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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
Lewis's insights about philosophy, culture, and religion in this book are consistent with his more popular works, but perhaps because those weighty thoughts were interwoven with a fictional narrative, it was really hard to get through this book in one sitting.
Put another way, there were many wonderful nuggets of humor and discernment (as is typical to Lewis), and his description of the landscape and the protagonist's activities were beautifully composed; however, those passages were too few and far between to make this a compelling read.
I'll probably read this book again when I'm older and have worked out my own opinions more thoroughly, but I don't know if I would recommend "The Pilgrim's Regress" to anyone.
Put another way, there were many wonderful nuggets of humor and discernment (as is typical to Lewis), and his description of the landscape and the protagonist's activities were beautifully composed; however, those passages were too few and far between to make this a compelling read.
I'll probably read this book again when I'm older and have worked out my own opinions more thoroughly, but I don't know if I would recommend "The Pilgrim's Regress" to anyone.
Thought-provoking as ever, CS Lewis gets to the heart of what looking for meaning in life means, the sacrifices and the joys that finding your way entails and the nature and diversity of distractions you will likely meet before you find it.
The critiques here on Wisdom, Science, Reason, Sensibleness, Enlightenment (1 &2) all hit home. My favourite quote is from a conversation with Mr Sensible:
"Reason! Do you mean the mad woman who goes riding about the country dressed up in armour? […] There is a strange confusion in our language here, for the reasonableness which I commend has no more dangerous enemy than Reason […] Sense is easy, Reason is hard. Sense knows where to stop with gracious inconsistency, but Reason slavishly follows an abstract logic, wither she knows not. The one seeks comfort and finds it, the other seeks truth and is still seeking. [..] She leads us from our true aim - joy, pleasure, ease, content, […] She is a fanatic who never learned from my master the golden mean and, being a mortal, to think mortal thoughts."
The critiques here on Wisdom, Science, Reason, Sensibleness, Enlightenment (1 &2) all hit home. My favourite quote is from a conversation with Mr Sensible:
"Reason! Do you mean the mad woman who goes riding about the country dressed up in armour? […] There is a strange confusion in our language here, for the reasonableness which I commend has no more dangerous enemy than Reason […] Sense is easy, Reason is hard. Sense knows where to stop with gracious inconsistency, but Reason slavishly follows an abstract logic, wither she knows not. The one seeks comfort and finds it, the other seeks truth and is still seeking. [..] She leads us from our true aim - joy, pleasure, ease, content, […] She is a fanatic who never learned from my master the golden mean and, being a mortal, to think mortal thoughts."
An allegory far more relevant to the 20th and 21st century than Bunyan's, unsurprisingly, and with the added attraction of being in Lewis' rather more poignant and concise prose. Excellent.
Significantly better than Bunyan's work. A really whimsical, thoughtful religious allegory.
http://nhw.livejournal.com/1069727.html[return][return]This book is overtly attempting to recast its great model in terms suitable for an intellectual Anglican of the 1920s or 1930s. Lewis's metaphors are even less subtle than Bunyan's (at one point he supplies footnotes so that we can be sure which philosophers he is parodying). He has more of a sense of humour than Bunyan, which is something. But I rather felt the whole book was a series of mots d'escalier after losing the argument over dinner at High Table; poor Bunyan was in prison for years, which is a rather different matter. It is fortunate that the first chapter is a rather effective skewering of smug Anglicans, otherwise it would have been difficult to take at all.
What a strange little book. It goes to show that every author has a dud. It’s a funny, obscure look into Lewis’ early life as a new Christian and an author.
I wish I had the patience to write longer reviews, but I don't, so here are my thoughts in a nutshell. The allegorical storytelling got old fast. I think I would have much better enjoyed a collection of essays on how he moved from popular thinking to the Christian faith. I also might have enjoyed it more if the allegories weren't so dry and uninspired. If I weren't such a huge Lewis fan I probably wouldn't have enjoyed this one as much as I did.
I REALLY didnt want to give this book a one star rating since I like Lewis...but I just couldn’t continue reading it. Pilgrims Progress is a simpler and more profound read.
Love, love, love!!! I wasn't sure what to expect of The Pilgrim's Regress. Allegories? What do I know of those? Would it take a translator to make sense? Far from it, though, this book made sense. It was really enjoyable, and though this is not my favorite by him, C.S. Lewis has rocked my world again with another excellent book.
This was the first book Lewis wrote after becoming a Christian. It allegorically describes the various perceptions, intellectualism, philosophies and ultimate disappointments he encountered on his way to finally becoming a Christian.
It's a clever concept, but Lewis' writing vastly improved in his later works.
It's a clever concept, but Lewis' writing vastly improved in his later works.