Author: Norton Juster
Genre: children's fiction
Publication info: Random House, 1961
Pages: 256
My sister basically told me I had to read this book. Frankly, I'm surprised I had gone this long without reading it. I remember hearing my sisters talking about it when we were kids, I remember watching an animated adaptation of it, and I remember looking at pictures from excerpts in the Childcraft books we always enjoyed at home. But for one reason or another, I had never read the actual book. Well, now I have, thanks to my sister's prodding.
Why did I wait so long? This book is a blast. I may have mentioned before that I enjoy offbeat fantasies—the sort of stories like Coraline and Everlost that have fantastical elements but don't really fit into the mainstream. The Phantom Tollbooth is one of those (but because of the nature of the category, it is still unique).
It's the story of a boy named Milo. He's a sad kid, though not so much sad as uninterested in life. Then a mysterious package arrives containing a kit for building a tollbooth. This tollbooth is a gateway to a strange land, a land where abstract ideas are literal. Milo travels through two rival kingdoms: first Dictionopolis, where people sell words in the marketplace and feast on half-baked ideas; then Digitopolis, where numbers are the commodity people work in mines for. The only hope for this land in chaos is to rescue the sisters Rhyme and Reason, and Milo resolves to do just that. But it's not going to be easy.
It's a funny little book (the half-baked ideas were one of my favorite parts) that will probably make you laugh, or at least chuckle. It's aimed at kids, but I think adults could enjoy it just as much. It will make you think about the way you think. True, it is strongly driven by a moral message, which can be annoying sometimes in literature, but the uniqueness of the idea makes that less of a problem.
I can't believe I missed out on this book all these years.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Selected Books
The Pilgrim's Regress / Prayer: Letters to Malcolm / Reflections on the Psalms / The Abolition of Man / Till We Have Faces
Author: C. S. Lewis
Genre: all sorts
Publication info: HarperCollins, 2002
Pages: 623
This was one of the many books I bought during my stay in the British Isles. You know I can't resist a C. S. Lewis title, so five titles in one is impossible to resist. What attracted me mainly was Till We Have Faces, Lewis's final and favorite work of fiction. It helped also that four out of the five books included were ones I didn't own nor had read (The Abolition of Man being the exception).
I won't bother to summarize each book individually, but I will say that I enjoyed them all. They made me think; they made me feel; they made me wonder. The Pilgrim's Regress was Lewis's first work of fiction. It's an interesting allegory that documents a man's journey into Christianity. It's a pretty interesting story, but it does have its flaws (such as sexism, which Lewis is often accused of). I also had a hard time understanding what each allegorical element represents. If I had lived in Lewis's time, maybe I would have understood better.
Prayer and Reflections are both fascinating theological treatises. Although I would be lying if I said I always understood what Lewis means, I will say that he definitely makes me think about things. Even if I don't always agree with specific doctrines he believes in, I think he makes some excellent points. You'll just have to read the books to see for yourself.
But of all the books in this collection, Till We Have Faces is definitely my favorite. It's a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche (you don't need to know the original myth—in fact, Lewis summarizes it in the introduction). Even so, it is actually the story of Orual, Psyche's half-sister. Orual is ugly and unloved, while Psyche is exactly the opposite, but still they enjoy the closest relationship sisters can have. All is well until Ungit, the goddess of the land, demands a human sacrifice, and Psyche is to be the victim. What happens as a result transforms both of them in ways they could not have imagined.
I remember reading The Chronicles of Narnia and finding The Last Battle to be particularly mind-blowing. Till We Have Faces had the same effect on me. At the end, I felt that I had come to the conclusion of a long journey and that I had changed as a person. I can see why this book was Lewis's favorite. His writing, I think, is much more masterful and well-crafted than in the Narnia books. It's a shame that this book is not as well known among his millions of fans. If you enjoy C. S. Lewis's work, I recommend this to you, and if you aren't familiar with him yet, perhaps this book would be a good introduction.
Author: C. S. Lewis
Genre: all sorts
Publication info: HarperCollins, 2002
Pages: 623
This was one of the many books I bought during my stay in the British Isles. You know I can't resist a C. S. Lewis title, so five titles in one is impossible to resist. What attracted me mainly was Till We Have Faces, Lewis's final and favorite work of fiction. It helped also that four out of the five books included were ones I didn't own nor had read (The Abolition of Man being the exception).
I won't bother to summarize each book individually, but I will say that I enjoyed them all. They made me think; they made me feel; they made me wonder. The Pilgrim's Regress was Lewis's first work of fiction. It's an interesting allegory that documents a man's journey into Christianity. It's a pretty interesting story, but it does have its flaws (such as sexism, which Lewis is often accused of). I also had a hard time understanding what each allegorical element represents. If I had lived in Lewis's time, maybe I would have understood better.
Prayer and Reflections are both fascinating theological treatises. Although I would be lying if I said I always understood what Lewis means, I will say that he definitely makes me think about things. Even if I don't always agree with specific doctrines he believes in, I think he makes some excellent points. You'll just have to read the books to see for yourself.
But of all the books in this collection, Till We Have Faces is definitely my favorite. It's a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche (you don't need to know the original myth—in fact, Lewis summarizes it in the introduction). Even so, it is actually the story of Orual, Psyche's half-sister. Orual is ugly and unloved, while Psyche is exactly the opposite, but still they enjoy the closest relationship sisters can have. All is well until Ungit, the goddess of the land, demands a human sacrifice, and Psyche is to be the victim. What happens as a result transforms both of them in ways they could not have imagined.
I remember reading The Chronicles of Narnia and finding The Last Battle to be particularly mind-blowing. Till We Have Faces had the same effect on me. At the end, I felt that I had come to the conclusion of a long journey and that I had changed as a person. I can see why this book was Lewis's favorite. His writing, I think, is much more masterful and well-crafted than in the Narnia books. It's a shame that this book is not as well known among his millions of fans. If you enjoy C. S. Lewis's work, I recommend this to you, and if you aren't familiar with him yet, perhaps this book would be a good introduction.
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