The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis - Has it Aged Well?
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- Welcome to Narnia!
I'm the Book Guy, and I introduce books to you in a spoiler-free, exciting way to help you decide what you want to read. Do you want to try Narnia? And should you read it as a happy child, or grumpy adult?
I'll discuss all the pros and cons of the series with as many funny gags as I can fit in!
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rainbowspaceun...
I thought I had outgrown fiction especially fantasy in my teens. The Narnia Chronicles brought me back. It renewed my love of Easter. Lewis was a genius.
You make me so happy and I cannot describe why, something about you is so welcoming and comforting! Probably helps that I love Sci-Fi and Fantasy too, but yeah! I loved Narnia as a kid but only actually read The Magician's Nephew, so it would be interesting to read it to the end.
I have read C.S. Lewis's life story and all the Christian messages in the Narnia series make a lot more sense once you understand what state of mind he was in when he wrote the books.
Lewis wrote Narnia soon after converting to Christianity. As a Christian myself, I see Narnia as more of a testimony than something Lewis wrote for the purpose of becoming a successful author. The way I see it, it was a way for him to process this new route his life took, since he was a staunch atheist prior to the writing of Narnia.
Narnia is definitely not going to be for everyone, but you must give credit where it is due: it has had an undeniable influence on fantasy and that is one of the many reasons I respect it and its author.
Very interesting, thank you! This explains a lot regarding Narnia books 👍
It’s literally the point. It’s a Christian apologetic in a way
All about the hope of Aslan( Christ)
As a kid I didn’t understand that
Can adult Christian. I love to read read it because it seems fluffy and childish but it’s not. It’s very deep. Behind the obvious
@@nomadicrecovery1586as a child I never considered them very deep and as an adult I came to a very similar conclusion. The themes are very surface level and the text makes no attempts to hide the messaging.
Your Brooklyn 99 clips present me with a strong incentive to watch every one of your videos😅.
This is indeed the most entertaining booktube channel for a good while.
My brother just rewatched the first movie and now this pops up on my feed. This must be a sign.
Great video!
As a Christian myself, I prefer CS Lewis's non-fiction to the Narnia series
I always say that my kids should be able to read older books that are not edited or curated to match contemporary values, but that we should reflect on them together to learn how perceptions have changed over time and develop an opinion on where we personally stand now....guess I will do a lot of reflecting with them, when we start reading this....
You are sooooo right! By doing so, we can help children differentiate between moral and immoral values that were and maybe still are present in society.
The best book tube channel! This guy could encourage me to read anything
He has a great mind for picking out what makes a book or series special. Everything he talks about sounds good, but the stuff that would be good for me REALLY pops because he does such a good job showing what a series does specifically.
This is perfect - I read Narnia while in school and actually took a course on CS Lewis writing while in college. Was interesting to look back at it with an adult lens.
I really love the approach you took and the intro to the video is amazing as always.
I just discovered your channel and I'm getting into fantasy books again after some time. Love your humor. Read the Narnia series last year so this video was very relatable.
I read The magician’s nephew in my teens and enjoyed it quite a lot but for some reason I did not continue with the chronicles. I do need to make room for them next year.
Thank you for all the effort and love you put in every video!
Same. I was 14 when the first movie came out, and I found TMN in my house and checked it out and really enjoyed it. I think it's pretty underrated.
I am a 68 year old male.and I love Narnia. I have read the series at least 5 times
I see Narnia as something that is potentially valuable to read to better understand the landscape of influences on modern fantasy and that's about it. Unlike something like LotR which (while it does have it's problematic aspects) is just worth reading because it's a great series.
I was surprised you didn't mention The Magicians along with Pullman. That's a great series that directly plays with Narnia (essentially boy grows up reading Narnia, goes to Narnia when he's a teenager, trope inversion ensues).
I love the Chronicles of Narnia series and so do my kids. I had them read to me when I was younger and I’ve read them to my kids.
