A Reader's Guide Through the Wardrobe: Exploring C.S. Lewis's Classic Story

Millions have loved C. S. Lewis' Narnia books over the years. With the recent release of the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, a plethora of books have appeared about the life and work of this talented Oxford scholar. A Reader's Guide Through the Wardrobe provides a unique look at Lewis' first Narnian chronicle. The authors use each chapter of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to demonstrate a literary device employed by Lewis. From the basics of the beginning chapter, showing how stories are begun, to "the role of myth" as the tale is winding down, the authors have done an expert job matching the varied chapters to themes. So expert that it starts to feel like Lewis wrote 17 separate little books. While this focus may stifle cross-referencing between chapters, it helps readers to pause and look at the individual parts of the story instead of rushing through (the authors do stress reading the book purely for enjoyment first before dissecting it). Detailed, thought-provoking prose explains the literary terms, and clearly-marked questions offer opportunity for discussion. The careful attention to how Lewis used various elements is especially helpful to writers. In Part 2 of this book, the authors describe Lewis' literary influence, how The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was received, and the Christian vision of the book, plus give a brief biography of Lewis. The in-depth study may scare off some readers, but Ryken and Mead's book is quite readable despite scholarly leanings. I highly recommended A Reader's Guide Through the Wardrobe for Narnia fans. -- Katie Hart, Christian Book Previews.com

In the decades that have passed since Aslan first got on the move, readers of all ages have been fascinated by the lands of Narnia created by Clive Staples Lewis. Inevitably, analysis has been applied to the books, finding the hidden meanings in the fantasy, debating whether fantasy is appropriate for Christians to read, and so forth. Finally, someone has gone in and examined the books, particularly the first volume, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, from as close to Lewis' own perspective as an outside observer can come. We get to see how Lewis conceived his world and what his intent actually was. Though the biographical details are not predominant, it is shown how they play into the story and what influenced the final results. Each chapter has discussion questions included, making this an ideal book for small group study, especially in light of the upcoming film. Reviewed by Amanda Killgore, Freelance Reviewer.

It seems difficult to think about the Chronicles of Narnia critically from a literary perspective. I recall being read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (LWW) by my 2nd grade teacher and being entranced by the story. When I finally purchased the Chronicles set for myself I made it a point to purchase the exact same edition from which I was read. Many people, I'm sure, feel this same sort of bond with the books that seem to transcend critical thinking since they grip our hearts so firmly. A Reader's Guide Through the Wardrobe: Exploring C.S. Lewis' Classic Story challenges us to take a critical look at the first of the Narnian stories. The authors begin by making it clear in the introduction that this guide should be used after initially reading LWW purely for enjoyment. The rest of the book is divided into two parts. Part One contains 18 chapters following each chapter of LWW. Part One is called the "Guided Tour." Each chapter introduces some aspect of literary device that Lewis utilized, such as foiling, archetypes, foreshadowing. Throughout the chapters reflective quotes from Lewis and Lewis scholars are interspersed to add insight. There are plenty of scattered study questions as well, all of which are geared toward helping the reader think through the different elements in LWW. Part Two offers extended background information and follows a more typical book format. Chapter 19 looks at how the Chronicles came to be written. Chapter 20 examines the reception of the series, including a number of criticisms that have been leveled against Lewis. The final chapter outlines the Christian elements in LWW. There is also a brief biography of Lewis and appendix on the order by which to read the series at the end. For the most part, this book pleasantly surprised me. I wasn't sure what to expect out of a reader's guide, since I haven't read one before. It essentially teaches readers how to think about the book, while leaving what to think about it mostly to the reader. The guide was consistently interesting and insightful into both Lewis and literature in general. The authors compliment each other terrifically- Leland Ryken being a literary specialist and Marjorie Lamp Mead being a Lewis scholar. The only part of the book that I thought could use improvement was the last chapter on the Christian vision of LWW. While there were some noteworthy points made in it, it didn't seem to have the solid structure and flow of content the rest of the book has. With that only exception, A Reader's Guide Through the Wardrobe is an excellent tool for helping those of us already romantically familiar with Lewis' masterpiece to take our affections to the next level. With the insights from Ryken and Mead, I believe I can now appreciate Narnia, as well as other fictional literature, more profoundly.