Reviews with content warning for Slavery - The Last Battle

Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

9 reviews

abitterknitter's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

sleepy_giraffe's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful inspiring tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

lizziaha's review against another edition

Go to review page

1.0

It’s been said before but truly I could not focus on anything except the BLATANT racism in this book, ft. our beloved heroes doing blackface, “darkies” (lewis’s word, not mine) worshipping a god that is revealed to be a demon, and an evil ape (really the racist symbolism is so transparent) creating a fake Aslan for his own gain. I see what c.s. lewis is doing, and it infuriates me. As someone who was raised Christian, i found the rhetoric in this book deeply distasteful. Being intimately familiar with Christian beliefs, i just can’t stop thinking about how this book could be so much better. The ending felt like the biggest cop out ever,

the end of the world of narnia

felt rushed and also i felt like it wasn’t a true representation of biblical end times. And don’t even get me started on Susan 😤

Content Warnings

auntiejamie's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Read this book as a kid and decided to revisit it. Big mistake. Lewis lets his casual racism and misogyny fly. It's awful. There's a part of me that wishes I hadn't reread the book so I could hold all the good memories in my mind.

Content Warnings

esme_may's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

This book was so unbelievably racist. It deals with the Calormenes very badly and constantly presents Asian as the ‘right’ god to believe in. It only manages to be better than The Horse and His Boy by not being painfully boring

Content Warnings

hildemeriksen's review

Go to review page

Content Warnings

ymer's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous medium-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

1.75

Content Warnings

lalalily17's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

I was really liking this book for the first bit, but then it all came crashing down. First off, the racism. I tried to deal with it in the Horse and His Boy but in this book it's just too much. It's sickening how often the Narnians, who are supposed to be the good guys, are described as fair haired and skinned, while the Calormens are literally called "Darkies" by the Dwarves and no one stops them. The Calormens use slavery and follow this terrible god, while the white people, sorry, the Narnians, are the victims. The whole concept hurts my soul.

Also, what the heck was that bit about Susan?! I'm soooo pissed the Lewis just threw her away, saying she's more interesting in fashion and boys. He did her wrong and I will die on this hill.

I did however, really enjoy Jill and Lucy through this all. They are brave strong young woman but are also wonderfully tender hearted. I loved when Tiran said that they were right the weep over the last battle and the dwarves and that he too was crying. He was always very emotional and respectful of woman.

I also loved the whole bit with Emeth. I am a Christian myself and I've always struggled with believing that God would not save ALL people, whether they know of God or not. It made me very happy when Aslan told Emeth that even though he had spent his whole life following an evil god, he was still welcome in Narnia (heaven) because he was a good person. That's how I believe God feels toward non Christians who try to be good, honest people.

So, clearly I have a lot of problems with this book and the whole Narnia vs Calormen, white vs black, but no ones perfect, not even a great writer like C. S. Lewis. I don't hold it against him. He was living in a different time. I think people should still read these books. My only hope is that they see there flaws and understand that some of it is racist.

Content Warnings

mfletcher's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really don’t know what to say; this book destroyed me. The first half was just horrible and dark and eventually saw an end that was both incredibly sad and hopeful. I wanted nothing more than for the end to be false.

I did have a couple of issues with this. Firstly, there is a whole lot of grey morality where there isn’t supposed to be. Secondly, I wasn’t a huge fan of Titian. Despite these issues, I just can’t be mad at this book for some bizarre emotional reason, and so it has my 4 stars.

Content Warnings

More...