Pros: Explains some of the secrets of Narnia while retaining a magical feel
Cons: some people might not like the religious undertones
The Bottom Line: Like the other books in this amazing series, The Magician's Nephew is a captivating fantasy that explains the riddles scattered throughout The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
quasar's Full Review: C. S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
In olden times a child huddled under the covers at bedtime reading a magical tale about a majestic lion, a strikingly beautiful witch, two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve, and a land of perpetual winter called Narnia. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and its tales of hidden passages between worlds has been fascinating children all over the world just like our heroine for more than 50 years.
Scattered throughoutThe Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe are small unanswered riddles. They make the book more appealing, more secretive, more fantastical. Better. Many of these riddles can be explained away by attributing them to just the way things work in Narnia. Anyone who reads fantasy stories knows that there will be things about new worlds that you just have to accept. They don't have to make sense to mere mortals - as long as they form a consistent view of another world we can accept them. But a few of the more puzzling moments take place in our world. These cannot explained away so easily. These question make us want to know more, to read more. Luckily C.S. Lewis gave us what we wanted - seven books in total, one of which explains some of the secrets of Narnia.
The Magician's Nephew was the sixth book published in the Narnia series. Chronologically it takes place before The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in both the Earth timeline and that of Narnia. This book is the one with answers. It ties up many of those niggling little questions left hanging in the first book including ones you didn't even realize you had. The big one in my mind was always why Professor Kirke believed the tales he was told of Narnia, a land so different than the one he lives in. This question is answered and explanations of how a lamppost with an eternal flame came to be situated in the middle of a forest, why animals talk, how the White Witch came to Narnia, why only human children could rout her, and why Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy were able to travel to Narnia through something as mundane as a wardrobe are all provided in a detailed and cohesive way.
Were The Magician's Nephew but an explanatory book it would be enough. But it is so much more. It is at heart a tale of creation and apocalypse. It is a warning of how all worlds die, but some die prematurely. It is the comfort that even when one world or one opportunity dies another comes along. It is also explores how different cultures see a different reality when faced with the same situation - what seems perfectly normal to one person may be repugnant to someone raised in a different environment.
It is a warning that people can do remarkable amounts of damage by experimenting with things they do not understand and by being arrogant enough to think they will be the ones to unlock the secrets of the universe. At the same time, it admits without curiosity and a drive to explore the unknown, life would be mundane and boring. There is also a definite thread throughout the book that if you acknowledge doing the wrong thing you can accept punishment and be forgiven. C.S. Lewis' interest and study of religion is apparent if you look for it, but at the same time he isn't pounding you over the head to accept his beliefs as so many do. You can read this book without ever thinking of religion or even noticing the religious undertones.
Please do not get the idea that The Magician's Nephew is some heavy moralistic story. It isn't. It is still very much a fantasy tale woven around elements of reality. Like many of the books in this series some of the story takes place in England and some in other worlds. It all begins when a boy and a girl, Digory and Polly, meet, insult each other, and become friends. Together they explore the row houses they live in, connected by a joint attic, and accidentally end up in Uncle Andrew's laboratory. Uncle Andrew tricks them into being human guinea pigs because, after all, his real guinea pigs couldn't report back to him. So starts their trip to a series of other worlds where they met Jadis and accidentally bring her back to London. She is intent on conquering Earth so our children are intent on taking her back to her own world. The chaos that ensues results in all of our key players plus a London cabbie and his horse Strawberry traveling to Narnia to witness its birth. Digory is sent on a mission to atone for his responsibility in unleashing Jadis on the new world. His mission successful, it leads the way to providing Narnia an escape from Jadis' clutches in the future.
The Magician's Nephew is one of my two favorite Narnia books (the other is The Silver Chair). On its own it is a clever fantasy novel that addresses some philosophical questions in interesting ways. Read after The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe it is a book that unobtrusively solves some of the riddles left for the reader without making them read a dry tome on the history of Narnia and while entertaining them in typical C.S. Lewis style.
You may have noticed I mentioned the order of the books several times. When I was growing up the Narnia series was ordered in publication order. Recently the books were renumbered into chronological order, placing this book first. Many children today read The Magician's Nephew first before they read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I feel that this greatly diminishes both books. Without the context of filling in the missing answers, The Magician's Nephew is just a good fantasy story. There's nothing wrong with that, but I got a lot more out of the book as I started piecing together the riddles. Similarly, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe loses much of its wonder if you already know why certain things happen and if you are already familiar with the wardrobe and Professor Kirke and talking animals and the lamppost. Yes, it's still a good story, but the sense of wonder is gone. It is obvious from the end of The Magician's Nephew that C.S. Lewis expects you to have already read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I agree with him. First time readers, read the books in their original order.
The Bedtime Story Writeoff
This review is part of the Bedtime Story writeoff hosted by AngelaBar and phineaskc. The following people have written entries you should read:
Narnia...where the woods are thick and cool, where the Talking Beasts are called to life, a new world where theadventure begins.....More at Audible.com
General Fiction - First published in 1955, The Magician's Nephew was the sixth book C.S. Lewis wrote about Narnia. It was intended as a prequel to the...More at Barnes and Noble
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