The Magician's Nephew

The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

After finishing Silas Marner, I was lost in regards to reading. Generally, I easily alight on a new book without much difficulty. I may not read quickly all of the time or rabidly, but I usually do have something that I enjoy reading nearby. Not so for the last few weeks. Metaphorically speaking, my search for a read has been akin to a night full of tossing and turning - looking for the best, coolest spot on the pillow.

I finished most of a Brave New World (a re-read), carried around the sequel to Wicked Lovely, and began a YA novel of unknown title that my sister said was good. But nothing really settled. I finally sat down, determined. I would begin reading the Chronicles of Narnia series. I had watched the two movies again - HD Blu-Ray, and I thought that I should really learn more.

I've started with the first: The Magician's Nephew. This book was written after The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and tells the reader of the creation of Narnia.

Digory and Polly are two London children who find themselves thrown into another world due to the work of Digory's magician uncle (hence, the title). While hopping through worlds, they accidentally awaken the evil queen Jadis (who later becomes the White Witch) and bring her back to London. There she wreaks havoc on all sorts of things, and the children successfully maneuvered her out of our world and into an unborn world - the future world of Narnia. While floating in this unformed world, the group (for the children bring more people than intended), the birth song of the world - sung by Aslan - is heard. Aslan's song brings the world and its creations into being. Aslan gives chosen animals thought and speech.

The shame of this beautiful new world is that the son of Adam -Digory- brought evil into the Narnia, that being Jadis. Digory is sent on a mission by Aslan: to find and return with a powerful silver apple, but not to be tempted to eat it. Digory resists the temptation and returns with the apple. However, Jadis finds the tree and eats from it. When Digory returns to Aslan, they plant the apple, which Aslan tells the creatures it will provide them with protection against the White Witch. As a reward, Aslan provides Digory with another silver apple to help save his dying mother back in Earth. When the children return, Digory revives his mother with the apple and then buries the apple core and all other magical paraphernalia in the ground. A tree grows. This is the wood from which the wardrobe was created.

My Thoughts:
This is a dry read, one definitely more fit for illustrations because the text isn't exactly absorbing. The action sequences are low-key, and the story line is not movie-made. However, it does provide nice background info for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I kind of like to the think that the Bartle book by Rowling probably has a similar feel.

Regardless, this was a fun and quick read. I enjoyed the background info and I really like the fact that I know why there was a lamp post in the middle of the woods in the movie.

Grade: B-/C+

Side Note: At one point the newly born creatures of Narnia mistake the uncle for a talking lettuce. This made me think of a story about cabbage that could talk and feel. It was written by Bergerac in a book called The Other World. Anyway, I googled it and found that C.S. Lewis has a book of compiled essays and stories called Of Other Worlds. Connection? IDK.