Review: The Magician’s Nephew. The Silmarillion Origin Story of Narnia (Spoilers).

After hearing the unfortunate and deeply angering news that Greta Gerwig is going to destroy The Chronicles of Narnia series, I have decided to re-read the books so that when the gut-wrenching time comes where I have to review her monstrosity, I’ll at least know what I’m talking about when it comes to the lore. I had read The Chronicles of Narnia books 1-5 when I was about 8 or 9-years-old, but lost interest in them after Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Now that I’m returning to them after six or seven years, I am left in awe of the second greatest fantasy author of the 20th century, C.S. Lewis.

The Magician’s Nephew is the first book in the 7-book series that kind-of sets up the whole world of Narnia, telling us how it was first established, how evil came into it, etc. In a way (as the title of this post implies), it acts as The Silmarillion for the whole series. My favorite part of the entire book was the chapter where Digory, Polly, Jadis (later to be known as the White Witch), the Cabby, and Strawberry are all watching the creation of the world. This is just a theory of mine, but I think Tolkien greatly influenced the creation story of Narnia, since both him and Lewis wrote their worlds as having been created through the power of song (in the Ainulindale, Eru and the Ainur sang several themes that basically created Arda; in The Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan sings and Narnia is founded).

The second thing I would like to comment on is how God is represented through Aslan as being a lion. While I know that some people don’t like this analogy, I think it fits with the God of the Bible quite well. Aslan can be a loving God towards his creation (as shown through his pity for Digory’s situation that moved him to tears), but he can also be terrifying towards his enemies (such as Jadis and Uncle Andrew, who see him as nothing more than a snarling beast). The analogy of God as a lion fits well because when we think of lions, we often think about how majestic they are, but we still have a healthy fear and respect for them. That’s how we should think of God, in my opinion; loving, but someone we should fear.

I also enjoyed how (unlike Tolkien’s work) the book moved at a very fast pace. It was quick to get to the action and quick to get to the end. Admittedly, it kept your attention more and definitely appealed to the constant want of quick entertainment. I would say that if you’re looking for a quick read, then you will be very happy with The Magician’s Nephew.

Until next time,

M.J.