Author: Lewis Carroll
Genre: fiction, fantasy, nonsense
Publication info: Penguin, 1998 (originally published in 1865 and 1871, respectively)
Pages: 357 (including both novels and lots of supplementary material)
This is another one of those books that falls into the why-didn't-I-read-this-a-long-time-ago category. I guess I just assumed that, having seen the 1951 Disney movie and the more recent film directed by Tim Burton, I was familiar enough with Wonderland and its strangeness.
But let me tell you something: Those movies do not come close to how weird the Alice stories truly are. You think Tim Burton is weird? Lewis Carroll makes Burton's work look as imaginative as the tax code.
You'll just have to read these books to know what I'm talking about. But let me also warn you that I really mean what I say when I categorize them as nonsense literature. If you try to dig any meaning out of them, you're going to have a heck of a time. Lots of scholars have tried to do that, and I honestly think they were wasting their time.
I don't really know how to begin describing these books. In Wonderland, Alice chases a white rabbit down a hole and ends up in a bizarre dream world. You probably know that much already. But as I said before, it is unbelievably bizarre. So many things go unexplained, like the Duchess's cook who periodically hurls dishes at the Duchess's head, and the baby that Alice rescues from the Duchess's apparently cruel treatment but that eventually turns into a pig. Many of the more familiar elements are there: the Cheshire Cat, the croquet game with the Queen of Hearts, the mad tea party. It's funny how I continued to expect to find out why these characters were doing all the weird things they were doing. It took a long time for me to figure out that nothing is going to be explained.
In Through the Looking-Glass, much to my surprise, Alice travels to a completely different world with an entirely new cast of characters. In this story she finds herself participating in a giant (and barely recognizable) game of chess. She meets the Red and White Queens, Kings, and Knights, and all sorts of other interesting people. It is in this story that you see most of Carroll's famed wordplay (including that fantastic poem, "Jabberwocky"). But at the end, once again, you're left scratching your head with wonder.
You have to wonder what kind of mind could create such stories. I did, and that's why I appreciated the biographical introduction in this edition. After reading about Carroll's (or rather, C. L. Dodgson's) life, I'm convinced that if he were alive today, he would be in prison. His relationships with young girls, particularly the girl from whom he got the name of his main character, were more than a little disturbing.
Still, these books are well worth reading. It was nice to escape to such a strange world after being immersed in textbooks for so long. I also really liked the pictures, drawn by John Tenniel. I've never seen a story interact so well with the illustrations before. At some points the narrator even says something to the effect of "If you don't know what I'm talking about, just look at the illustration." These illustrations are anything but superfluous.
If you want to read something a little different—okay, really, really different—give the Alice books a try.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
The Writer's Journey
Mythic Structure for Writers
Author: Christopher Vogler
Genre: nonfiction, writing instruction
Publication info: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007 (3rd edition)
Pages: 406
It's been a good long while since I last posted to this blog, but that doesn't mean I haven't been reading. Sometimes when life gets crazy, you just can't read as much, or at least as fast. I know that sounds like a contradiction to what I said at the beginning of this blog. I guess I just haven't always been good at following through with my intentions.
I've still been reading a bit, though. The Writer's Journey is one of those books I was always eyeing at the bookstore. I read about it online and always looked out for sales and other excuses to buy it. But I never did—until a dear friend made it possible by giving me a gift card to a bookstore (probably one of the best gifts someone could give me). So I felt like it was finally time to buy this book, and of course read it.
What this book basically does is take myths from many cultures and distill them into a pattern that writers can use for their stories. Referring frequently to the work of mythologist Joseph Campbell, the author describes several of the most important character archetypes—the hero, the mentor, the shadow, the threshold guardian and more. And then he describes the major segments of the Hero's Journey. All along the way he explains how a writer might apply these principles to a story, and he demonstrates them with examples from major films. Questions at the end of each chapter also help apply the principles that are explained.
