Review: ‘The Magician’s Nephew’ by C. S. Lewis
When Digory and Polly are tricked by Digory’s peculiar Uncle Andrew into becoming part of an experiment, they set off on the adventure of a lifetime. What happens to the children when they touch Uncle Andrew’s magic rings is far beyond anything even the old magician could have imagined. Hurtled into the Wood between the Worlds, the children soon find that they can enter many worlds through the mysterious pools there. In one world they encounter the evil Queen Jadis, who wreaks havoc in the streets of London when she is accidentally brought back with them. When they finally manage to pull her out of London, unintentionally taking along Uncle Andrew and a coachman with his horse, they find themselves in what will come to be known as the land of Narnia. (Goodreads Summary)
Due to some apparent oversight in my childhood reading I have somehow managed to reach the grand old age of 23 without ever having read any of the Narnia books apart from ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’. I have now determined to rectify this situation, and if this first book is anything to go by I’m very glad I did.
I found the story charming and engaging even though I’m well over the age of the primar target audience; it was told with an elegant simplicity which easily demonstrates how these books have become enduring classics. The illustrations in this particular edition were a great accompaniment to the text. The narrative style with its self-conscious, gleefully conspiratorial asides was a delight to read and I whizzed through the book all too quickly. I look forward to reading the remainder of the series.
The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis. Published by Diamond, 1996, pp. 171. Originally published in 1955.
N.B. This is an old review written in 2010 and posted on Goodreads and LibraryThing before I started keeping track of all the books I read here at Old English Rose Reads. I’ve decided to keep copies here so that this remains a complete record of my reading since I started reviewing books for my own pleasure.