Hmm, all those Tolkien-discussions here.... I saw there are also books by C.S. Lewis for sale on Sorcerers.... (however only the real fantasy-books of him)

Has anyone here read the Narnia-chronicles and the more religious books?

I remember reading the Narnia chronicles when I was in sixth grade, although I don't recall much more than the creature that was given the bottomless sack of food. Wasn't there some sort of portal travel too? Or was that a different story?

Might be.. a portal occurs a few times in the story...

The good thing is that this fantasy-story also has a religious message, Aslan is a bit a Jesus in this story, sacrificing his life to save the children, and comming to life again later. But the story just as story is already great.

And did anyone know that Tolkien was inspired by Lewis, not only in fantasy but also in faith.

Wasnt Tolkien and Lewis like best buddies and inspired of eachother?
I have read the Narnia books and they are decent. Real good for a kid. But they are a little inconsistent and hard to understand in wich order they come and how many there are.

joc-Lewis didn't right them like a current Fantasy author. He wrote them as he was inspired, not as a series of events (like the Wheel of Time).

I've read lots of Lewis. My favorite Non-Narnia book is the "Screwtape Letters". Screwtape is a master devil teaching his nephew Wormwood how to lead a man's life to Hell. The book is hilarious and also fascinating.

Another great is "The Great Divorce". You take an Omnibus Ride from Purgatory to the foothills of heaven. .... I guess you have to read it to understand.

They are both a part of "The CS Lewis Signiture Classics" availible at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060653027/sorcerersplace/002-4870087-1440007

[This message has been edited by Mathetais (edited January 11, 2002).]

I started reading the Narnia books, but sadly didn't have time yet to finish. I'd recommend them to anyone. Excellent stuff.

I listed them at http://www.sorcerers.net/Books/index_lewis.htm in the order the author recommends they should be read in. (This is NOT the order they were released in, however. If you go by that order, you start in the middle, which is probably not that good.)

Anyway, I also have The C.S. Lewis Signature Classics on that page and that includes A Grief Observed/Miracles/the Problem of Pain/the Great Divorce/the Screwtape Letters/Mere Christianity...

SOme other excellent books of him are:

Light through Darkness, and the Oath.

Wasnt it Lewis that wrote those weird SF books about a hidden planet or something?

Yeah ... Lewis' Space Trilogy was weird, but original!

Lewis had a great fantasy and could combine it excellent with some religious things. Tal, in what book of the Narnia Chronicles did you stop? The last two books are really fantastic.... And the books are very easy to.. consume.

Second on the list... I didn't stop, I just delayed reading the rest indefinitely. ;)
I have way too much study literature to read right now.

Tal: Seeing as you just finished that FR novel, Finder's Bane, I'd say you need to get your priorities straightened out a bit, or however that saying goes. :p

Oh, and I read the Narnia books about six years ago. Good books. I felt sad at the end of the last book though. Guess I just hate endings, as I felt the same at the end of the lord of the rings...

[This message has been edited by Azardu (edited January 12, 2002).]

Hmm, I read them when I was really young, and didn't get the religous symbolism, but now I've heard people mention it, I spot the more obvious bits, like Aslan sacrificing himself on the slab and coming back to life.

Well gee, thanks for the spoiler Ironbeard.

Anyway, I read Finder's Bane much quicker than if I got into Narnia again. I'd have to read them all then...

I agree with the above feeling, C.S. Lewis is a fine author. Although, one of his more serious books quite literally put me to sleep once! (I forgot which one, but I did wake up and finish it...)

Edit... I meant to say - I have read almost all of his books.

[This message has been edited by Masher (edited January 12, 2002).]

Erm.... I first read the Narnia books about nine years ago ;) Has anybody read that science fiction trilogy by CS Lewis...? IIRC, it's "Out of the Silent Planet", "Perelandra", and "That Hideous Strength". VERY religious, at heart. But nice books.

Hm... I read the Narnia books a year ago... for the 2nd or 3rd time I think. But they were really good books even though they were religious. Good stuff.

The ending of the Narnia series was pretty interesting; I didnt get it when I read them (I was about 8 I think) but the ending of The Last Battle was based in the philosophy of Plato rather than Christianity; stuff about the Forms etc. I dont want to go into too much more detail as it will spoil things for those who still wish to read the books.

I loved the Narnia books -- the Perelandra books, not so much. I reread them all a few years ago and they are just as interesting to me as an adult as the were to me as a kid. The Christian themes are fascinating. I am interested to hear that the Last Battle referenced Plato, as I did not catch that at all. The Last Battle, in fact, was the only one I did not like in that series because I worried that Lewis was making a statement about race, or non-Western culture, that I could not share.

There is a lovely play about Lewis as a writer and a Christian called "Shadowlands", by William Nicholson. My 1991 copy claims on the cover that it is soon to be a major motion picture -- but I never heard about it, if it was.