I liked this book. It was fun to think about stories I've read or movies I've seen and see how they fit into the patterns described in the book (I couldn't help but think of Tron: Legacy most of the time). Now, I must confess I haven't been doing a lot of writing of my own lately. But I haven't completely given up on writing, and when I finally bring myself back to it, I think I will find this book quite useful. Now that I know the structure of the book, it will now be helpful as a handbook when I design and build my own stories.
I especially like the essays at the end of the book, which were added in the third edition. In them Vogler explores some new topics in light of the Hero's Journey: polarity, physicality, catharsis. It's pretty interesting stuff. And finally, he takes the journey, applies it to the life of the writer (whence we get the title of the book), and gives the encouraging advice: "Trust the journey."
I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes to create stories. As Vogler says in the introduction, this isn't about formula but rather about structure and direction. The stories you want to create probably won't fit completely into these patterns, but you probably will find some helpful ideas in this book.
Author: Christopher Vogler
Genre: nonfiction, writing instruction
Publication info: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007 (3rd edition)
Pages: 406
It's been a good long while since I last posted to this blog, but that doesn't mean I haven't been reading. Sometimes when life gets crazy, you just can't read as much, or at least as fast. I know that sounds like a contradiction to what I said at the beginning of this blog. I guess I just haven't always been good at following through with my intentions.
I've still been reading a bit, though. The Writer's Journey is one of those books I was always eyeing at the bookstore. I read about it online and always looked out for sales and other excuses to buy it. But I never did—until a dear friend made it possible by giving me a gift card to a bookstore (probably one of the best gifts someone could give me). So I felt like it was finally time to buy this book, and of course read it.
What this book basically does is take myths from many cultures and distill them into a pattern that writers can use for their stories. Referring frequently to the work of mythologist Joseph Campbell, the author describes several of the most important character archetypes—the hero, the mentor, the shadow, the threshold guardian and more. And then he describes the major segments of the Hero's Journey. All along the way he explains how a writer might apply these principles to a story, and he demonstrates them with examples from major films. Questions at the end of each chapter also help apply the principles that are explained.
I liked this book. It was fun to think about stories I've read or movies I've seen and see how they fit into the patterns described in the book (I couldn't help but think of Tron: Legacy most of the time). Now, I must confess I haven't been doing a lot of writing of my own lately. But I haven't completely given up on writing, and when I finally bring myself back to it, I think I will find this book quite useful. Now that I know the structure of the book, it will now be helpful as a handbook when I design and build my own stories.
I especially like the essays at the end of the book, which were added in the third edition. In them Vogler explores some new topics in light of the Hero's Journey: polarity, physicality, catharsis. It's pretty interesting stuff. And finally, he takes the journey, applies it to the life of the writer (whence we get the title of the book), and gives the encouraging advice: "Trust the journey."
I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes to create stories. As Vogler says in the introduction, this isn't about formula but rather about structure and direction. The stories you want to create probably won't fit completely into these patterns, but you probably will find some helpful ideas in this book.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Good Omens
The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
Authors: Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Genre: fiction, fantasy, apocalyptic
Publication info: Workman Publishing, 1990
Pages: 296
Neil Gaiman is an incredibly creative writer. Terry Pratchett is an incredibly funny writer. Good Omens is what you get when you combine the writing powers of both of them. The creativity and hilarity is almost too much to take.
I may have mentioned before that it takes a lot for something that I read to make me laugh out loud. Well, I laughed quite a bit while reading this book. I think that's the book's greatest strength: its little moments of hilarity. The story as a whole is well put together, but it's not necessarily amazing. Individual scenes, though, are quite enjoyable.
Good Omens features an enormous cast of characters, making it hard to follow sometimes, but definitely never dull. Two of the main characters are Aziraphale the angel and Crowley the demon, who have somehow been friends through the millennia of Earth's existence. They both highly enjoy life on Earth and would hate to see it end, so when Crowley is tasked with placing the Antichrist into an English family, they are worried that the end is coming and decide to work together to keep that from happening.
As it turns out, the Antichrist (non-coincidentally named Adam) becomes a rather normal boy. At eleven years old, when most of the book takes place, he does the sorts of things that any boy his age would do. But when he starts to come into his demonic powers, things spin quickly out of control.
