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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
adventurous
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Uh, yeah. This novel was a little racist but it was made in the 1950s and I think something people don’t understand is that Aravis is a Calorman who marries a Narnian so it’s odd to say it’s racist in its entirety when part of the narrative is the two different races coming together as a team. I do think it’s aged but not entirely inappropriate to read to a child as it’s a good teaching about racism and culture and how things change. It’s also not that crazy as a narrative as Calormen aren’t real people and the entire country they come from is fictional (though definitely is comparative to some real life places). Also part of the novel was false idols as it’s an allegory for Christianity and that concept could be applied to any sort of people. Overall, to me the novel was just not as entertaining or as interesting as the two previous books.
adventurous
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Excellent adventure. The plot is straightforward with characters trying to get from Point A to Point B and encountering complications along the way. But Lewis is such a great writer that the complications are never episodic. They add to each other and build towards a great, satisfying conclusion.
And I love how characters from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - especially the Pevensie kids - figure into the whole thing.
And I love how characters from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - especially the Pevensie kids - figure into the whole thing.
adventurous
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“My good Horse, you’ve lost nothing but your self-conceit.”
This was always my least favorite book in this series. So far at least, it remains that way, but I think for different reasons. I'm not quite sure why I never really warmed to it when I was a kid. I'd like to think that my subconscious was responding to what my conscious mind is cringing at now, but I also think that a large part of it might be that this isn't really a portal fantasy, like the rest of the books are (The Last Battle also sort of isn't, and I don't really like that one all that much either). The entire book takes place in Narnia and the surrounding countries, there is no traveling back and forth between worlds, which is a big part of the appeal for me.
The basic bones of this story are sound. Lost orphan boy, magical talking horse, an adventure and a journey, and a found identity. A rousing battle and lessons learned about what makes a person worthy. It's just, ugh, Lewis really paints the Calormenes in a negative light, and it does mostly point to them as a race and not to them in a way that isn't problematic. The only good Calormen we meet is Aravis and she ends up abandoning her country forever. The illustrations are pretty racist, also.
I didn't remember at all how involved Aslan was in this book, but he's pretty omnipresent. That's him on the cover in disguise as a cat! I also liked that Bree the horse had his own little character arc. I did think that was a nice touch.
I don't really have much beyond any of that to say. Glad I've got this one under my belt, probably won't be revisiting it any time soon.
This was always my least favorite book in this series. So far at least, it remains that way, but I think for different reasons. I'm not quite sure why I never really warmed to it when I was a kid. I'd like to think that my subconscious was responding to what my conscious mind is cringing at now, but I also think that a large part of it might be that this isn't really a portal fantasy, like the rest of the books are (The Last Battle also sort of isn't, and I don't really like that one all that much either). The entire book takes place in Narnia and the surrounding countries, there is no traveling back and forth between worlds, which is a big part of the appeal for me.
The basic bones of this story are sound. Lost orphan boy, magical talking horse, an adventure and a journey, and a found identity. A rousing battle and lessons learned about what makes a person worthy. It's just, ugh, Lewis really paints the Calormenes in a negative light, and it does mostly point to them as a race and not to them in a way that isn't problematic. The only good Calormen we meet is Aravis and she ends up abandoning her country forever. The illustrations are pretty racist, also.
I didn't remember at all how involved Aslan was in this book, but he's pretty omnipresent. That's him on the cover in disguise as a cat! I also liked that Bree the horse had his own little character arc. I did think that was a nice touch.
I don't really have much beyond any of that to say. Glad I've got this one under my belt, probably won't be revisiting it any time soon.