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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
Definitely a nostalgia read, but plenty of charming moments and cool world-building. But not as exciting of a story as the rest of the installments in the series.
The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis: Adventure. Children. Witch. Animal. Magic.
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Sebenarnya ini buku adek, tapi karena belum pernah baca novel Narnia sama sekali, jadi kepo mau nyoba baca. Ternyata seru juga.
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Even, I wonder when the last time I feel this experience, such as peaceful, warm, meaningful, and refreshing. Tipe novel anak-anak banget lah, yang kamu gak harus mikir keras untuk memahami cerita yang ada, cukup duduk manis dan baca.
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Apalagi ini jadi fun fact banget karena cuma nonton filmnya. Soalnya jadi tau kenapa lemari di film bisa tembus ke hutan Narnia. Interesting.
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Awalnya sempat bingung, kok beda banget sama filmnya, terus nyoba ngingat-ngingat kalau pernah ada yang bilang versi film itu loncat-loncat, gak dari novel pertama. After that I decided to read till the end, wanna know how the story of the first book is going.
.
Bagi yang belum baca novelnya, saranku coba aja baca, bisa sebagai selingan current read yang topiknya berat; bikin mikir, sadis, rumit, dan sejenisnya.
.
Sebenarnya ini buku adek, tapi karena belum pernah baca novel Narnia sama sekali, jadi kepo mau nyoba baca. Ternyata seru juga.
.
Even, I wonder when the last time I feel this experience, such as peaceful, warm, meaningful, and refreshing. Tipe novel anak-anak banget lah, yang kamu gak harus mikir keras untuk memahami cerita yang ada, cukup duduk manis dan baca.
.
Apalagi ini jadi fun fact banget karena cuma nonton filmnya. Soalnya jadi tau kenapa lemari di film bisa tembus ke hutan Narnia. Interesting.
.
Awalnya sempat bingung, kok beda banget sama filmnya, terus nyoba ngingat-ngingat kalau pernah ada yang bilang versi film itu loncat-loncat, gak dari novel pertama. After that I decided to read till the end, wanna know how the story of the first book is going.
.
Bagi yang belum baca novelnya, saranku coba aja baca, bisa sebagai selingan current read yang topiknya berat; bikin mikir, sadis, rumit, dan sejenisnya.
- Creation, Creator, and the Dignity of Life-
In The Magician’s Nephew, Lewis gives a vivid account of the dawn of the kingdom of Narnia, the primary setting in the rest of The Chronicles of Narnia series. The burgeoning vitality of this world finds its origin in Aslan’s innate, inexhaustible creativity. Those whom Aslan creates, or those who come to share in his world through their gratitude and wonder at his creation, are endowed with dignity and beauty by association with him. By contrast, those who mistrust Aslan resist and seek to exploit the beauty of his world, even failing to see it for what it is. Through this juxtaposition, Lewis suggests that the beauty and dignity of the world and its creatures is upheld by those who honor its creator.
In the story, creation is invested with overflowing life, beauty, and dignity by Aslan, and those who respond in gratitude to Aslan share in that abundance. First, Narnia is sung into existence by Aslan. The children listen in wonder to his various songs of creation: “[The second song] was softer and more lilting than the song by which he had called up the stars and the sun; a gentle, rippling music. And as he walked and sang the valley grew green with grass. It spread out from the Lion like a pool. It ran up the sides of the little hills like a wave. In a few minutes it was creeping up the lower slopes of the distant mountains, making that young world every moment softer. The light wind could now be heard ruffling the grass. Soon there were other things besides grass.” They observe that this world’s life proceeds directly from Aslan and his song. In this way, the land of Narnia is a piece of Aslan himself.
Not just the land, but the life of its creatures springs from Aslan himself. Aslan sets apart certain creatures as Talking Beasts, whose special vitality—their self-awareness and kindly dominion over lesser beasts—is a gift from their creator: “‘Creatures, I give you yourselves,’ said the strong, happy voice of Aslan. ‘I give to you forever this land of Narnia. I give you the woods, the fruits, the rivers. I give you the stars and I give you myself. The Dumb Beasts whom I have not chosen are yours also. Treat them gently and cherish them but do not go back to their ways lest you cease to be Talking Beasts.’” The sentience of the Talking Beasts reflects the overflowing beauty of Aslan. He instills a sense of wonder and respect for life, mandating that Narnia and its inhabitants be stewarded well and with justice. Notably, too, a failure to treat lesser creatures justly will result in a fading of the gift of sentience.
