Here comes my next novel review!~
The project I've chosen this time is The Chronicles of Narnia. Some of you may know the three movies "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", "Prince Caspian (of Narnia)" and "The Voyage of The Dawn Treader", but actually they're based on novels published in 1950 to 1956. The seven volumes are no continuing story, you can read each one separately, but it makes sense to hold on to a suggested order. The author Clive Staples Lewis intended it like this:
The Magician's Nephew
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Horse and His Boy
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of The Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Last Battle
So I also started with the first one - let's go for "The Magician's Nephew"!
There is actually no movie about this volume - I guess it's because this novel would be very difficult to animate and a very high budget would be needed. At first I will summarize the content, and later I will give my impressions about the novel.
Annotation: I've read the novel in German, so I maybe don't use the original vocabulary. Nevertheless, I'll try to sum up everything as understandable as possible.
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| The edition of the novel I've read: From Brendow, published in 1977 |
There are two main characters: The young girl Polly and the boy Digory. Digory moves in the house next to Polly's, and the children get to know each other and become friends. Because the summer holidays are cold and rainy they're forced to stay inside, and because children are naturally curious they start to explore the house. Polly has created a secret hiding place called smuggler's den under the roof, and they discover a floor right under the roof beams. By crawling through it they can get into the neighbours' houses, and when they look around they find a secret studying room. Here works Uncle Andrew, Digory's uncle - the boy doesn't like his relative at all, and he would prefer to continue living at the countryside with his mother and his horse. But fate has changed things to worse: The boy's mother became seriously ill, and Digory was forced to move to London although he loathes the city life.
In the studying room the children meet Uncle Andrew, an old man around 60 who has high plans with them: He wants to use Polly and Digory as world travellers. He has found some soil from an unknown parallel world in a coffer and formed two yellow and two green rings of it. The yellow rings sweep one in the universe when they touch one's skin, and with the green ones you can return in our world. Uncle Andrew already has sent a guinea pig to the unknown dimension, but because it couldn't report what is on the other side he decided to send two children. Uncle Andrew briefly explains his plan and convinces Polly to get one of the yellow rings - and she disappears without giving in. Digory is absolutely against the whole project, but when Polly vanished he agrees to follow her for rescuing her. So the boy takes the two green rings in his pocket and sticks the other yellow one at his finger (you can touch the yellow rings without risk with a glove), then also disappears.
Digory finds himself again in a very silent forest - the atmosphere is described as so quiet, one can feel the huge trees growing. The peace and harmony in this place make him let forget everything from his earlier life in the normal world, and he feels as if he had been in the forest for his whole life. Digory finds Polly who also lies in the grass and enjoys the beautiful sunshine, but at first they don't remember each other - until they tell each other of their strange dreams where they already have met, and then their memories return. By looking around they find a guinea pig with a yellow ring around its belly; it's the one Uncle Andrew has sent, but without a green one for the trip back. They decide to leave it in the forest because it seems happy and satisfied here, and the children start exploring the surroundings. They become aware that the forest consists of many small ponds, and they both dove up from a certain one when arriving in this world - so they explain the existence of this forest as a world between the worlds, and they conceive the other ponds are gates to many other parallel universes. Digory marks their own pond so that they can find it again, but then the fire of exploring another world flares him up and he convinces Polly to discover another dimension.
The children jump into another pond, but the magic doesn't work - that was because of the yellow rings which still stick on their fingers. Uncle Andrew hasn't understood exactly how they work: The yellow ones consist of a material that is eager to return to its own world, thus the forest between the worlds. Contrary the green rings' material always wants to leave its own dimension and enables the person who touches it to travel to every other universe. When the children understand the principle they change the rings to the green ones and try jumping into another pond again; and this time they are successful.
The gate leads to a world that isn't as beautiful as the forest: The atmosphere is very solemn and obscure because of a dim red sunlight - this world is shortly before dying. The children find themselves between the ruins of huge buildings and wander around long distances, always in danger of falling stones and rocks. Finally they reach a giant ceremony hall where lots of wax puppets are sitting on chairs; on the upper head of a long banquet table a very big and supernaturally beautiful woman is throning. Polly is scared by the surroundings and wants to leave this world, but Digory discovers a small bell with a small hammer on a stone plate and is tempted by a slogan below to ring it. As the consequence a swelling noise arises that let the stone walls collapse, and the woman at the end of the table awakens to life. As she sees the children she takes them by their hands and they escape from the huge palace - and the woman doesn't hesitate to destroy portals in their way with magical power. Digory is absolutely banned from her beauty and trusts her quickly while Polly doesn't like her at all.