I recall one reviewer labeling this book as "irreverent," and I would have to agree. This is not a story for someone whose religious convictions are easily offended. If however, you are confident in your convictions and can see this book for what it is—a farce—I think you will heartily enjoy it, as I did. Don't put too much stock in the story or its philosophical implications (I think Terry Pratchett generally tries too hard in that respect). Just sit back and enjoy.
I should warn you that there is a bit of strong language and some innuendo. It's disappointing in that regard. Definitely not appropriate for children. Overall, though, Good Omens is a hilariously fun romp.
Authors: Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Genre: fiction, fantasy, apocalyptic
Publication info: Workman Publishing, 1990
Pages: 296
Neil Gaiman is an incredibly creative writer. Terry Pratchett is an incredibly funny writer. Good Omens is what you get when you combine the writing powers of both of them. The creativity and hilarity is almost too much to take.
I may have mentioned before that it takes a lot for something that I read to make me laugh out loud. Well, I laughed quite a bit while reading this book. I think that's the book's greatest strength: its little moments of hilarity. The story as a whole is well put together, but it's not necessarily amazing. Individual scenes, though, are quite enjoyable.
Good Omens features an enormous cast of characters, making it hard to follow sometimes, but definitely never dull. Two of the main characters are Aziraphale the angel and Crowley the demon, who have somehow been friends through the millennia of Earth's existence. They both highly enjoy life on Earth and would hate to see it end, so when Crowley is tasked with placing the Antichrist into an English family, they are worried that the end is coming and decide to work together to keep that from happening.
As it turns out, the Antichrist (non-coincidentally named Adam) becomes a rather normal boy. At eleven years old, when most of the book takes place, he does the sorts of things that any boy his age would do. But when he starts to come into his demonic powers, things spin quickly out of control.
I recall one reviewer labeling this book as "irreverent," and I would have to agree. This is not a story for someone whose religious convictions are easily offended. If however, you are confident in your convictions and can see this book for what it is—a farce—I think you will heartily enjoy it, as I did. Don't put too much stock in the story or its philosophical implications (I think Terry Pratchett generally tries too hard in that respect). Just sit back and enjoy.
I should warn you that there is a bit of strong language and some innuendo. It's disappointing in that regard. Definitely not appropriate for children. Overall, though, Good Omens is a hilariously fun romp.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
A Christmas Carol
Author: Charles Dickens
Genre: fiction, fantasy
Publication info: Scholastic, 1962 (originally published in 1843)
Pages: 122
You are familiar with this story. I'm sure of it. You've definitely seen an adaptation of it, probably more than one. And there's a good chance you imagine Bob Cratchit as a frog. Okay, maybe not that last one, but my point is that A Christmas Carol is deeply entrenched in our Christmas traditions.
I think that's a good thing. A Christmas Carol is a great story. But I never got around to reading the actual story until just now.
As I've said with many books before, I'd been missing out. Although the story held few surprises for me in written form, I learned that Charles Dickens is a very clever and funny writer. That might seem obvious, but this is the first Dickens work I have read, so it was a delightful introduction for me.
As an example, you are probably familiar with the opening line: "Marley was dead, to begin with." The narrator goes on to really drive the point home that Marley was dead (otherwise his appearance as a ghost would have no significance). A few paragraphs down, he says that Marley was "dead as a doornail." Have you ever wondered what is so dead about a doornail? Well, this narrator wonders that for a while. The tangent he goes on has very little to do with the story, but it made me chuckle. I can tell that Dickens really knew his language.
It was also nice to read the original story so I can know how accurate the many adaptations are. I found that the Hallmark version with Patrick Stewart is very, very close (they even work in the rambling about the doornail). But other versions that you wouldn't think to be very accurate are closer than I thought. Even Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol uses a lot of lines verbatim from the story. Who would have thought?
A Christmas Carol is a delightful story. It teaches some great lessons that are especially important around Christmastime. I'm glad it's so prevalent in our culture, and I recommend the story to anyone who enjoys the movie adaptations.
