6.5/10

This book is a bit too fast paced for me. I feel like I should have a better understanding/relationship to the characters than I have time to develop. Would love some more dialogue to flesh out the four kids.

Additionally, the Christianity doesn't do it for me. I have no problem referring to the children as sons/daughters of Adam/Eve. However, when Aslan sacrifices himself for Edmunds sins and is reborn, it just feel unoriginal. I can understand that C. S. Lewis wanted to tell that story to his daughter and added his own twist though.

As of now this book is not a re-read for me. I will have to finish the series to see if it gets better. However, I think this is a book I can read for my children (when I have some).

Side note: I feel like if you like The Hobbit better than LOTR, this might be for you.

The thing that struck me the most about The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the author's wonderful sense for addressing children. Young readers will find much of themselves in the four siblings that are the protagonists of the story and it's sweet how the narrator talks to its audience at eye level.

To save them from the Nazi Blitz, the Pevensie siblings—Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy—are evacuated from London in 1940 and sent to live in a large house in the British countryside. They are entrusted to the care of Professor Digory Kirke who tells them that many people made magical discoveries while being at the house that forms their new home. This is exactly what happened to Lucy when she took a closer look at an old wardrobe, and later she is joined by her brothers and sister—to the miraculous realm of Narnia.

Admittedly, Narnia is not exactly the kind of world to get lost in, at least not when compared to the likes of Eragon, His Dark Materials, or Harry Potter. What they find beyond the wardrobe is not an epic world of swords and sorcery, but a dreamy fairytale full of mythical creatures and talking animals. They learn that it is ruled by the evil White Witch whose spell produced an endless winter and who turns opponents into statues of stone. Given the prophecy that four children, two girls and two boys, would ascend the thrones of Cair Paravel, she ordered her subordinates to bring to her every "son of Adam" and "daughter of Eve" that strays into her dominion.

The most awe-inspiring figure is the great lion named Aslan who is the true ruler of Narnia. The children's' arrival coincides with his return. He strikes fear not only into the little hearts, but very much into the Witch's too. The thaw heralds the end of her regency, and amusingly even Father Christmas is no longer afraid to show his face. As in many other fantasy tales, the children are presented with gifts—weapons to arm themselves for the coming battle—and it's then that I fully realized the plot would take a darker turn than I had hitherto anticipated.

The children have a traitor in their midst. The little Edmund ventured out into Narnia alone and met with the White Witch. It's disturbing how she makes him his loyal servant by causing in him an addiction for Turkish delight. It is only when he brought to her the other children that she would again allow him his heart's desire. His betrayal, first of Lucy (whom he despicably slanders) then of the entire group (by abandoning them and delivering their secrets to the White Witch), creates emotional tension not often found in children's books.

There is one chapter in particular chapter that will stick with you long after finishing the little novella. After his return Aslan is seen striking a deal with the Witch, though the nature of their agreement remains unknown. The dignified demeanor of their glorious leader gives way and he appears bent and saddened. The children follow him to the place where they first met him, the symbolic Stone Table. It is there that he fully surrenders to the Witch's will. I was genuinely shocked by the depiction of torture and his eventual execution, after they ruthlessly cropped his splendid mane.

A religious reading according to which his death is allegorical to the death of Jesus Christ, both dying for the sins of fellow men and both being resurrected, forces itself upon you. I have to admit, I didn't quite understand what the breaking of the stone slabs symbolized (Wikipedia mentions the Mosaic Law?). In any case, it was a very powerful moment I'm sure I'll remember whenever I think of the story.

There were other moments that left an impression on me. One comes early on when on her first visit alone Lucy is met by the faun named Tumnus. He is such a friendly and attentive fellow, little did I expect he would turn out to be an evil collector of children (he really isn't). The professor's unconditional willingness to take seriously the children's experiences was delightful, too. And how sweet was that scene when Lucy offers her tiny handkerchief to the giant and he would rub his whole face with it out of courtesy?

I have to admit, I didn't passionately love my first venture into Narnia. Nonetheless, there is no denying that it's a wonderful little children's book and I'm eager to find out how the later novels in the series expanded the universe.

Rating: 3.5/5

After having read the prequel/sequel for the first time this year, I was worried it might also make me dislike this one. But I don't, I still love it a lot, 4.5 stars for me. When I was younger I never realised the Christian undertones, and while I do pick up on them now, they are not so on the nose, that I couldn't ignore them in favour of a whimsical magical story.

A book I have read over and over, read to my children, recommend to everyone

Read aloud to my 8 and 10 year olds. They begged for another chapter most nights. We read the last 100 pages in two sittings! It was so nice to share this classic with them. Who doesn’t want to go through the wardrobe to Narnia?

Listened to with my son, as good as always.

I can definitely see why reading this first is encouraged, instead of the Narnia chronology strategy that I've been following that starts with The Magician's Nephew. Why get all the prologue context when you can experience the magic of Narnia for the first time with the Pevensies? Given how Lewis devised the series, it's no surprise that this was the strongest book so far for me —it has the best combination of plot and engaging characters, in my estimation, but not hard to do when you're dealing with a nefarious queen and...Lion God. I do think it's a clever conceit to have the kids grow into adulthood in Narnia, only to stumble back into childhood at the end of the novel. I've always wondered how much of a mindfuck that would actually end up being? I'm not sure how I'm going to end up feeling about the series overall, but reading this book, you do get a sense of how it became part of that fantasy canon in the first place.