I credit this series with making me a fantasy-lover and a lover of stories in general - my dad read these to me when I was a kid and did all the voices and put so much magic into it. I don't remember grasping the religious connection until I was much older (which I see as a good thing). I just loved the idea of alternate dimensions and magical worlds. A very foundational series for me, despite all the problems it has that I didn't realize until later. I am fond of it for how it makes me think about both the good parts and the bad parts about the ideas behind it, and glad society has grown at least a bit since these books were written.
Read “The Narnia Code” by Michael Ward and you will have a new appreciation of this series. Brilliant.
Your introduction here was a 10/10, "an adult filled with cynicism and despair" I never felt so seen 🥹 For someone who has never read this type of series for some reason, your content is absolutely golden. Well structured, pointing out interesting discourse along the way - so well done! ✨
Narnia is a classic series
Subbing right now! More vids at your earliest convenience 🙏 please!! Love your work! Don’t overwork yourself tho 😉 lol
I've only read The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe while the rest of the books stare at me from the otherside of the room wondering when their time will come.
I couldn't stop laughing when you said you left out the harmful stereotypes talk in the Tolkien video, because yes I probably would have defended it. And now thinking back on that video is thet what you were eluding to when you said there was a debate about whether people should keep taking inspiration from it? -_-
Now for a plethora of side tangents!
As an aspiring author, a lot of the questions you brought up are things I have had to think about in my own writing. Like I want my work to be kid friendly but I'm not necessarily writing it for them, I do still want it to be fun and entertaining of course, so they'd brobbably enjoy it.
Or the forcing your beliefs onto readers or even characters, some of my characters have different beliefs than me and it's sometimes difficult to write them; because I like them and then I start to love them and then I have this thought "I can't like them unless they have the same opinions I do!" Which is not true at all and something I have to constantly remind myself of, it's not like I'm marrying them.
I have been thinking about religious stories since I consume a lot of them and find them very moving at times but it is common to see them trying to shove a message down your throat. Which is a little bit funny considering most of them are bassed off the scriptures, and one of the scriptures' main appeals is the ability to basically get something new out of it every time you read it.
This has made me wonder if non-religious people read them and just think of them as fantasy books? I don't have to believe my favorite characters actually exist in order to enjoy the books they are in and get something out of it, it does make it more fun though, I really want them to exist.
Haha! Yes Tolkien has really tricky issues of race...too complicated for me to tackle.
Wonderful tangent! I love tangents! :D Honestly, I'd love to make a video about including personal beliefs in books, and how to do it well. It's something close to my own heart as well.
Thank you, I love going on tangents! Especially when I watch videos that get me thinking.
And I would love to see you do a video on that topic
45 year old reexperiencing the magic of Narnia, and it has lost nothing.
Amén!!!!!!
Thanks for another great video. I really appreciate all the effort you put into all your videos! It must be a lot of work. Thank you for that :)
I would love to see a video on the His Dark Materials series. I think you would have an interesting and entertaining take on the books and the series as a whole. Anyways .... keep up the great work love the channel 👏 👍 🙌
One of CS Lewis' flaws as a writer from what I've noticed is that he has a hard time getting into the minds of his characters and truly thinking about how events will affect them. Outside of the "Problem of Susan", the biggest example of this is The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe ending. In that, the kids end up back in the real world and they are perfectly fine like nothing happened. Like...What? How could they ever go back to normal? Imagine growing up to be an adult in another world where you were a ruler, and then being sent back to the real world to the same age you were before, being forced to go through puberty for a second time and knowing that no one would ever believe you. That would seriously mess someone up. None of that is brought up or even considered. That's part of the reason why so many modern isekai/portal fantasy stories like this don't have the protagonist go back to the real world at the end--because it would mess someone up and you can't just back to the way things were. There are plenty of other examples of this in the books. They also feel rather static and one dimensional. Fairytale protagonists are still affected by the plot and undergo some sort of change, even if it's super basic. I think the Disney movies did a better job of addressing that issue, but I still think CS Lewis should've just had the kids stay at the end and never go back to their world in the first place to nix the problem completely.
i read it when i was 19, and it was glorious
That’s when I discovered Lewis. I was taking a children’s lit class. From there I read everything by Lewis I could get my hands on. When you read extensively on Lewis, it’s impossible not to see his genius.