Genre: fiction, fantasy
Publication info: Scholastic, 1962 (originally published in 1843)
Pages: 122
You are familiar with this story. I'm sure of it. You've definitely seen an adaptation of it, probably more than one. And there's a good chance you imagine Bob Cratchit as a frog. Okay, maybe not that last one, but my point is that A Christmas Carol is deeply entrenched in our Christmas traditions.
I think that's a good thing. A Christmas Carol is a great story. But I never got around to reading the actual story until just now.
As I've said with many books before, I'd been missing out. Although the story held few surprises for me in written form, I learned that Charles Dickens is a very clever and funny writer. That might seem obvious, but this is the first Dickens work I have read, so it was a delightful introduction for me.
As an example, you are probably familiar with the opening line: "Marley was dead, to begin with." The narrator goes on to really drive the point home that Marley was dead (otherwise his appearance as a ghost would have no significance). A few paragraphs down, he says that Marley was "dead as a doornail." Have you ever wondered what is so dead about a doornail? Well, this narrator wonders that for a while. The tangent he goes on has very little to do with the story, but it made me chuckle. I can tell that Dickens really knew his language.
It was also nice to read the original story so I can know how accurate the many adaptations are. I found that the Hallmark version with Patrick Stewart is very, very close (they even work in the rambling about the doornail). But other versions that you wouldn't think to be very accurate are closer than I thought. Even Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol uses a lot of lines verbatim from the story. Who would have thought?
A Christmas Carol is a delightful story. It teaches some great lessons that are especially important around Christmastime. I'm glad it's so prevalent in our culture, and I recommend the story to anyone who enjoys the movie adaptations.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
That Hideous Strength
A Modern Fairy-Tale for Grown-Ups
Part Three of the Space Trilogy
Author: C. S. Lewis
Genre: fiction, Christian fiction (sort of), science fiction (sort of)
Publication info: Macmillan, 1990 (originally published in 1946)
Pages: 382
This book has a quality that usually bothers me, and yet I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it a lot. The quality I speak of is a "message" that the author is trying to get across to the readers. In poorly written message stories, the message takes precedence over everything else—plot, character, general believability.
That Hideous Strength definitely has a message. But it is also definitely well written.
Although this book is labeled as the sequel to Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra, it is quite different from those two novels in several ways. For one thing, it revolves around two entirely new characters. Jane and Mark Studdock are recently married, but they already seem to be drifting apart. (In fact, there's only one scene in the entire novel that includes both of them together.) Mark is a don at the fictional Bracton College in Edgestow. The college is finalizing a deal to sell some precious, historical land to a corporation called National Institute of Coordinated Experiments (N.I.C.E.). Before he knows it, he's swept up into the very highest levels of the N.I.C.E. and helping it to achieve its mysterious but definitely sinister aims.
Jane, meanwhile, is suffering from vivid and disturbing dreams that seem to be accurately predicting the future. In her effort to find out what's going on, she finds herself associated with a small group who call themselves the Company, with our old friend Dr. Ransom at its head. The Company is a stronghold for good in England, and it's preparing to fight against the quickly growing evil spearheaded by none other than the N.I.C.E. In other words, Jane and Mark are on opposite sides of a battle in which the stakes are unimaginably high.
It's a compelling story, I think, and the writing is very polished. I guess that's why I liked it even though the messages are rather overt. One such message is one Lewis considered very important, according to his biography that I read earlier. Humans are naturally inclined to be a part of the "inner circle," an elite group that by definition includes only a few and excludes all the others. It is Mark's desire to be a part of the inner circle that gets him involved in all the evil schemes of the N.I.C.E. Jane, on the other hand, is also part of a small group, but this group has no desire to exclude anyone.
I knew going into this book that it wouldn't involve any space travel, unlike its predecessors, and because of that I was worried it would be a little dull. To my surprise, I think it is possibly the most exciting installment of the whole trilogy. Part of that is due to its compelling depiction of genuine evil. Some parts of the book really gave me the creeps because of how dark they were and also because of how plausible they seemed.
