The final book in the Chronicles of Narnia series was my least favourite as a child. Deeply allegorical, to the point in which it overtakes the story, the tale is a grim one where evil triumphs over good (if you ignore the end Nirvana sequence) and the land of Narnia itself is destroyed. The plot begins with an ape called Shift brainwashing his simple-minded Donkey friend/slave Puzzle into donning a lion skin and pretending to be Aslan. With this trick, he joins forces with the Calormenes and begins to take over Narnia, corrupting the talking animals through treacherous means. The last king of Narnia, Tirian, along with his companion Jewel, the unicorn, and recurring characters Eustace and Jill from our world, team up to try and put a stop to the sinister plot. The stakes are high, the situation hopeless, and Aslan is not around this time to come roaring in to save the day.
More than any other book in the chronicles, The Last Battle has come under a lot of criticism for its racist and sexist undertones. The Calormen are described as cruel and dark skinned in comparison to the noble and white skinned Narnians. Several times they are even referred to as 'darkies' by dwarves. They worship a demonic entity called Tash. The sexism manifests in how the character of Susan is treated. Having embraced feminity, makeup and parties, she has been declared an enemy of Narnia and cannot join the others in Aslan's paradise. Some writers have been notoriously sensitive about Susan's banishment, even prompting Neil Gaimon to write a short story about her redemption. At the end of the book we learn that everybody is dead and the new world they enter is a sort of Heaven. It's supposed to be symbolic of entering God's kingdom and ascending to a better existence, but some readers may find this too traumatic.
Rating: 2/5
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