Reviews with content warning for Violence - ライオンと魔女と洋服だんす

This is delightful. The writing style was lighthearted and also had some darker moments. The plot is pretty linear but the themes and messaging is clear for kids and adults. There’s a reason this is a classic, and it made me excited to reread the rest of the series.

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anni_swanilda's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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emily_koopmann's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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malindaupton's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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rochelleisreading's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring fast-paced

5.0

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seulgireads's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

My first (successful) reread in a long while of a childhood favourite. I attempted to reread it a couple of years ago but was so put off by the narrator that I had to put it down. Now, about four years into my literary studies at university, I was surprised to find the narration to be the most compelling element of LWW. What had struck me as old-fashioned and one-dimensionally patronizing about the narrator (an adult voice that explicitly addresses a child audience), I perceived as layered and skillfully crafted this time around. The narrator is very present throughout the book, which unfortunately comes at the cost of the reader’s direct access to the characters. However, the narration is also very dynamic, guiding the reader through the story and granting them access to Narnia by way of engaging all their senses and making full use of their imagination. At the same time, the narrator serves as a frequent reminder that we are reading a work of fiction. This carefully executed double function which creates both immersion and distance is what really makes this a literary classic worth revisiting as an adult.

Densely populated with intertextual references, the text incorporates religious elements, folk tales and myth. A particularly strong tie is made to Christian Andersen’s Snow Queen (which incidentally was the first instance of intertextuality in any book I remember picking up on and really pondering as a child). Consulting some of the academic literature on Narnia further enriched my reading experience. I fell down a rabbit hole of reading up on the deliberate exclusion of sexuality and violence in Narnia – which, in the manner of Freud’s return of the repressed, seep through from the subtext to the surface of the text at some points (cf. Jennifer L. Miller (2009): “No Sex in Narnia? […]”).

Sexuality seems to be deliberately excluded from Narnia altogether (per Lewis’ conviction that children’s books should exemplify a pure, uncorrupted state of humanity); but it creeps in nonetheless. In the intertext of the Snow Queen – where Lewis substitutes kisses for Turkish delight –; in Aslan’s romp with Lucy and Susan; and, – my favourite example – in Peter’s battle with the wolf, where the description is suddenly overtaken by violent, nightmarish sexual imagery, that is starkly confronting in the context of the rest of the book:

As it was — though all this happened too quickly for Peter to think at all — he had just time to duck down and plunge his sword, as hard as he could, between the brute’s forelegs into its heart. Then came a horrible, confused moment like something in a nightmare. He was tugging and pulling and the Wolf seemed neither alive nor dead, and its bared teeth knocked against his forehead, and everything was blood and heat and hair.

There are other deliciously written passages, such as the ride of Lucy and Susan on Aslan through Narnia.

I appreciated the relatively slow-paced first two thirds of the book; the third act seemed a bit rushed. Another weakness of this book is that the characters, apart from Edmund, are afforded little to no psychological depth (which is probably a reason why I loved the 2005 film growing up – it does a good job of fleshing out the four siblings and creating an interesting dynamic between them).

I debated whether the lackluster last third is enough to knock LWW down to a 3.5 stars for me, but I finally decided on a 4-star-rating because of the quality of the narration and the enjoyability of the majority of the book.

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oceanwriter's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Reread. I love this series and this universe so much.

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gabsoulutely's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Even after all these years, I will never stop loving Narnia and its world building. I love these characters so much and this book is such a nostalgic breath of fresh air for me.

As an adult revisiting this story through novel and not motion picture, I realize some more meanings in the story as compared to when I was younger. I feel like Narnia was my first foray into fantasy and even after all the fantasy stories I have consumed, it still holds a high place in my heart.

Such a good read especially considering how old this book is.

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