The Silver Chair (1953)

Narnia . . . where giants wreak havoc . . . where evil weaves a spell . . . where enchantment rules.

Through dangers untold and caverns deep and dark, a noble band of friends is sent to rescue a prince held captive. But their mission to Underland brings them face-to-face with an evil more beautiful and more deadly than they ever expected. ( )

i feel, therefore i am ( )

Almost over again. :( ( )

Almost over again. :( ( )

Of the seven Narnia books, my relationship with most is clear. I adore "Nephew", "Lion" and "Horse", am indifferent about "Caspian" and "Voyage", and despise "Battle. But "The Silver Chair" and I have admired and resented each other, equally, since I first read it as a kid.

On the one hand... this is perhaps the most justifiably dark book in the series, as Jill and Eustace (replacing, thankfully, those tiresome Pevensie children) find their own belief in Aslan and themselves fading fast, and their uncertainty as to what to do is quite palpable. Lewis passionately makes us believe that the world of Narnia is falling apart, and references to the past stories actually are quite terrifying, in the same way that most series have to wait for their non-canonical installments (e.g. "Return to Oz") to do. It's the most literate of the seven books, also.

Opposing this, of course, is the fact that all of this passion stems from Lewis making each Narnia book more and more of an aggressively Christian allegory. For "belief in Aslan" read "belief in Jesus". For "the world of Narnia is falling apart" read "the world of white, Christian living". This doesn't inherently render the book a failure - after all, Dante was of the same passion, and the Divine Comedy is a masterwork! But it does sadden me a little that my childhood nostalgia is now tainted by the knowledge that Lewis' books are pushing a strong agenda that goes beyond mere children's literature moral fables and into religious propaganda.

Is that unfair? Perhaps. I'm literate enough to be able to enjoy this as a story, and be intrigued by the moral dilemmas of the characters, without hating it just because of the author's beliefs. But at the same time, I don't think kids should be going into this without an adult to guide them through the maze. It's great that Lewis was writing intelligent fiction that would make children ask questions. It's just a pity that he's already decided which answer they should arrive at. ( )