Thank you for the great video 😊this series definitely isn’t for me and never will be for me but really enjoyed this video about it 😊
That's wonderful! Honestly, the purpose of my videos is for people to sometimes say, 'This is not for me.' :)
I enjoy your videos, you are one of my favorite UA-camrs who talk of books, hope you'll do one about Harry Potter series and what's your humble thoughts about the series.
Thanks mate! Glad you like my work.
Harry Potter is a tricky series. I love it dearly. Yet the author is actively working to oppose the rights of trans people, through massive financial donations and legal petitions.
I firmly believe in trans rights. So if I made a Harry Potter video, it would include a strong pro-trans statement. And that would bring in all the internet trolls to my channel. I'm not sure I want that fight, you know?
Maybe one day.
IRON GIANT!!!! Also, great video!😂
Right?! Its the Firefly of movies, underappreciated and sabotaged by the 'network'.
For me Narnia was always a bit ... unfocused? Medieval fantasy, talking animals, greek mythology, Santa Clause and Christian images rolled into one without much thought about world building. I liked the boldness of The Last Battle, but I remember enjoying Lewis' scifi series a lot more, it also got VERY crazy in the end (Merlin anyone?), but the world seems a lot deeper than Narnia.
I agree, and that is why Tolkien didn't like Narnia, as he thought there wasn't consistency between the fairy tales and mythical elements, pulling from many cultures and time periods.
Lewis said all those different forms of myth got along fine in his head. There are several books drawing things out of the series the average reader doesn’t grasp. Read “The Narnia Code” by Michael Ward. There used to be such brilliance behind these novels.
I was never a fan of these books really but I respect them. My dad read the first 3 to me as a kid and I read the others.
Have no desire to ever read them again though.. or to even show my kids
Yes its still a great set of books.
I think it's always useful to consider the author's context in their piece of work. Bearing that in mind, I enjoyed them as a child and I won't do so as an adult, so I'll leave them be, heh. And yes, it's important to recognise the novels' influence on modern fantasy!
New subscriber here and it was your video's of Malazan Book of the Fallen that brought me here. ( which i am "trying" to re-read for the fifth time. lol )
Love your energy!
I was wondering however if you might consider doing a series of the Lone Wolf saga game books as written by Joe Dever ( R.I.P) which are being currently re-released.
If you are unaware of their existence, i strongly urge you to try them...like most epic's, it starts off small........but then when you reach book 4 and book 5.
I wont say any more.
I like that every “critique” of Narnia is just a critique of Christian morality. If we can help it we shouldn’t send women to die in wars. Truly radical beliefs.
I have very mixed feelings for the Narnia. THe first time I've read it it was just the first 3 books in the publication order and I loved them. I didn't notice any christian themes but then I was like 10-11 living in a very non-religious country in totally non-religious family. On the other hand when I later on got the full seven books (well it was kinda 7 in 1 situation) and read them all in a very short time I definitely noticed it - I was like 13 at that point and even I couldn't miss it. And I mean by that time I started to be really into history so I got to know more about christianity but still. I once read somewhere how Phillip Pullman was so heavy handed with his critic of christianity while Lewis was so subtle with his alegories and I had to laught aloud. I mean, I don't generally mind if something is very direct in its message and while I didn't read Dark Materials just watched the series I kinda doubt Pullman was trying to be subtle. But Lewis wasn't all that subtle either - if you read all 7 books at least, he was more subtle in the early one, even though I have to say I started to be little suspicious during my reread in the Prince of Caspian (I think, it may have been the one after) when Aslan said something about how they had to learn to know him in Narnia so they could know him in their world. By the Last battle and the "he suddenly didn't look like a lion" (or something like that) I was like "c'mon really". By that time I was thoroughly fed up with the metaphors, because while I don't necessary mind non-subtle messaging (to an extend), it did hinder my enjoyment when it was something that I totally didn't believe. The Last battle and the whole "they all died (except Susan) and that's happy" just wasn't something compatible with my mindset.
