 3 or 4, but couldn't remember much about it, aside from the fact that there were 4 children, and a lion and they go into a magical world called Narnia through a wardrobe. I've worked in three different bookstores in my life and I know the Narnia series is a constant seller. People want to give it as a gift, and many people have fond memories of the series.
As many people were asking me questions about the series, I finally decided to read it this year. I'm glad I did. There are some good things about this series, and some things that I didn't like. In general, I found that it was a series that I couldn't really get into, probably because I didn't feel that the characters of the children were very well developed.
From what I have learned in my forays around the reading and writing world, there are generally two types of fiction- character driven, and plot driven. I have a hard time following plot driven storylines. I am 100% about characters- who they are, what they are doing, and how they drive the plot. I realized that this is one reason why I like teen fiction so much; generally the teenager characters' issues around identity, belonging, and other life situations tend to drive the plot. I have a hard time following action movies, and don't care for a lot of things where the characters are not explored. I tend to prefer family and relationship movies and books as a result. (Aside- A writer friend of mine argues that all plot is character driven.)
Therefore, since I didn't feel close to any of the characters, I had a hard time getting into Narnia. I have the exact same problem with Tolkien. Actually, I hate Tolkien. He has little character development and far too much description and fighting for me to enjoy reading his work. A friend of mine was telling me about how people have analyzed Tolkien's fiction and said that books that were written like his in the present day probably wouldn't get published. I did like the movies, but the only books of his I've read are "The Hobbit" and "The Fellowship of the Ring", and I plan to keep it that way. Anyway, I digress. This is about Narnia, not Tolkien.
What I loved about the books- The magical worlds, the world building, the talking animals. I also loved when characters went evil. The second a character went evil, I was much more attentive, and the characters became more interesting.
Things I didn't like- the general quick way that each of the books tied up, the misogyny and racial overtones that made me uncomfortable, the big lack of discernable character
I know that some people have strong opinions about the Christian allegory, but I don't. It was there, I noticed it, and I felt quite neutral about it. I actually liked the portrayal of Aslan- I had no issues with this and quite loved the image of a lion as God. When I was small, I used to have a reoccuring fantasy about a guardian lion, so I quite enjoyed this image. I also thought that a lot of the ideas in this book were about faith in general. I am not Christian, but I do believe in faith. I think belief is important- whether it be in a god or goddess, or being a good person, or having convictions. Even though faith has probably accounted for a lot of evil in the world, I believe that it has inspired a lot of good as well.
1. The Magician's Nephew- Introduces us to Narnia. Written after Lion and the Witch, so it just includes some other characters. I love how the White Witch comes out of the world and into the
"normal world", but this is a trend I seem to enjoy. I don't remember much else from this one.
2. Lion, Witch and Wardrobe- Not bad. I completely forgot about the battle at the end and Aslan's death. Favourite characters were the White Witch and Edmund. Everything gets tied up quickly at the end.
3. The Horse and His Boy- A completely different aspect of the magical worlds. Seemed to divert a lot from the major thrust of the series, but I still liked it, because it was the most character driven.
4. Prince Caspian- This one bored me to tears. I can't remember anything about it except that there were a bunch of princes, and I was dreadfully bored and wanted to finish it.
5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader- My favourite book. It has the most magical elements, dreadfully evil Eustace, who gets turned into a dragon and some of the better characters. It also has the creepy section in which Aslan comes and licks Eustace with his tongue and all his dragon scales fall off. Apparently I wasn't the only one bothered by this, because B* remembered it and its creepiness as well.
6. The Silver Chair- Liked the evil witches, but there's a lot of negative statements about Jill in this one.
7. The Last Battle- This book made me very uncomfortable. I hated the evil Ape and his actions. I found this book very disturbing, but it was probably the most allegorical. I also found the worship of the false Aslan to be rather intriguing. The whole ending pissed me off- I hated that all the characters were dead and in heaven. I felt very cheated.
I don't actually remember all the books that well, so it just shows how they were the kind of books that really didn't affect me.
As many people were asking me questions about the series, I finally decided to read it this year. I'm glad I did. There are some good things about this series, and some things that I didn't like. In general, I found that it was a series that I couldn't really get into, probably because I didn't feel that the characters of the children were very well developed.
From what I have learned in my forays around the reading and writing world, there are generally two types of fiction- character driven, and plot driven. I have a hard time following plot driven storylines. I am 100% about characters- who they are, what they are doing, and how they drive the plot. I realized that this is one reason why I like teen fiction so much; generally the teenager characters' issues around identity, belonging, and other life situations tend to drive the plot. I have a hard time following action movies, and don't care for a lot of things where the characters are not explored. I tend to prefer family and relationship movies and books as a result. (Aside- A writer friend of mine argues that all plot is character driven.)
Therefore, since I didn't feel close to any of the characters, I had a hard time getting into Narnia. I have the exact same problem with Tolkien. Actually, I hate Tolkien. He has little character development and far too much description and fighting for me to enjoy reading his work. A friend of mine was telling me about how people have analyzed Tolkien's fiction and said that books that were written like his in the present day probably wouldn't get published. I did like the movies, but the only books of his I've read are "The Hobbit" and "The Fellowship of the Ring", and I plan to keep it that way. Anyway, I digress. This is about Narnia, not Tolkien.
What I loved about the books- The magical worlds, the world building, the talking animals. I also loved when characters went evil. The second a character went evil, I was much more attentive, and the characters became more interesting.
Things I didn't like- the general quick way that each of the books tied up, the misogyny and racial overtones that made me uncomfortable, the big lack of discernable character
I know that some people have strong opinions about the Christian allegory, but I don't. It was there, I noticed it, and I felt quite neutral about it. I actually liked the portrayal of Aslan- I had no issues with this and quite loved the image of a lion as God. When I was small, I used to have a reoccuring fantasy about a guardian lion, so I quite enjoyed this image. I also thought that a lot of the ideas in this book were about faith in general. I am not Christian, but I do believe in faith. I think belief is important- whether it be in a god or goddess, or being a good person, or having convictions. Even though faith has probably accounted for a lot of evil in the world, I believe that it has inspired a lot of good as well.
1. The Magician's Nephew- Introduces us to Narnia. Written after Lion and the Witch, so it just includes some other characters. I love how the White Witch comes out of the world and into the
"normal world", but this is a trend I seem to enjoy. I don't remember much else from this one.
2. Lion, Witch and Wardrobe- Not bad. I completely forgot about the battle at the end and Aslan's death. Favourite characters were the White Witch and Edmund. Everything gets tied up quickly at the end.
3. The Horse and His Boy- A completely different aspect of the magical worlds. Seemed to divert a lot from the major thrust of the series, but I still liked it, because it was the most character driven.
4. Prince Caspian- This one bored me to tears. I can't remember anything about it except that there were a bunch of princes, and I was dreadfully bored and wanted to finish it.
5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader- My favourite book. It has the most magical elements, dreadfully evil Eustace, who gets turned into a dragon and some of the better characters. It also has the creepy section in which Aslan comes and licks Eustace with his tongue and all his dragon scales fall off. Apparently I wasn't the only one bothered by this, because B* remembered it and its creepiness as well.
6. The Silver Chair- Liked the evil witches, but there's a lot of negative statements about Jill in this one.
7. The Last Battle- This book made me very uncomfortable. I hated the evil Ape and his actions. I found this book very disturbing, but it was probably the most allegorical. I also found the worship of the false Aslan to be rather intriguing. The whole ending pissed me off- I hated that all the characters were dead and in heaven. I felt very cheated.
I don't actually remember all the books that well, so it just shows how they were the kind of books that really didn't affect me.