Review: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis

Title: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Author: CS Lewis
Series: Chronicles of Narnia #2 (chronological), #1 (published)
Genre: Fantasy (Middle Grade)
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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was published in 1950, and it was the book that first introduced readers to the World of Narnia. Years later, in 1955, Lewis wrote a prequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, entitled The Magician’s Nephew. While The Magician’s Nephew was the sixth Narnia book to be written, many readers prefer to begin the series with The Magician’s Nephew.

Like I said in my post about The Magician’s Nephew, I’ve known the story of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe since I was a child and I’ve always liked the story and I enjoyed actually reading it. I’ve always thought the ending was kind of abrupt; one moment the Pevensies are in Narnia, the next moment they’re not and the story’s over. I’ve always thought the abruptness might be a symptom of the movies not being able to fit more of the story into the required amount of time. However, as I read the book, I realized how faithful the movies were to the storyline. The book’s ending is really that abrupt, which I didn’t like because it didn’t feel like there was much closure to the story.

Now that I know the book isn’t even 250 pages long, it doesn’t surprise me that the movies are as faithful to the storyline as they are. However, even with the movies being as faithful as they are and having such wonderful imagery as they do, I still enjoyed reading the book more. My favorite thing about reading a book is that you know what the characters are thinking and unless a movie’s narrated, you just don’t get that same level of intimacy with the characters.

I’m quite happy that I’ve actually taken the time to read (or start reading) the series. I’m probably the only person that never read the books as a child. Only five more to go.