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A review by english_lady03
The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
5.0
I genuinely forgot how good this book was: and how much fun! It has been years since I originally read it, and I decided to listen to this audiobook version recently- although I think I may have heard it before.
It is narrated by none other than Kenneth Branagh, who does all the voices really well, and reads with a lot of expression and realism.
Above all though: I forget how much fun this book was. I was as entertained as a woman is her 30s as a 10 year old would be. From the 7 foot tall Jadis running amok in Victorian London and ripping up lamposts, to Diggory and Polly planting a toffee which grows into a Toffee Tree and Aslan making a London cabbie's horse, randomly pulled into Narnia into one of the first Narnian talking horses. Oh and then gives him wings too.
The diabolical Uncle Andrew being mistaken for a plant and the animals in Narnia, newly sentient trying to work out what he is & what to do with him was also a highlight.
The best part though has to be Jadis/The White Witch realizing Aslan is a force to be reckoned with when she tries to attack him with her lamp post (using it like a spear) and it simply bounces off him. Aslan carries on with what he is doing completetly unfazed.
What suprised me though on the second reading was the very interesting parallels with The Silmarillion and some of J.R.R Tolkien's other work. Aslan creating the world of Narnia and the surrounding countries through a song is *very* much like the Music of the Ainur. Interesting also how the unrighteous: Jadis and Andrew dislike his song and try to block it out, whereas all the others want to hear, and even join in.
There are also magic Rings, a reference to Atlantis: and Diggory's mother is called Mabel. Now its generally held that Diggory was based on the young Lewis himself: but his mother's name was not Mabel it was Florence Augusta: Mabel was, however the name of J.R.R Tolkien's mother. Like Tolkien, Diggory is also uprooted from the country to live in a city...
Hmm. Interesting parallels. Anyhow. Go read this book again and share it with your kids.
It is narrated by none other than Kenneth Branagh, who does all the voices really well, and reads with a lot of expression and realism.
Above all though: I forget how much fun this book was. I was as entertained as a woman is her 30s as a 10 year old would be. From the 7 foot tall Jadis running amok in Victorian London and ripping up lamposts, to Diggory and Polly planting a toffee which grows into a Toffee Tree and Aslan making a London cabbie's horse, randomly pulled into Narnia into one of the first Narnian talking horses. Oh and then gives him wings too.
The diabolical Uncle Andrew being mistaken for a plant and the animals in Narnia, newly sentient trying to work out what he is & what to do with him was also a highlight.
The best part though has to be Jadis/The White Witch realizing Aslan is a force to be reckoned with when she tries to attack him with her lamp post (using it like a spear) and it simply bounces off him. Aslan carries on with what he is doing completetly unfazed.
What suprised me though on the second reading was the very interesting parallels with The Silmarillion and some of J.R.R Tolkien's other work. Aslan creating the world of Narnia and the surrounding countries through a song is *very* much like the Music of the Ainur. Interesting also how the unrighteous: Jadis and Andrew dislike his song and try to block it out, whereas all the others want to hear, and even join in.
There are also magic Rings, a reference to Atlantis: and Diggory's mother is called Mabel. Now its generally held that Diggory was based on the young Lewis himself: but his mother's name was not Mabel it was Florence Augusta: Mabel was, however the name of J.R.R Tolkien's mother. Like Tolkien, Diggory is also uprooted from the country to live in a city...
Hmm. Interesting parallels. Anyhow. Go read this book again and share it with your kids.