The woman introduces herself as Queen Jadis, the Empress of Charn, the world and the city they're in at the moment. She shows the children the leftovers of the metropolis she had reigned over in better days, but also tells how she had received power: Because she needed to win over her elder sister, the original queen, she became a dark witch and made use of the destructive power of the "unnamable word" that killed every single living spirit around except her. The children become aware of the evil inside of Jadis and want to leave the world quickly - especially when the queen utters the longing for accompaining them in our real world to become the Empress there, too. She considers Digory as the relative of a mighty witcher and can't believe that he has no royal blood in his veins; she eagerly wants to visit Uncle Andrew. The scared children now try to flee from the dark world with the yellow rings, but although they can escape they carry Jadis with them because she had hold on Polly's hair.
The three return to the forest between the worlds, but there Queen Jadis doesn't seem to have both physical and magical powers. Quickly Polly and Digory jump into the pond leading home, but the Empress manages to hold on Digory again and is also carried to London. They find themselves back in Uncle Andrew's studying room, and he is instantly bewitched and fascinated from Jadis' beauty that he becomes her servant and does everything for helping her conquering the world. He changes his clothes to his best garments and leaves for borrowing a hackney-carriage, and the children are somehow helpless at the moment: On the one hand Polly needs to return home, and Digory is punished by his aunt Letty why he was absent such a long time; nevertheless they need to stop Jadis' aim of conquering the world.
The Empress looses her patience after a while and enters the living room where she meets aunt Letty, and she runs out of the house and gets the carriage without the driver herself. She robbers a jewelry house and defends herself against the police with a metal stick she broke from a streetlight - her magical powers don't work in other worlds. In the meantime Digory tries to reach Jadis for carrying her back to the forest between the worlds, and when he is successful and grabs her heel not only them but also Polly, the horse called Golden Apple, the carriage driver and Uncle Andrew are taken with them.
In the interworld Jadis looses her power again while the horse gains new energy, the carriage driver believes they're dead and awaiting life after death or whatever may follow, and Uncle Andrew is shortly before going mad and wants a brandy for his nerves. The children want to send Queen Jadis into another dimension again, and when they jump into another pond all together they arrive in a black nowhere.
But in just this moment the birth of this universe begins: A chant resounds and creates a nightly star-spangled sky, followed by a beautiful dawn. Now also nature arises around them: Forests and meadows; hills and mountains; waterfalls, rivers and the sea. The grass and trees are growing rapidly, and depending on the melody the nature is shaped. Animals appear and awake to life, and finally the group can see the voice's owner: A huge lion wandering around. Queen Jadis, who is afraid of the power of its magic, throws the streetlight stick against its forehead, but the lion doesn't even seem to recognize one of the present persons. The Empress becomes aware that she has no chance to survive here and runs away, leaving the group alone. At the place where the streetlight stick fell down a new streetlight grows, and the lion approaches, but doesn't recognize the strangers; he is too busy with creating the landscape.
Meanwhile Uncle Andrew tries to convince Digory and Polly to return to their world and to confess that he is the one who has discovered a new world. Claiming that this could be a country where everything is possible Digory gains hope that here he maybe could find something that could heal his deadly ill mother from her disease. He wants to ask the lion whether it can help him, but it is too busy with awakening animals to life and choosing each two of a kind to follow him. Then the lion causes a flash shooting down from the sky that finishes its creation and brings the newly invented world to life. He also mentions the name of the universe: It will be called Narnia.
Now the lion whose name is Aslan confers with the chosen animals about how they have to rule over their kinds, and the hopeful Digory follows him to ask him for a remedy for his ill mother. Uncle Andrew wants to stop him but can't hold him back: He doesn't dare to approach the wild animals like panthers and bears because he can't understand them speaking but just hears their wild noises.
In the meantime the carriage driver and Golden Apple talk with each other, and the horse slowly remembers him and his earlier existence, but not in a positive way: It was forced to carry heavy loads while its owner insists that he always had treated the horse in a good way.
Back to Uncle Andrew: He now catches the animals' attention, and when they approach he looses his consciousness of fright. The animals don't know how they shall handle the strange object they can't identify as a tree or as an animal. Because he doesn't move they decide in favour of a tree and plant him into the earth so that he can continue growing. While doing so a gold and a silver coin fall out of Uncle Andrew's pocket, and later a golden and a silver coin tree will grow at the place where they touched the ground.