If you enjoy and respect the writing of C. S. Lewis, I highly recommend this book. You can even read it without having read the other two parts of the trilogy (Lewis said so himself). I probably should warn you, though, that this isn't a children's book. The climactic finish is surprisingly violent, and the book deals with some topics that children wouldn't appreciate. But the book has many lessons that I hope many adults will appreciate.
Part Three of the Space Trilogy
Author: C. S. Lewis
Genre: fiction, Christian fiction (sort of), science fiction (sort of)
Publication info: Macmillan, 1990 (originally published in 1946)
Pages: 382
This book has a quality that usually bothers me, and yet I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it a lot. The quality I speak of is a "message" that the author is trying to get across to the readers. In poorly written message stories, the message takes precedence over everything else—plot, character, general believability.
That Hideous Strength definitely has a message. But it is also definitely well written.
Although this book is labeled as the sequel to Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra, it is quite different from those two novels in several ways. For one thing, it revolves around two entirely new characters. Jane and Mark Studdock are recently married, but they already seem to be drifting apart. (In fact, there's only one scene in the entire novel that includes both of them together.) Mark is a don at the fictional Bracton College in Edgestow. The college is finalizing a deal to sell some precious, historical land to a corporation called National Institute of Coordinated Experiments (N.I.C.E.). Before he knows it, he's swept up into the very highest levels of the N.I.C.E. and helping it to achieve its mysterious but definitely sinister aims.
Jane, meanwhile, is suffering from vivid and disturbing dreams that seem to be accurately predicting the future. In her effort to find out what's going on, she finds herself associated with a small group who call themselves the Company, with our old friend Dr. Ransom at its head. The Company is a stronghold for good in England, and it's preparing to fight against the quickly growing evil spearheaded by none other than the N.I.C.E. In other words, Jane and Mark are on opposite sides of a battle in which the stakes are unimaginably high.
It's a compelling story, I think, and the writing is very polished. I guess that's why I liked it even though the messages are rather overt. One such message is one Lewis considered very important, according to his biography that I read earlier. Humans are naturally inclined to be a part of the "inner circle," an elite group that by definition includes only a few and excludes all the others. It is Mark's desire to be a part of the inner circle that gets him involved in all the evil schemes of the N.I.C.E. Jane, on the other hand, is also part of a small group, but this group has no desire to exclude anyone.
I knew going into this book that it wouldn't involve any space travel, unlike its predecessors, and because of that I was worried it would be a little dull. To my surprise, I think it is possibly the most exciting installment of the whole trilogy. Part of that is due to its compelling depiction of genuine evil. Some parts of the book really gave me the creeps because of how dark they were and also because of how plausible they seemed.
If you enjoy and respect the writing of C. S. Lewis, I highly recommend this book. You can even read it without having read the other two parts of the trilogy (Lewis said so himself). I probably should warn you, though, that this isn't a children's book. The climactic finish is surprisingly violent, and the book deals with some topics that children wouldn't appreciate. But the book has many lessons that I hope many adults will appreciate.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Tron: Betrayal
An Original Graphic Novel Prequel to Tron: Legacy
Author: Jai Nitz
Artists: Jeff Matsuda and Andie Tong
Genre: graphic novel, science fiction
Publication info: Disney Press, 2010
Pages: 127
Yes, I admit it: I went from a C. S. Lewis book to a graphic novel. But there is something you need to know about me. I am a total Tron geek. When my family got its first VCR years ago, for some reason the first thing we recorded from TV was Disney's original 1982 film. I grew up on that movie, watching it nearly every day as a kid (much to my parents' and sisters' chagrin).
I eventually grew out of that phase, but when I heard, about a year and a half ago, that Disney was making a sequel, all my Tron mania returned. Now I recognize how geeky (and sometimes even campy) the whole idea is, but I have never been more excited for a movie in my life, and I probably never will be again. I've learned to accept that. It's like being validated after all these years.
In just a few days, the wait will be over!
