C. S. Lewis' third book written in the Narnia series (or fifth if we're going chronologically as I am) is unique in that it is pure adventure and exploration, with very little in the way of plot. There is no antagonist, unless one counts Eustace, the nasty cousin of Edmund and Lucy who is sucked into Narnia with them through a magic painting. The opening of the book is an extremely bizarre passage where we gain some insight into the kinds of things C. S. Lewis hates, namely 'very up-to-date and advanced people ... vegetarians, non-smokers and tee-totallers.' In other words, hippies? The boy that came out of such people fills a similar role to Edmund in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, although arguably his redemption arc is finished a little too early in the book to be as impactful as it might have been. Not only that, but his character is more or less sidelined in the second half.
As for the narrative, King Caspian and the three children, along with mouse Reepicheep and a crew of under developed seamen are sailing east to discover new lands and track down seven lords who went missing in the reign of the evil King Miraz. The adventures are naturally episodic, as in the style of The Odyssey, which is openly referenced by Edmund. I enjoyed this book a lot, but it does not quite reach the same level of greatness as some of the others. Aslan has become more Christlike than ever, and the religious parallels are pretty brazen. Toward the end of the book, we discover that he goes by another name in the realm of Edmund, Lucy and Eustace. There is much to excite and inspire the imagination of younger minds, if you can overlook some heavy handed symbolism and a rushed story. It could have used an extra chapter to flesh out the ending.
Rating: 3/5
No comments:
Post a Comment