Then there was the whole thing with Susan which to me didn't read all that much like necessary criricism od her sexuality more as a criticism of how she started to be too focused on her world and stop believing in Narnia but it still felt really unfair to me when she basically did what she was supposed to do - live in her world and just pretty unerstably blocked her memories, because of everything she lost there and the fact she could never return. Losing literally her whole family felt like very unjust punishment for being traumatized and trusting youself in a little shallow things.
Then there was the odd moments when Lewis started to rant against something, like the thing with the non-gender separate schools, or I think somewhere about how bad it is that there isn't much christian classes in that school - which both made me cringe even at 13. Sometimes it wasn't even against something I disagreed at that time - like he went into a short rant against abstract art, which I didn't unerstand or liked at that time (and while I understand it more know and like some of it, it's still not my favorite art), but I still went kinda wtf because I just didn't understan why it was there. And at 13 he really started to make me feel as if he was preaching at me (not just in a religious sense) and that did also started to hinder my anjoyment. ASt 13 I didn't see most of the racial stereotypes yet but even then the books left me dissapointed, expecially after I was pretty much obsessed with the series (well the 3 books I had at home and I saw the 3 (or maybe jsut 2 at that time, I'm not sure) films) before. I still really liked the idea - portal to a different world - which was a reason why I obsessed over it so much in the first place, but the execution left something to be desired in me.
Loved the Narnia books as a young reader, and again reading them with my own children. Totally agree with your criticisms, but my experience has been that books I held dear as a child hold a magic spell over me, even as an adult, and in a delightfully ironic way they become a portal back to that childlike sense of wonder that is so hard to experience with the cynicism of adulthood. I don't know if it would be at all possible to read Narnia for the first time as an adult of the 21st century, and experience that kind of wonder. And I'm probably willingly suspending my modern sensibilities when I read Narnia now. 😊
Well that's fair. Sometimes it's nice to switch off modern sensibilities and just enjoy some art. I struggle to switch off the writer and the critic and just read to enjoy. Kids books are great at that.
First, I want to say that I enjoyed the video over-all and you made some excellent points. *However* I intensely dislike the notion of taking decades old works and judging them by current societal standards. It always comes across to me like shooting fish in a barrel. It is not remotely surprising that books written by a devout Christian man, 70 years ago offend lots of peoples sensibilities today. For me, the allegorical aspect of the stories were fascinating to me when I was younger. I had many very serious (to a child) conversations with my mom about Aslan and his similarities to Jesus. However,I don't think the books are great for adults, because they read like children's stories.
These books hold a very special place in my heart due to my grandmother reading them to me and the allegorical aspects are fine to me even though I am an atheist now
But, to be fair, societal standards are more "timeless" than we tend to think. There are extremely sexist people alive and popular now. And in ancient Greece, I repeat *ancient Greece* , Plato firmly defended that men and women should be equal in opportunity and role because they had no intellectual or emotional differences. So yeah, not everyone thought the same back in time, and therefore what they thought can be critisized.
Great video as always!
I love all your videos I've seen and I was wondering if you'd be going over any Asimov? Would love to hear about your thoughts on the Foundation series. Thank you for the lovely vids!
That intro 😆
Love the new intro! But do miss the guitar riff 🎸
if you look at the bottom of it it says old school october so it looks like it's only for this month.
Haha I tried to include the riff on the 'harp' sound. Did NOT go well! I'm really not that skilled! 🤣
I've been slowly making my way through Narnia this year. They're not too good personally, but they're very short and foundational texts of the genre, so i figure why not. Very interested to see how I'll feel about the ending.
I just discovered your channel and I'm loving it! I will always look at Narnia with fondness but I will probably prefer to watch the movies instead of rereading the books. I'm wondering if you are familiar with Fablehaven by Brandon Mull or Deltora Quest by Emilly Rodda? I think they are great fantasy children's books
The Chronicles of Narnia is one of my favorite fantasy series of all time. There will never be a series quite like it again. Lewis was a genuis. The more you read his series the more you discover and learn. I've read the series so many times and experienced something new each time.