There was a motion picture a couple of years ago that was called Shadowlands starring Antony Hopkins IIRC. I havent seen it but it got pretty good reviews.

I'm reading a little GK Chesteron lately ... any fans of the grizzled jester here on SP? He was a major influence on Lewis' life...especially when he was far from God.

I think the quote Lewis had in regards to Chesterton was "You have to be very careful with that man's writings if you don't want to believe in God." (or something like that ... I read it on the treadmill ;) )

The book ORTHODOXY was wonderful. Christian or not, this is something that will add new layers to the way you think. I recommend it whole-heartedly.

I didn't read that book yet.. thanks for the hint, I'll surely read it

If I have my information right, Tolkien and C.S. were chums. Am I right? Anyone hear the same?

That's right, they were close friends. Lewis took him to see what Disney made of the old folk tale Snow-white and the Seven Dwarves once. Tolkien was appaled. :p

Probably a sign of what was to come when people wanted to make films/cartoons/musicals from his writing. Up until now, that is.

(Mathetais casts Resurrection on this old, beloved topic and brings it home to the BookTalk forum ...)

There was actually a group of English writers during Lewis & Tolkien's time called the Inklings. They would share ideas and frustrations over pipes and brandy. This group probably inspired more fantasy than any other. (Any of you Lit. Majors out there might want to do a paper on that ;) )

C.S. Lewis and the Inklings
A Fellowship of Christian Thinkers and Writers

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Perhaps no informal association of writers has had the impact on the world that the Inklings have. This collection of gifted men met weekly between 1930 and 1949 in Lewis' rooms in Magdalen College at Oxford. During their celebrated gatherings, they would talk, share a beverage, and read aloud their latest projects. Discussion and constructive criticism of the work would follow. Lewis' Screwtape Letters and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings were only two of the lasting literary works which bore the scrutiny of scholarly and friendly critique in this setting.
The same set of friends would also meet each Tuesday morning at an Oxford pub. This casual gathering usually assembled at the Eagle and Child, affectionately called by them the "Bird and Baby." These sessions, in the comfortable atmosphere of an English pub, continued up until Lewis' death in 1963. G.B. Tennyson describes the Inklings as a "literary school that shared not only Lewis's friendship but in their own ways Lewis's dedication to Christianity."

It is worth noting that a student at Oxford, Edward Tangye-Lean had actually formed the predecessor to the Inklings of renown. His "Inklings" group included both students and dons, and reviewed unpublished manuscripts. This club did not last long, but two of its members, Lewis and Tolkien maintained their mutually supportive bonds. Reflecting decades later on the connection between the two societies, Tolkien said, "although our habit was to read aloud compositions of various kinds (and lengths!), this association and its habit would in fact have come into being at that time, whether the original short-lived club had ever existed or not."

Although occasional visitors were invited to attend meetings of the Inklings, the core membership remained stable. In addition to C.S Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, longterm members included Lewis' brother Warren, Charles Williams and Owen Barfield. Other regular members included Robert Havard, Lewis' physician, and Adam Fox, a poet and priest. In 1940, as Warnie headed toward the conflict of the Second World War, Lewis wrote to his brother, "the Inklings is now really very well provided, with Fox as chaplain, you as army, Barfield as lawyer, Havard as doctor--almost all the estates!" Colin Hardie, Ronald McCallum, George Sayer, Courtenay Stevens, Christopher Tolkien, John Wain, and Charles Wrenn were other regular members of the fellowship. Despite some confusion on the subject, although she was an anointed writer and a close friend of Lewis, Dorothy Sayers was never a member of the Inklings. In fact, Lewis wrote, "Dorothy Sayers, so far as I know, was not even acquainted with any of us except Charles Williams and me... I liked her, originally, because she liked me; later for the extraordinary zest and edge of her conversation... Needless to say, she never met our own club, and probably never knew of its existence."

Lewis was extremely appreciative of the friendship of his fellow Inklings, saying "what I owe to them is incalculable." I'm sure I speak for not only myself when I declare that what we owe to the Inklings is likewise beyond measure.
(taken from http://www.scriptorum.org/l/inklings01.html)

One of the other inklings that comes to mind was George MacDonald ... see http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0802860613/qid=1015511643/sr=2-1/ ref=sr_2_1/002-4870087-1440007 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0802860613/qid=1015511643/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-4870087-1440007)

There is tons of information on Lewis here on the web. He has inspired so many people .... its breath taking.

One good site is : http://cslewis.drzeus.net/ (Into the Wardrobe)

I am desperately looking for a quote out of his book "The Great Divorce" as soon as I find it, I'll share it here. :book:

[This message has been edited by Mathetais (edited March 07, 2002).]