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A review by emmacb
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
This would have had a higher rating mainly out of nostalgia as this was my favourite book of the Narnia Chronicles when I was younger, but for one thing...
This one was interesting to re-read as it was set mostly in a middle-eastern inspired region, with characters also from that region. Unsurprisingly, the depiction is not great, but given historical context I will at least say that within the undeniably racist stereotypes, there are also characters that show the Calormens not to be homogenous.
Still, the 'white Narnia good, brown Calormen bad' messaging is pretty hefty so overall, much as I loved this as a kid, and much as it's still a good adventure story, I wouldn't be encouraging my future kids to read it without some pretty serious context and discussion, if at all!
This one was interesting to re-read as it was set mostly in a middle-eastern inspired region, with characters also from that region. Unsurprisingly, the depiction is not great, but given historical context I will at least say that within the undeniably racist stereotypes, there are also characters that show the Calormens not to be homogenous.
Still, the 'white Narnia good, brown Calormen bad' messaging is pretty hefty so overall, much as I loved this as a kid, and much as it's still a good adventure story, I wouldn't be encouraging my future kids to read it without some pretty serious context and discussion, if at all!