A Reader's Guide Through the Wardrobe: Exploring C.s. Lewis's Classic Story by Leland Ryken and Marjorie Lamp Mead

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A Reader's Guide Through the Wardrobe: Exploring C.s. Lewis's Classic Story
Available from Amazon
Price: $8.74
Updated on 6-28-2008.

Features

Audio CD

Publisher: Hovel Audio; Unabridged edition (July 2005)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1596442166

ISBN-13: 978-1596442160

Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches

Shipping Weight: 2.1 ounces ()

From AudioFile
Authors Ryken and Mead provide a guided tour through the world's most famous closet. Although this book is not just for seasoned Narnia fans, some familiarity with the book is assumed as much information will spoil the story for the uninitiated. Simon Vance gives a pleasant reading of a methodical text. Each of the first 18 chapters covers the corresponding territory in the novel, allowing the listener to reread the salient parts while hearing the illuminating commentary. The remaining chapters dig into chronology, basic information on C.S. Lewis and Narnia, and the Christian vision of the allegory, all of which Vance does his best to make interesting, failing only in the necessary repetitions of names and dates. S.M.M. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Dr. Paul F. Ford, author of Companion to Narnia and Pocket Companion to Narnia
"The most thorough literary study of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe that I have ever read. It is a must for every serious student of Lewis's first Narnian Chronicle and a gateway to the series."

Reader Reviews
This review is from: A Reader's Guide Through the Wardrobe: Exploring C. S. Lewis Classic Story (Paperback) It seems difficult to think about the Chronicles of Narnia critically from a literary perspective. I recall being read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (LWW) by my 2nd grade teacher and being entranced by the story. When I finally purchased the Chronicles set for myself I made it a point to purchase the exact same edition from which I was read. Many people, I'm sure, feel this same sort of bond with the books that seem to transcend critical thinking since they grip our hearts so firmly. A Reader's Guide Through the Wardrobe: Exploring C.S. Lewis' Classic Story challenges us to take a critical look at the first of the Narnian stories. The authors begin by making it clear in the introduction that this guide should be used after initially reading LWW purely for enjoyment. The rest of the book is divided into two parts. Part One contains 18 chapters following each chapter of LWW. Part One is called the "Guided Tour." Each chapter introduces some aspect of literary device that Lewis utilized, such as foiling, archetypes, foreshadowing. Throughout the chapters reflective quotes from Lewis and Lewis scholars are interspersed to add insight. There are plenty of scattered study questions as well, all of which are geared toward helping the reader think through the different elements in LWW. Part Two offers extended background information and follows a more typical book format. Chapter 19 looks at how the Chronicles came to be written. Chapter 20 examines the reception of the series, including a number of criticisms that have been leveled against Lewis. The final chapter outlines the Christian elements in LWW. There is also a brief biography of Lewis and appendix on the order by which to read the series at the end. For the most part, this book pleasantly surprised me. I wasn't sure what to expect out of a reader's guide, since I haven't read one before. It essentially teaches readers how to think about the book, while leaving what to think about it mostly to the reader. The guide was consistently interesting and insightful into both Lewis and literature in general. The authors compliment each other terrifically- Leland Ryken being a literary specialist and Marjorie Lamp Mead being a Lewis scholar. The only part of the book that I thought could use improvement was the last chapter on the Christian vision of LWW. While there were some noteworthy points made in it, it didn't seem to have the solid structure and flow of content the rest of the book has. With that only exception, A Reader's Guide Through the Wardrobe is an excellent tool for helping those of us already romantically familiar with Lewis' masterpiece to take our affections to the next level. With the insights from Ryken and Mead, I believe I can now appreciate Narnia, as well as other fictional literature, more profoundly. Comment | Permalink | (Report this)

A Reader's Guide Through the Wardrobe: Exploring C.s. Lewis's Classic Story
List Price: $21.98
Available from Amazon
Price: $8.74
Updated on 6-28-2008.