You must must try Rick Riordan's books. I am an adult and yet I enjoy his books (target audience being kids and teens) A LOT!!
I've read Percy Jackson, and the Heroes of Olympus series. That's all for now. But I'm hoping to do a video on it for a monthly theme of kids books. Maybe Middle-Grade March? 😁
@@cronkthebookguyyes!! 😄
When I was a little munchkin I loved Narnia, but as an adult it really bugs me, for most of the reasons that you mention. As a non religious person, any whiff of religious moralisation, or pushing of that agenda, switches me off faster than a fast thing.
Perhaps I was a particularly thick child, but I never realised the christian allegory until I was told that's what it was. To me it was just a magical story where kids were taken to a fantastical place, much like the Faraway Tree. I love these type of portal stories for their whimsy, and always will. I don't care if Aslan is meant to be a god-emperor-sky-daddy. To me, he'll always be a lion with magical breath, who created a world of talking animals, man!
It made me love Easter again.
Have you read The Book of Three series? That was my favorite as a kid but I don’t see it much
I read the series when i was a kid too and remember loving it, although I'll probably never read it again because my adult self will thoroughly dislike it. Let it be remembered as the fairy tales of youth that i shall talk about to my children before suggesting better books to them.
Lewis once said, “Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again….” There is so much to look for in these stories if you know how.
Have you thoght about or tead Lewis' Ransom or "space"trilogy?
The book Planet Narnia has an intriguing thesis - that Lewis's Narnia books reflect the heavenly planets of Medieval cosmology and theology. And of course, before he was a children's writer, Lewis was a scholar of Medieval and Renaissance literature at Oxford University and later the first chair of the same (created for him) at the University of Cambridge. 😊
The lion the witch and the wardrobe feels like it's not planned out but made up as it's being written.
She has a name - use it, instead of being childish.
I got all the lord of the rings books and narnia books
Also Harry Potter
So far made it to chapter five
What about the first book
I would really like to watch an episode in which you discuss the gender roles of The Lord of the Rings :))
So Lewis was heavily influenced by George MacDonald, I'm curious about your stance on some of MacDonald's writings?
I don't consider it a problem that authors put their own views and opinions into their books. Books are, after all, extensions of their authors and not just detached consumer products (unless when they are---which is also fine if that is what the author wants to do). 'Separating art from the artist' would not have sat well with Camus or Dostoyevsky.
It is rather about _how_ the author expresses their views. Lewis is so on the nose that the reader needs plastic surgery after that (Tolkien agreed), but for example, _Silmarillion_ is basically a retelling of the Bible, and I have never seen anyone even mentioning it.
If the author weaves (as the author wills) their opinions into the fabric and entirety of the story and charcters, that works, but if there are individual characters spouting out very specific positions (OMG how Raymond Khoury's _The Last Templar_ made me yawn) and overtly simplified stand-ins for real life phenomena, that is quite tiresome.
For example, Tolkien had several characters who occasionally acted as Christ-figures (Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn), but none of them was Middle Earth Jesus alone and all the time. At Orodruin, Frodo is rather a symbol for human weakness.
But Aslan . . . he just flat out says he's Jesus.
This has been the trickiest thing for me to get right when I write my own books.
I def second this. I think it is reasonable for authors to put their own views/opinions into their own fictional stories, but I do think it becomes more unbearable when you're primarily concerned with preaching instead of telling a story. Good stories, in my opinion, seamlessly blend the two elements.
@@teehee-yn3jh I completely agree. That's why I also can't stand the His Dark Materials series. While I'm an atheist like the author, those books had the same problem as the Narnia ones, but on the opposite end of the spectrum. They always felt like the author was more concerned about preaching about how horrible the Catholic church is rather than crafting a believable world and telling his story, and I checked out pretty quickly. Whereas I never had that problem with Tolkien, because he's able to do so more naturally.
