This is the story that got my imagination spinning from a young age. I found the idea of the magic wardrobe into another world a fascinating concept and wished I could make something of my own out of that. Narnia was the perfect home away from home where I could enact my own escapism from the drudgery of modern life, away from the lonely world where nobody understands you and nobody gets along with each other to the place where children are harmonious in spirit and reign as princesses and kings. ( )

Loved this story as a child. It was not until many years later that I realized that it was a part of something MUCH larger. Lots of personality and charm. ( )

I read the entire Chronicles of Narnia series when I was in 6th grade, and only thought they were meh. The overhype around them puzzled me. I found the Chronicles of Prydain at the same time and adored those books and have them repeatedly over the decades. It was very interesting to return to this book in my forties, having published many fantasy books, and read a lot of middle grade.

My impression of the book is much the same--just okay, rather dull, and significantly overhyped. Note that I'm not holding back discussion of spoilers here.

That said, it's not a horrible book. Lewis is a fantastic writer--I've enjoyed a number of his books for adults. The dialogue between the siblings is great; he can write children well, especially the horrible Edmund. The setting creates an incredible mood.

What I couldn't articulate as a child is much clearer to me now: the children have almost no agency, and in fact, almost nothing happens in the book. Lucy, and the others, stumble upon Narnia by accident. The good creatures of Narnia do everything for them as stand-ins for adults. The witch's deep winter begins thawing without the children doing anything. The children are handed powerful gifts that they just happen to know how to use (I guess Peter has had swordfighting lessons?). Even at the end, they leave Narnia by accident. The only major choices they make are Edmund's major betrayal and the girls' choice to follow and comfort Aslan at a pivotal point. By modern standards, they are useless as main characters. I suppose someone could argue that everything is being left to God, but I find that a weak point, because as far as action goes, they aren't even at "thoughts at prayers." They simply drift along and the plot happens for them--but this wasn't uncommon for books in this period, either.

The symbolism around Aslan as Jesus is quite stark to me now but I don't mind how that was done. I really like the portrayal of Aslan as "good but scary." His sacrifice certainly is an intense moment. It would be interesting to see everything through his eyes; he's the major protagonist.

Honestly, if we're going to ignore the plot, I would've just loved a gentle book where I get to enjoy tea and a meal with Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers, because I could read pages and pages about their houses and their bright personalities. ( )

A great classic. ( )

Reread number 1,000,000,001 ( )