One unique aspect of this long-awaited sequel, Tron: Legacy, is the fact that it is so long-awaited. It has been 28 years. How do you connect two movies that are separated by so much time? Disney has found some creative ways to attack this problem. One is a set of video games that, rather than simply retelling the story of the movie (as so many film-based games do), take place in between the two movies and fill in the gaps. The other is this book, Tron: Betrayal.
The prologue of this book summarizes the events of the first movie, which shows Kevin Flynn's adventures in the computer world. The new story begins immediately afterwards. Flynn has become the CEO of tech giant Encom, Inc. He has also gotten married, and his wife is expecting a son (Sam, who will be the main character of the upcoming movie). And he has created a new computer system which he dubs Tron.
Always innovative, Flynn sets out to make it "the perfect system." He enlists the help of his old friend Tron to be in charge of security. And then he creates a program named Clu in his own likeness to keep things running smoothly. At first everything works great. Then the system starts spontaneously creating new programs, called isos, who choose their own names and run more or less independently. Flynn is excited about this development and its implication. Clu, on the other hand, has other ideas about how the system should be run.
I have to admit, it's actually a pretty interesting story. Now I want to make it clear that I have never been a fan of graphic novels. I probably would have preferred this prequel to be done in another form, but what could I do? Since I have no experience with this genre, I don't know if some of the things that bothered me were unique to this book or characteristic of graphic novels in general. Sometimes the story felt disjointed, with strangely abrupt scene changes. Sometimes it was hard to tell what was going on based on the pictures.
Overall, though, I enjoyed reading through this little book. The pictures are of very high quality. And most of all, I was glad to find out how the two movies are connected. I recommend this book to all Tron fans. I think it's a great preparation for the movie opening next week.
I can't tell you how excited I am for that.
Author: Jai Nitz
Artists: Jeff Matsuda and Andie Tong
Genre: graphic novel, science fiction
Publication info: Disney Press, 2010
Pages: 127
Yes, I admit it: I went from a C. S. Lewis book to a graphic novel. But there is something you need to know about me. I am a total Tron geek. When my family got its first VCR years ago, for some reason the first thing we recorded from TV was Disney's original 1982 film. I grew up on that movie, watching it nearly every day as a kid (much to my parents' and sisters' chagrin).
I eventually grew out of that phase, but when I heard, about a year and a half ago, that Disney was making a sequel, all my Tron mania returned. Now I recognize how geeky (and sometimes even campy) the whole idea is, but I have never been more excited for a movie in my life, and I probably never will be again. I've learned to accept that. It's like being validated after all these years.
In just a few days, the wait will be over!
One unique aspect of this long-awaited sequel, Tron: Legacy, is the fact that it is so long-awaited. It has been 28 years. How do you connect two movies that are separated by so much time? Disney has found some creative ways to attack this problem. One is a set of video games that, rather than simply retelling the story of the movie (as so many film-based games do), take place in between the two movies and fill in the gaps. The other is this book, Tron: Betrayal.
The prologue of this book summarizes the events of the first movie, which shows Kevin Flynn's adventures in the computer world. The new story begins immediately afterwards. Flynn has become the CEO of tech giant Encom, Inc. He has also gotten married, and his wife is expecting a son (Sam, who will be the main character of the upcoming movie). And he has created a new computer system which he dubs Tron.
Always innovative, Flynn sets out to make it "the perfect system." He enlists the help of his old friend Tron to be in charge of security. And then he creates a program named Clu in his own likeness to keep things running smoothly. At first everything works great. Then the system starts spontaneously creating new programs, called isos, who choose their own names and run more or less independently. Flynn is excited about this development and its implication. Clu, on the other hand, has other ideas about how the system should be run.
I have to admit, it's actually a pretty interesting story. Now I want to make it clear that I have never been a fan of graphic novels. I probably would have preferred this prequel to be done in another form, but what could I do? Since I have no experience with this genre, I don't know if some of the things that bothered me were unique to this book or characteristic of graphic novels in general. Sometimes the story felt disjointed, with strangely abrupt scene changes. Sometimes it was hard to tell what was going on based on the pictures.
