allegory

Hangin’ with The Magician’s Nephew

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

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Some people like to spend their annual vacation in Panama City or Savannah or Gatlinburg. I myself like to visit Narnia on a yearly basis. So it’s that time again when I pick up The Magician’s Nephew and commence on re-reading The Chronicles of Narnia.

Back in the day, the series started with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and went in the order in which C. S. Lewis wrote them. Now, the series starts with The Magician’s Nephew, which involves the creation of Narnia, and progresses chronologically in terms of the story line rather than in the order in which the books were published. Is that clear as mud?

Either way, they’re great books. They always encourage me and reaffirm my faith without being overly preachy. Even those who don’t care much for Christianity can read these books and find much to like. Or so I would imagine.

I highly recommend these books to anyone who likes allegorical fiction (even though these books aren’t really allegories in the strictest sense) or just good literature. They were written for children but anyone who is young at heart will love them.

I will keep you updated as I move through the seven books in the series.

 

Revisiting Another Old Favorite

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 3 Comments

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I have certain books that I like to read annually. For me, it’s like going back to a familiar place for vacation and seeing the same people, yet hopefully discovering something new this time that you missed the last time.

For me, the books I read every year are The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Trilogy.

That last one is what I’m reading right now. Lewis wrote them in the 1940’s before space exploration, so the science part may seem outdated. But I always took the books for allegories anyway, so that part doesn’t bother me so much.

I am fascinated by the idea of an ordinary man trying to help out another and getting kidnapped for all his troubles and taken aboard a space vessel headed for Malacandra (you’ll have to read the books if you want to know where that is).

Not only was Lewis very good at articulating his faith, he was one of the best story-tellers around. I like to think that he was always a child at heart even when he was nearing the end of his life and never lost the sense of the wonder and awe associated with childhood.

I realize that there are so many worthwhile books I haven’t read yet. I realize that if I am to read all the books on my to-read list, I will have to live to be older than Methuselah. Assuming no more really good books are written from this point on.

But sometimes I just have to go back. I need to see familiar faces and places again. I need to get away from reality for a while.

If you have books that you like to revisit annually, I’d like to know what they are. I may have missed them and might want to add them to my gargantuan-yet-ever-growing list of books to read. Maybe I’ll get around to them in a millennium or so.