I started The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis a few days ago in my attempt to read books that I should have read by now. Before starting the series, I asked my Twitter followers which order I should read the books in, an important question given the debate over reading order. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of chronological order, which might have something to do with the current publisher arranging the books in chronological order (including in my own set). After reading the section of the Wikipedia article on the debate, I knew that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe had to be read first, and so I went with that.
I’m glad I did. This book served as a great introduction to Narnia, with the four kids going through the wardrobe to discover the land where it was always winter but never Christmas, first Lucy, then Edmund, then Lucy and Edmund with Peter and Susan. The story reads like someone is telling a fairy tale, and because of this I felt like I was sitting next to the person telling the story. The story was straightforward and self-contained with a single plotline, and it was a great example of simple storytelling. I did find myself wondering what sorts of adventures the kids would have in Narnia for the other six books, most of which are as short as this one was. I may finish the entire series and condense the reviews into one post unless something strikes me in one of the books as worth a review in its own right.
Tomorrow I start finding out about the kids’ other adventures in Narnia.
4 replies on “Book review: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”
Hi Sushi,
I read those books to my kids. They are magical! Sometimes when I’m in the forest on our property in the winter, I can’t help but think it looks like Narnia! (Watch for a photo of my magical forest on my blog tomorrow!)
It’s still snowing here, has been since this time yesterday!
Lori
@Lori I’m loving the books so far. It definitely looks a little like Narnia if you look out toward the creek right now, what with the snow and all. The snow’s starting to melt now, though, which makes me sad but makes everyone else rejoice that they can leave their houses.
If you had asked me in which order to read I would have said The Magicians Nephew first because that is about how evil entered Narnia and how that wardrobe came into existence in the first place.
Otherwise, awesome that you’re reading it! I’ve only got to read one and a half more books to read before I’ve finished the series.
@BookOwl I considered that (and it was the popular opinion when I polled my followers) but then decided to read TLTWATW first because come on. It’s the one everyone knows about.
And hooray for almost finishing it! You’re almost there.