Those who dislike and mistrust Aslan fail to recognize the beauty of his creation, and they seek to misuse it or are altogether repelled by it. For instance, Uncle Andrew’s first instinct is to assume that Narnia can be exploited for material gain: “I have discovered a world where everything is bursting with life and growth. Columbus, now, they talk about Columbus. But what was America to this? The commercial possibilities of this country are unbounded. Bring a few old bits of scrap iron here, bury ’em, and up they come as brand new railway engines, battleships, anything you please. […] I shall be a millionaire. And then the climate! I feel years younger already. I can run it as a health resort. A good sanatorium here might be worth twenty thousand a year. Of course I shall have to let a few people into the secret. The first thing is to get that brute shot.” Uncle Andrew’s first reaction to Narnia’s bursting life is not grateful wonder. Rather, it’s a cynical desire to use Narnia to enrich himself—exploiting the land’s magical properties to “grow” machines of war, and exploiting people’s vulnerabilities to make himself rich through a health resort. Ultimately, he wants to use Narnia as a means to increase his own notoriety. To do all this, Uncle Andrew will have to kill Aslan. His ambitions show that he fundamentally misunderstands not just Narnia, but Aslan as its very source of life. Without Aslan as Narnia’s creator and ruler, the kingdom’s beauty and value can’t continue to exist as it does.
To an extent, Narnia is protected by the obliviousness of those who reject Aslan. “Son of Adam,’” Aslan tells Digory after he plants the protective Apple Tree, “‘you have sown well. And you, Narnians, let it be your first care to guard this Tree, for it is your Shield. […] [W]hile that Tree flourishes [the Witch] will never come down into Narnia. She dare not come within a hundred miles of the Tree, for its smell, which is joy and life and health to you, is death and horror and despair to her.’” In other words, the overflowing life of this Tree—again, a kind of echo of Aslan’s own life—repels those who do not recognize Aslan’s beauty. The threat posed by Uncle Andrew can be disposed of more easily, because it’s a more naïve misreading of what Narnia is. The Witch’s threat, however, will require ongoing vigilance.
Aslan’s warning to the Narnians to guard the Tree is soon followed up with a like warning for residents of the human world. Aslan tells Polly and Digory, “[V]ery soon, before you are an old man and an old woman, great nations in your world will be ruled by tyrants who care no more for joy and justice and mercy than the Empress Jadis. Let your world beware.” Lewis would almost certainly have had in mind the outrages against human dignity committed during the World Wars, WWII still a fresh memory when he wrote. But Aslan’s command to vigilance is invested with Aslan’s special power, too: “[S]uch a sweetness and power rolled about them and over them and entered them that they felt they had never really been happy or wise or good, or even alive and awake, before.” By portraying Aslan’s wise dominion over Narnia as he does, Lewis discourages both a naïve outlook on the world’s evils and hopelessness in the face of them.
In conclusion, this is a banger.
In The Magician’s Nephew, Lewis gives a vivid account of the dawn of the kingdom of Narnia, the primary setting in the rest of The Chronicles of Narnia series. The burgeoning vitality of this world finds its origin in Aslan’s innate, inexhaustible creativity. Those whom Aslan creates, or those who come to share in his world through their gratitude and wonder at his creation, are endowed with dignity and beauty by association with him. By contrast, those who mistrust Aslan resist and seek to exploit the beauty of his world, even failing to see it for what it is. Through this juxtaposition, Lewis suggests that the beauty and dignity of the world and its creatures is upheld by those who honor its creator.
In the story, creation is invested with overflowing life, beauty, and dignity by Aslan, and those who respond in gratitude to Aslan share in that abundance. First, Narnia is sung into existence by Aslan. The children listen in wonder to his various songs of creation: “[The second song] was softer and more lilting than the song by which he had called up the stars and the sun; a gentle, rippling music. And as he walked and sang the valley grew green with grass. It spread out from the Lion like a pool. It ran up the sides of the little hills like a wave. In a few minutes it was creeping up the lower slopes of the distant mountains, making that young world every moment softer. The light wind could now be heard ruffling the grass. Soon there were other things besides grass.” They observe that this world’s life proceeds directly from Aslan and his song. In this way, the land of Narnia is a piece of Aslan himself.
