Reviews

I cannot remember if I had ever read this book as a kid or not, so I’m going to treat it like a first time read. I do, however, remember my freshly-turned 12-year-old self seeing it in the theatres on Christmas Day 2005 & being absolutely blown away. Between the many rewatches of the movie & the countless Sunday school lessons mentioning it, I have pretty much every step of the story memorized. So I was a less than surprised by the twists & turns. I can’t review the storyline as much for that reason, but I can say one thing: if children’s theology was a genre, this book would be the definitive title. Lewis’ ability to break down theology (Mere Christianity) on a doctorate level is only matched by his ability to explain it allegorically in a way that children can understand. Some lines of this story (“‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.” for example) will stick with me for a long time. It’s a quick, easy read, but it’s written in a way that becomes more complex as you chew on it. Classic fantasy isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but Lewis did something here that may never be redone. I’m very excited to dive into the next six books, which I do not remember nearly as well.