I am currently reading Planet Narnia
by Michael Ward. I am only halfway through, so this is not a full
review, only some thoughts. I just want to catch you before you
appropriate all your Christmas money; this may be a book you want under
your tree with your name affixed to it.
The primary reason to read this book is
that Lewis was a genius and the Narnia movies are, to put it bluntly,
not. If you are watching the movies but not reading the Narniad to your
children, then your children are learning lies about Lewis. Although it
may be formally true that the films were “based on books written by C.
S. Lewis,” it can only be true in the meanest sense. The movies are
“action/adventures” for children; the books are the subtlest of fairy
tales. The movies are the epitome of unliterary, while the Narniad nears
the apex of literary. The Chronicles of Narnia are sublime, and Michael
Ward proves it.