Not just the land, but the life of its creatures springs from Aslan himself. Aslan sets apart certain creatures as Talking Beasts, whose special vitality—their self-awareness and kindly dominion over lesser beasts—is a gift from their creator: “‘Creatures, I give you yourselves,’ said the strong, happy voice of Aslan. ‘I give to you forever this land of Narnia. I give you the woods, the fruits, the rivers. I give you the stars and I give you myself. The Dumb Beasts whom I have not chosen are yours also. Treat them gently and cherish them but do not go back to their ways lest you cease to be Talking Beasts.’” The sentience of the Talking Beasts reflects the overflowing beauty of Aslan. He instills a sense of wonder and respect for life, mandating that Narnia and its inhabitants be stewarded well and with justice. Notably, too, a failure to treat lesser creatures justly will result in a fading of the gift of sentience.
Those who dislike and mistrust Aslan fail to recognize the beauty of his creation, and they seek to misuse it or are altogether repelled by it. For instance, Uncle Andrew’s first instinct is to assume that Narnia can be exploited for material gain: “I have discovered a world where everything is bursting with life and growth. Columbus, now, they talk about Columbus. But what was America to this? The commercial possibilities of this country are unbounded. Bring a few old bits of scrap iron here, bury ’em, and up they come as brand new railway engines, battleships, anything you please. […] I shall be a millionaire. And then the climate! I feel years younger already. I can run it as a health resort. A good sanatorium here might be worth twenty thousand a year. Of course I shall have to let a few people into the secret. The first thing is to get that brute shot.” Uncle Andrew’s first reaction to Narnia’s bursting life is not grateful wonder. Rather, it’s a cynical desire to use Narnia to enrich himself—exploiting the land’s magical properties to “grow” machines of war, and exploiting people’s vulnerabilities to make himself rich through a health resort. Ultimately, he wants to use Narnia as a means to increase his own notoriety. To do all this, Uncle Andrew will have to kill Aslan. His ambitions show that he fundamentally misunderstands not just Narnia, but Aslan as its very source of life. Without Aslan as Narnia’s creator and ruler, the kingdom’s beauty and value can’t continue to exist as it does.
To an extent, Narnia is protected by the obliviousness of those who reject Aslan. “Son of Adam,’” Aslan tells Digory after he plants the protective Apple Tree, “‘you have sown well. And you, Narnians, let it be your first care to guard this Tree, for it is your Shield. […] [W]hile that Tree flourishes [the Witch] will never come down into Narnia. She dare not come within a hundred miles of the Tree, for its smell, which is joy and life and health to you, is death and horror and despair to her.’” In other words, the overflowing life of this Tree—again, a kind of echo of Aslan’s own life—repels those who do not recognize Aslan’s beauty. The threat posed by Uncle Andrew can be disposed of more easily, because it’s a more naïve misreading of what Narnia is. The Witch’s threat, however, will require ongoing vigilance.
Aslan’s warning to the Narnians to guard the Tree is soon followed up with a like warning for residents of the human world. Aslan tells Polly and Digory, “[V]ery soon, before you are an old man and an old woman, great nations in your world will be ruled by tyrants who care no more for joy and justice and mercy than the Empress Jadis. Let your world beware.” Lewis would almost certainly have had in mind the outrages against human dignity committed during the World Wars, WWII still a fresh memory when he wrote. But Aslan’s command to vigilance is invested with Aslan’s special power, too: “[S]uch a sweetness and power rolled about them and over them and entered them that they felt they had never really been happy or wise or good, or even alive and awake, before.” By portraying Aslan’s wise dominion over Narnia as he does, Lewis discourages both a naïve outlook on the world’s evils and hopelessness in the face of them.
In conclusion, this is a banger.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
inspiring
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Tenía muchísimas ganas de saber donde o como surgió narnia y el ropero, siempre me gustaron las películas se narnia, fueron especial para mi porque durante mi niñez me hacían imaginas en cualquier tipo de magia e hicieron que sea muy delulu entorno a los mundos mágicos y la fantasía.
Le doy 3 estrellas, es un libro fácil de leer y muy reconfortante pero sobre todo al fin saber el origen del ropero y como de fundó narnia fue increíble.
Le doy 3 estrellas, es un libro fácil de leer y muy reconfortante pero sobre todo al fin saber el origen del ropero y como de fundó narnia fue increíble.
I remember reading a couple of the books of this series in elementary school but it's nice to go back and see how everything fits together. plus it's super easy to get into reading this book so that makes it that much better to read!
How many times have I read these stories, I have lost count over the years! The charm never leaves them ❤️
This is the first time (since childhood) that I’ve opened this book. And now I remember why I adore these stories so much. This whole book tells the story of creation, and shows us just a small taste of Aslan’s kindness. Absolutely beautiful writing as Lewis transports you to the world of Narnia!
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Queen Jadis 😍