All writers place their beliefs in their writings. Orson Scott Card injected his Mormon ideas into his books. As an Anglican Ithink Lewis injects enough Christianity to learn the lessons but does not beat you over the head. I loved this as a kid before I came to Christianity. Also you can't judge yesterday's books by today's morality. Susan was probably intended to be a mirror of Lewis, who walked away from the faith, but I think had he written another story about Susan she may have come back to being a friend of Narnia. People just want to make silly issues out of classics because there is a move to destroy all of our classics in favor of post modern nihilism.
"Should hovers include personal beliefs?"
It's the author's prerogative. No one is forcing you to reas their works. Who are any of us ro tell them what to include?
I read the series as a adult like a year ago maybe two years ago. and I read them in the old order not the new order where you start with the magicians nephew. and i want to say, i enjoyed the earlier parts of the story, by the time we reach the last battle. i just wanted the end, the interesting parts are all at the end of that book. and i didnt totally enjoy that end it felt, hollow and lazy to me. but i appreciate what this series did for many for years. just needs less religious undertones in the themes.
I will say that thematically and structurally it has aged perfectly well, but the writing itself has not. Its prose is very old fashioned and would be best for a grown up to read to a child, not for an 8-17 year old to read to themself.
What I will say about Lewis thinking that schools should be segregated along sex lines is that you should read "Surprised by Joy" his auto-biography. He talks about how all the other boys were... ya... but how he was so good and pure that he never ever did. I remembered reading that at 19 and thinking "methinks thou protest too much.".
Mate, my kids are your age and I didn't read them the Narnia books because of many things I found infuriating. Despite having adored them as a child. I preferred to pass on Le Guin and Wynne Jones.
They went and dug them out of the library anyway, mind.
I feel like magicians nephew and lion witch and wardrobe are ok but man horse and his boy and last battle did not. The kids do blackface in last battle and 99 percent of the calormen who are pretty much stated to be Arab are all portrayed as evil
dude... are you a bad dwarf.. afraid to wake. i thought that the last battle was an alternate for mean christains.. wake up no one sins. but thats me
Lewis is also a medievalist. His stories are shaped by medieval philosophies. These stories were written to teach character lessons to children. I find that I tend to leave my cynicism at the door when I read these books. Not to mention these books offer my cynical soul hope in an ever darkening world. It assures me that as a Christian I can survive and thrive even when surrounded by darkness.
dude, who cares about stereotype... lets be critical about guys 100 yrs ago,, write it today and behave. the classics are untouchable
I was about 13 when I read it, and at the hight of my religious phase and even I back then thought the Last Battle is too much, now that I think about it, it might have had a part in my turn to atheism
😮😮😮😮😅
Honestly I want to rewrite it without the Christianity. There's some solid ideas there but...
That is an intriguing concept!
that is literally the core of Narnia without it and the Worldview of Lewis it wouldn't be Narnia
@@lettuceman9439 that's an interesting claim. Untrue but interesting. It actually wouldn't take much to strip the Christianity out. The problem is that people grant Christianity too much. It's a way to claim that everything they like belongs to Christianity even though that's absolutely not true.
@@alananimus9145 Remember Lewis is a Christian apologetic taking away that context would be a disservice to his life works
you could argue with Tolkein, Tolstoy, dostoevsky and even Sanderson works with the same logic of universal appeal but the core remains within the worldview of Christianity
each differ From their individual interpretation of their faith be it Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and even Mormon.
For added Context, Aslan isn't a allegory for Jesus... he is Jesus but in another World and The Final Battle is straight up a retelling of the Book of Revelation within Narnia
also book guy kinda implied that the Carlomenes are Muslims when any examination it is like far from the truth (like you know Jesus being a prophet in Islam, Mistaking Assyrian and babylonian imagery for arabic and north african and the book focus on Shift and puzzle being a criticism to the non-trinitarian Churches like the Jehovah's Witness and the Latter Day Saints)
Why take the Christianity out of it? That's part of what gives it it's depth and makes you think about things, even as a nonreligious person. I know atheists who love this series BECAUSE of the religious context which gives them something to think about and discuss.