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A review by diaswuri
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
5.0
So I recently re-read all the Narnia books maybe for the fifth or sixth time in my life, and I suddenly feel I'd like to write a review about this one.
Where to start?
Alright, first I gotta admit that I'm a huge fan of this series and "The Horse and His Boy" has been my most beloved book from the start. Why? Because, simple enough, actually, the story is just great and you can't not fall in love to the storytelling style of C. S. Lewis. You'll be drawn away, as if you were there on Bree's back, spending days after days crossing the desert. Not only that, the characters in it are all unforgettable.
But let me tell you, I'm a colored Muslim girl with a little splash of Persian blood in my veins, and I'm definitely not that stupid all this time I never get the message of the Narnia books C. S. Lewis had written. Many stated that Lewis' Narnia books are racist and sexist. And it's not hard to see that it's true. The message is clear: white European people are better (more, in every way possible) than the colored Persian/Arabic men (white is good and black is evil), and MEN are better than WOMEN (smarter, wiser, etc). All those things are surely a big bullshit. Not to mention, these books are meant for kids. So what had become C. S. Lewis' intention when he began putting pen on paper and started the first word on the first page of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"? A brainwash? Who knows exactly?
I absolutely can't say I love Lewis for those points I mentioned above. I even have many reasons to hate him. Deep inside I DO hate him. There are countless times when I couldn't help raising my eyebrows and frowning every now and then anytime I read Narnia books. I definitely cannot agree of what Lewis thought on us colored Muslim people. But hey.
I can't help. I can't help not to fall in love with Narnia world Lewis constructed, the story, the characters, the fun flowery language he used... Lewis took us to his dream with open arms, and although he injected such a bad, false thinking to many clueless readers, I know what is true for myself and I don't care even a bit if Lewis wanted to think he was right. His books are amazing, that's a fact I can't deny, a fact that makes me read Narnia again and again until I'm old and full of wrinkles and not anymore able to spot the difference between the real world and my fantasy.
If having loved Narnia is a sin, all I can say is, God, please forgive me.
Where to start?
Alright, first I gotta admit that I'm a huge fan of this series and "The Horse and His Boy" has been my most beloved book from the start. Why? Because, simple enough, actually, the story is just great and you can't not fall in love to the storytelling style of C. S. Lewis. You'll be drawn away, as if you were there on Bree's back, spending days after days crossing the desert. Not only that, the characters in it are all unforgettable.
But let me tell you, I'm a colored Muslim girl with a little splash of Persian blood in my veins, and I'm definitely not that stupid all this time I never get the message of the Narnia books C. S. Lewis had written. Many stated that Lewis' Narnia books are racist and sexist. And it's not hard to see that it's true. The message is clear: white European people are better (more, in every way possible) than the colored Persian/Arabic men (white is good and black is evil), and MEN are better than WOMEN (smarter, wiser, etc). All those things are surely a big bullshit. Not to mention, these books are meant for kids. So what had become C. S. Lewis' intention when he began putting pen on paper and started the first word on the first page of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"? A brainwash? Who knows exactly?
I absolutely can't say I love Lewis for those points I mentioned above. I even have many reasons to hate him. Deep inside I DO hate him. There are countless times when I couldn't help raising my eyebrows and frowning every now and then anytime I read Narnia books. I definitely cannot agree of what Lewis thought on us colored Muslim people. But hey.
I can't help. I can't help not to fall in love with Narnia world Lewis constructed, the story, the characters, the fun flowery language he used... Lewis took us to his dream with open arms, and although he injected such a bad, false thinking to many clueless readers, I know what is true for myself and I don't care even a bit if Lewis wanted to think he was right. His books are amazing, that's a fact I can't deny, a fact that makes me read Narnia again and again until I'm old and full of wrinkles and not anymore able to spot the difference between the real world and my fantasy.
If having loved Narnia is a sin, all I can say is, God, please forgive me.