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fatherroderick 's review for:
The Last Battle
by C.S. Lewis
I enjoyed this last book of the Narnia Saga for what is at the same time its weakness: of all the books in the series, this one is the most clearly one big allegory of the Christian faith C.S. Lewis held dear.
As I expected, the Last Battle is Lewis' version of the major themes of the Book of Revelation, and part of my enjoyment of this story is recognizing all the parallels between the biblical themes and the ones in this final book of the Narnia series.
However, all the religious parallels are also VERY on the nose. It lacks a certain artistic and creative freedom, and I can fully understand Tolkien's criticism of what Lewis does here.
Now that I've finally read the whole saga, I notice much more how Lewis didn't evolve his storytelling from a children's tale to a more adult, grown-up story, even though some of the characters do grow up. The stories of Tolkien or Harry Potter do 'grow up' with their readers, and grow more complex and interesting over time. I wonder what the story of Narnia would have been if it had followed the same evolution.
But it doesn't. So it remains a well-told, somewhat pious children's story that for many is probably more a beloved, nostalgic memory than a world they'd like to return to time and again...
As I expected, the Last Battle is Lewis' version of the major themes of the Book of Revelation, and part of my enjoyment of this story is recognizing all the parallels between the biblical themes and the ones in this final book of the Narnia series.
However, all the religious parallels are also VERY on the nose. It lacks a certain artistic and creative freedom, and I can fully understand Tolkien's criticism of what Lewis does here.
Now that I've finally read the whole saga, I notice much more how Lewis didn't evolve his storytelling from a children's tale to a more adult, grown-up story, even though some of the characters do grow up. The stories of Tolkien or Harry Potter do 'grow up' with their readers, and grow more complex and interesting over time. I wonder what the story of Narnia would have been if it had followed the same evolution.
But it doesn't. So it remains a well-told, somewhat pious children's story that for many is probably more a beloved, nostalgic memory than a world they'd like to return to time and again...