As a child, I was enchanted by the worlds in The Magician's Nephew - the descriptions of Charn, the creation of Narnia, and the Woods Between the Worlds - but I found myself cringing at the decidedly unsubtle allegory when I reread the book recently.

There is no avoiding the fact that this book is about Good versus Evil, nor that it is attempting to retell one of the creation stories from Genesis with the creation of Narnia. Everyone seems rather wooden and pushed into the rolls Lewis wants them to take and there is no real suspense or wonder. The good end happily and the bad do not, except for Jadis who must play the roll of Eden's serpent.

Furthermore, I was rather appalled at the treatment of Polly, the female Ketterleys, and Nellie/Queen Helen. I wish that I could better explain what I find so unsettling about them, but I can only point vaguely at their uselessness. I really didn't get a positive, empathetic feeling towards any of the women in the story, except for Mrs Kirke - and I suspect she only slides by because she's Digory's mother and she's ill.

So, that's that. It's an interesting little book, but steeped in 1950s children's book conventions, and it could use a good deal of updating to match it with modern sensibilities and a more dynamic writer.

Oh, and: I'm told in the opening pages that Lewis intended it to be read first among the Chronicles of Narnia, but I must disagree with this. To have such a blatantly allegorical story first in the set is to lose much of the wonder of discovering Narnia through the wardrobe with the Pevensie children. Besides which, much of the suspense and wonder in the second book are dashed away with all the background information that The Magician's Nephew provides.
As a child, I was enchanted by the worlds in The Magician's Nephew - the descriptions of Charn, the creation of Narnia, and the Woods Between the Worlds - but I found myself cringing at the decidedly unsubtle allegory when I reread the book recently. There is no avoiding the fact that this book is about Good versus Evil, nor that it is attempting to retell one of the creation stories from Genesis with the creation of Narnia. Everyone seems rather wooden and pushed into the rolls Lewis wants them to take and there is no real suspense or wonder. The good end happily and the bad do not, except for Jadis who must play the roll of Eden's serpent. Furthermore, I was rather appalled at the treatment of Polly, the female Ketterleys, and Nellie/Queen Helen. I wish that I could better explain what I find so unsettling about them, but I can only point vaguely at their uselessness. I really didn't get a positive, empathetic feeling towards any of the women in the story, except for Mrs Kirke - and I suspect she only slides by because she's Digory's mother and she's ill. So, that's that. It's an interesting little book, but steeped in 1950s children's book conventions, and it could use a good deal of updating to match it with modern sensibilities and a more dynamic writer. Oh, and: I'm told in the opening pages that Lewis intended it to be read first among the Chronicles of Narnia, but I must disagree with this. To have such a blatantly allegorical story first in the set is to lose much of the wonder of discovering Narnia through the wardrobe with the Pevensie children. Besides which, much of the suspense and wonder in the second book are dashed away with all the background information that The Magician's Nephew provides.