The other day, I came upon an interesting discussion between 2 boys from western Kansas that were spending the night in a shelter they had built between 2 trees on an otherwise empty island. They were discussing the Chronicles of Narnia and how they would - or would not be portrayed in the upcoming movies. One of the boys said that he knew nothing but the first part of LWW but was going to try to read the whole series before the first movie comes out later this year. The other was convinced that any of Lewis's meaningful spiritual message would be ripped out.
As I listened, I was intrigued by encountering these two people that were reading the books at the age I was when I first read them by flashlight in the back yard. When the older boy said that the other was reading them in the "wrong" order; the little guy said that he couldn't tell which was which because his library seemed to have 2 sets of books with contradictory labels. Then they turned to me and asked if I knew which was the "right" order to read the books.
(T is laughing right now as she reads this.) For those of you that are baseball fans, this is like handing me one of those giant red bam-bam bats and gently tossing a wiffle-ball right down the middle to me after calling the pitch.
Needless to say, the boys got a bit more than they were asking for. I covered the original publication order along with the chronological order as well as my recommended reading order. I also took the time to quiz the older boy about some of passages he seemed to know so much about and was sure to drop in a few too many references to the books throughout the conversation as we went on. When I started talking about the differences between the British and American versions of the books, the little guy's eyes seemed to roll back in his head.
It's funny how what you read as a child can become such a huge part of your life. I realize that I may be a bit abnormal with this, but I have to believe that there are a few others out there that can say they've been "perfectly beastly". I heard a song yesterday that reminded me of one of my favorite parts of the series. (No T, it's not from my Narnia-Inspired 2nd Chapter of Acts album "The Roar of Love")
The song, "Like a Skin", talks about how nice it is for a butterfly to look back and know that he'll never be a worm again. Even the snake leaves something behind when he goes through a change - yet we as believers don't leave a physical representation of our "old man" on the ground. Even though our change is real we still seem 'to struggle with the same old stuff'. Eustace got to leave his dragon skin behind in VDT and bathe in the cool water. I guess my point is that my gold arm band still won't come off ... and sometimes it hurts when I become as beastly to others as I truly am.
6 comments:
I read the books again a couple of years ago and there are some big words in there for a children's series.
Eustace getting peeled out of his dragon skin is one of my favorite parts in the series.
Last time I read the series (maybe three years ago), I was really struck by the dragon skin story. The fact that Eustace's only purpose was to get rid of the pain and he finally acknowledged that he couldn't get rid of it himself was a perfect illustration of life.
Oh, also, given that the plot of LWW parallels the crucifixion so closely, any halfway true movie couldn't depart from the spiritual overtones even if the director wanted it to.
Dust,
I agree about the death of Aslan - it would be hard to see that as anything but a picture of the crucifixion. What I'm more worried about are the more subtle - yet even more important stuff like the deep magic and how much of a traitor
Edmund was ... if the witch comes off as the only bad guy ... err girl, we son't get the redemptive side of Aslan's sacrifice.
The fact that Christ died and rose ... is nothing unless it is tied to the fact that he was paying the price for our sins - not just being God-like.
I am so excited for this movie to come out. I think I was starting to go thru my December Lord of the Ring withdrawel, but I think this will make up for it.
I am also excited about the new Harry Potter movie. I am reading the Goblet of Fire right now, hopefully I'll finish before the movie, because my eyes aren't staying awake at night as I read.
I have only read the LW&W. I should probably try reading the other books.
Dust also would know if you asked him on the spot what order to read the books in. I was amazed when he was telling Carolyn. And because he was remembering details of the stories.
My first fantasy book was about a guy called Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock. He was an albino prince that drew strength from his soul-drinking sword Stormbringer. My parents got me the book for Christmas based on the recommendation of a clerk in the bookstore. If they only knew...
Post a Comment