Overall, though, I enjoyed reading through this little book. The pictures are of very high quality. And most of all, I was glad to find out how the two movies are connected. I recommend this book to all Tron fans. I think it's a great preparation for the movie opening next week.
I can't tell you how excited I am for that.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Perelandra
Part Two of the Space Trilogy
Author: C. S. Lewis
Genre: fiction, science fiction (sort of)
Publication info: Scribner Classics, 1996 (originally published in 1944)
Pages: 190
You probably know by now that I am a pretty big fan of C. S. Lewis. As such, I'm surprised it took me this long to get to this book. I read part one of the trilogy, Out of the Silent Planet, nearly ten years ago. I loved it, but when I tried to read this second installment, I had a hard time getting into it. With some prodding from my sister, I finally returned to this book.
The hero of this lesser-known series is Elwin Ransom, who in the first book traveled to Mars (Malacandra) and became acquainted with the eldila—mystical energy beings who are forces for good in the universe. Now that Ransom has returned home, the eldila have an assignment for him. He is to go to the young planet Perelandra, known to us as Venus.
Without knowing any details of his mission, Ransom travels to Perelandra, which he finds to be an utterly strange and beautiful place. Flexible islands float on a vast ocean, trees bear bubbles of water, and the night is totally dark. Soon he encounters a woman, the only woman in the world, much like Eve in our world. And, similar to what happened with Eve, a tempter arrives to disturb this paradisiacal world.
Like all of Lewis's fiction, Perelandra is heavily laden with Christian messages. I don't normally like when the message is more important than the story. But it turns out that this is also a pretty compelling story. He has excellent descriptions of a world totally foreign to our own. Some moments in the book are fairly intense and very fun to visualize.
As for the Christian teachings, once again Lewis gives you a lot to think about. It isn't always easy to understand, but much of it feels very true to life. For instance, his depiction of the devil is almost frighteningly realistic. Dr. Ransom also provides a great example of submitting to the will of God.
If you are a fan of C. S. Lewis, definitely don't miss this book. If you like Christian fiction and want something that will really make you think, you can't go wrong with this book. I understand that not everyone will like this type of book, but I for one am glad that I finally read it.
Author: C. S. Lewis
Genre: fiction, science fiction (sort of)
Publication info: Scribner Classics, 1996 (originally published in 1944)
Pages: 190
You probably know by now that I am a pretty big fan of C. S. Lewis. As such, I'm surprised it took me this long to get to this book. I read part one of the trilogy, Out of the Silent Planet, nearly ten years ago. I loved it, but when I tried to read this second installment, I had a hard time getting into it. With some prodding from my sister, I finally returned to this book.
The hero of this lesser-known series is Elwin Ransom, who in the first book traveled to Mars (Malacandra) and became acquainted with the eldila—mystical energy beings who are forces for good in the universe. Now that Ransom has returned home, the eldila have an assignment for him. He is to go to the young planet Perelandra, known to us as Venus.
Without knowing any details of his mission, Ransom travels to Perelandra, which he finds to be an utterly strange and beautiful place. Flexible islands float on a vast ocean, trees bear bubbles of water, and the night is totally dark. Soon he encounters a woman, the only woman in the world, much like Eve in our world. And, similar to what happened with Eve, a tempter arrives to disturb this paradisiacal world.
Like all of Lewis's fiction, Perelandra is heavily laden with Christian messages. I don't normally like when the message is more important than the story. But it turns out that this is also a pretty compelling story. He has excellent descriptions of a world totally foreign to our own. Some moments in the book are fairly intense and very fun to visualize.
As for the Christian teachings, once again Lewis gives you a lot to think about. It isn't always easy to understand, but much of it feels very true to life. For instance, his depiction of the devil is almost frighteningly realistic. Dr. Ransom also provides a great example of submitting to the will of God.
If you are a fan of C. S. Lewis, definitely don't miss this book. If you like Christian fiction and want something that will really make you think, you can't go wrong with this book. I understand that not everyone will like this type of book, but I for one am glad that I finally read it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)