Review of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"

"You are in fact Human?"

     In his high fantasy novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, author C.S. Lewis explores a magical land deep in the throes of a hundred-year winter. When Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie are shipped to the countryside to escape the World War II air raids, they recognize at once that they are extremely lucky. The professor whose house they are visiting is a distant, if kindhearted, old man who lets them do as they please, and their only source of grief is Mrs. Macready, the housekeeper, an irritable woman who insists they stay out of her way during her guided tours. One day, while exploring the mansion, Lucy steps into a large wardrobe. On the other side is Narnia, a forested world up to its neck in winter. When she returns, no one will believe her--but when the siblings are forced into the wardrobe to avoid one of Macready's tours, they are swept up in a war that has been brewing for a hundred years and is terribly, frightfully personal.

     Although Lewis employs a writing style in The Lion that many modern critics would consider "outdated", whether or not that is true is irrelevant. With his bare-bones descriptions and storyteller air, Lewis perfectly captures the themes, era, and setting of the Pevensies' lives. They start out in twentieth century England and soon fall headfirst into another world outside our own time, where an ancient prophecy foretells of an epic battle between heroes and the forces of evil. Lucy and her siblings aren't knights, and they don't have to be; when the enchanted winter cast by Narnia's tyrannical ruler begins to crumble and the true king returns to restore his kingdom, the Pevensie children find ways to utilize their natural talents to aid the war effort.

     The protagonists in Lewis' little tale are surprisingly complex. Sure, they aren't jumbled messes of tangled emotions, but each struggles with his own issues throughout the narrative. Lucy, for example, must face down a trio of older siblings who insist she pulled Narnia, with its fauns and conscious trees and other fantastic creatures, straight from her imagination. The responsibility of keeping their younger siblings safe weighs heavily on the minds of Susan and Peter. And Edmund is confronted with perhaps the hardest trial of all when he meets the White Witch, queen of the realm, alone and without hope of guidance. Each is a fully formed character capable of standing on his own, though they are better off together. Each has a story arc that is, if not always dramatic, at least fulfilling. And they are all sympathetic, which makes the tale that much more absorbing.

     While The Lion contains some Christian themes, it is suitable for children and families of any faith, or lack thereof. A major figure's sacrifice and eventual triumph are reminiscent of Christ, but nothing is heavy-handed or preachy. All else--the battle between good and evil, the fairy-tale creatures who greet our heroes around every corner--is similar to what one would find in any other fantasy novel. Violence is relatively mild, and while profanity doesn't make an appearance, characters occasionally insult each other.

     I would recommend this book to tweens and older children interested in an adventure story with magic, believable characters, and solid themes tucked between the pages. Lucy, Peter, Edmund, and Susan are cast into a world where anything is possible, from conjuring food out of snow to a heartless betrayal. While it isn't the earliest chapter in the Chronicles of Narnia according to the timeline, this title is written as a series opener and fits the role perfectly. For magic, worldbuilding, and good morals, C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe definitely deserves five stars.