Digory now manages to talk with Aslan and to beg him for a remedy for his mother. At first he has to explain a lot of things and reasons to the lion, also from where the evil witch came and that it was his fault she entered Narnia. Aslan is angry, but not on him because he sees that everybody makes mistakes. He insists that human beings shall fight against her when the time has come, and the lion calls a first king and queen into life: The carriage driver and his wife. He takes the woman to Narnia by magic, and now they're named Frank and Helen.
Now Aslan pays attention to Digory's request: Far away, in a green valley with a lake grows an apple tree whose fruits cure all diseases. He tells him to go there and to pluck one for him, and the desperate boy gives in. Of course the lion supports Digory for his journey: He tells Golden Apple he shall bring him there, and the horse now called Fledge receives wings. Also Polly insists to accompany her friend, and the three now start their trip that will take them two days.
While they're resting and sleeping the night they don't have something to eat, and when they really find the apple tree the next day Digory is so hungry that he nearly eats one of the silver fruits himself. But then he remembers Aslan's words and just plucks one without eating another.
In the garden he suddenly meets Queen Jadis who just has eaten one of the apples and who tries to convince him he also shall try one. But Digory doesn't give in this time and quickly returns to Aslan with the apple. The lion tells him to throw it in direction of the main river, and where it lands a huge tree will grow that will protect Narnia from the witch for a thousand years. Now Frank and Helen are crowned and swear to protect the new world from all dangers, as well as their children and all following generations.
Digory and Polly now discover Uncle Andrew planted into the ground who was treated like a pet from the animals in the meantime. The children beg the lion to be allowed to go home together with him, and Aslan agrees and allows Digory to pluck a silver apple from the tree he just had planted and that already had grown to huge size. Happily and deeply grateful the children leave Narnia with the lion to the world between the worlds, and he gives a final advice to them: They shall bury the rings so that they never will be able to travel to another dimension. Our world shall be protected from the evil of other dimensions, and Aslan wants to cut the connection in this way. Then the three, Polly, Digory and Uncle Andrew, return to London, and Digory instantly brings the apple to his mother. When she eats it she completely recovers from her disease, and the boy plants the leftovers in the garden so that a new tree can grow there. Polly and he bury the rings around it, and the tree's apples have no healing power but are described as England's most beautiful and delicious apples. The tree also is just affected by the weather in Narnia: When a storm whirls there the tree also is moved although the weather may be good in the real world.
The story ends with a foreshadowing of the next adventures: After many years the tree will be destroyed by a thunderstorm, and Digory makes a wardrobe out of its wood. This magical wardrobe will become the gate through which the next children will enter Narnia in the future.
I had few ideas of the Narnia series when I started reading this volume, and at first I was confused because I thought this would be the episode of the movie, but the contents didn't fit together. But then I looked it up and found out that the films are produced in order of publication of the novels, not of Lewis' suggested chronology.
When I started reading the novel I was quickly caught by the story: It is easy to read and reminded me of an extended version of a fairy tale. It's no simple children's book, a bit more complex indeed, but nevertheless leaves enough space for own imaginations. I especially liked how easy everything seems that happens here: Aslan creating Narnia is described as if it would be the simplest thing to do on earth.
The novel doesn't loose itself in focusing on details but packs a huge story in around 170 pages; you rarely find this in novels. Many authors would need additional 200 pages, but Lewis manages to create a complete plot with huge background universe with these few words - that may sound not impressing, but it's more difficult to describe complex worlds and stories with few words than the other way around. So you also never get bored because there is always happening something: You won't find passages where some details are described too closely what leaves imagination space for the reader. The phrases just have one meaning and indicate to what the reader shall see, and if you let out your fantasy you will be able to dive into this fairy tale world.
The story has a really wide and colourful view on many aspects: You not only have few but many actors, and many different things typical for a fantasy adventure are included: Magical creations of worlds, flights on mythical creatures like winged horses or the crowning of a king. The fact that everything is happening very fast guides you through the story very well and makes it possible to read through the entire novel in a few hours. I have spent half a day on it and got through it without problems - so you also don't need to spend too much time on it.I really can recommend it for a free day or when you're lying outside in summer, or when you have a calm winter evening and make yourself comfy on the couch with a cup of tea or hot chocolate. It's worth reading it, also if you're maybe not the biggest fan of alternative fairy tales and adventure stories. There is just one condition: You must be ready to accept a completely different and maybe unusual way of writing and storytelling - but don't worry, it's easy to get used to and become fascinated by it.
I give three of five possible stars to the novel and hope I have awakened your interest for the Narnia series. I also have planned to read the other stories and to write reviews about them, so look forward to the other projects~
See you next time with the second episode!~
Junsui



