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mkyd 's review for:
The Horse and His Boy
by C.S. Lewis
Been reading these to my son. They were my very favorites as a child. And, indeed, this set of books, given to me on Christmas in 1979, is my oldest possession. It has been a great joy to re-read them and to share this experience with him.
Having said all that, I will admit to having absolutely no memory of this tale. Perhaps at the time I found it a bit confusing. There is lots of geography, strange customs, and the narrative wanders off for a bit and returns at least twice. The adult, 21st Century version of myself is a bit put out by the cartoon-ish presentation of what can only be a cartoon-ish spin on a near-eastern society. Alas, it was written by an Englishman during the collapse of their imperialism. I don't doubt the C.S. Lewis' intentions were good, but wow.
Of course, one can argue that the portrayal of an English school in Book 4 (original series numbering) paints an even darker picture. It seems that the only place honesty and goodness can be found is in Narnia itself.
Entertaining, nonetheless. Not nearly as good as "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", and the delightfully active narrative of "The Voyage the Dawn Treader", but this one is certainly entertaining. And old notions of how the world was perceived are a great opportunity to spark discussion with one's child about equality among gender and nations. Always.
I'm afraid the 20th Century left us quite a lot to clean up. But we are up to the task. Yes.
Having said all that, I will admit to having absolutely no memory of this tale. Perhaps at the time I found it a bit confusing. There is lots of geography, strange customs, and the narrative wanders off for a bit and returns at least twice. The adult, 21st Century version of myself is a bit put out by the cartoon-ish presentation of what can only be a cartoon-ish spin on a near-eastern society. Alas, it was written by an Englishman during the collapse of their imperialism. I don't doubt the C.S. Lewis' intentions were good, but wow.
Of course, one can argue that the portrayal of an English school in Book 4 (original series numbering) paints an even darker picture. It seems that the only place honesty and goodness can be found is in Narnia itself.
Entertaining, nonetheless. Not nearly as good as "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", and the delightfully active narrative of "The Voyage the Dawn Treader", but this one is certainly entertaining. And old notions of how the world was perceived are a great opportunity to spark discussion with one's child about equality among gender and nations. Always.
I'm afraid the 20th Century left us quite a lot to clean up. But we are up to the task. Yes.