Recently, I was anonymously gifted a copy of “The Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe”, and, since I had just finished “The Magician’s Nephew”, I thought it’d be a perfect time to read it. Before I carry on with the review, I feel I must disclose that just like “The Magician’s Nephew”, it took me a while to finish this book, but I’m certain that my reading slump was to blame for this occurrence, and not the book itself. 

This story follows Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter, who during WW2, are evacuated to live with an old professor in the British countryside. While staying with him, they wander through a wardrobe, into the magical land of Narnia.

The pacing and world-building of this book was incredible. Lewis managed to vividly, yet concisely, describe the wonders of Narnia, without going into too much depth, therefore allowing your mind to fill in the smaller details yourself. I thought this decision was excellent, taking in consideration both the nature of a fantasy world and the target age of the book’s audience. Also, allowing readers to picture certain aspects of the world individually makes Narnia seem more homely and personal. However, this book, may not be for everyone. 

If Christian symbolism isn't your cup of tea, I wouldn't recommend this series too strongly. Many characters are representations of either Biblical ideology or figures, and many scenes are direct parallels to Biblical tales. Lucy represents someone who, once finding Christ, develops whole-hearted faith in Him, whilst Aslan represents Christ himself. But, I have to admit, some of the relations are easy to miss if you aren't too familiar with Christianity. Even as a Christian myself, I only realised some of the (many) parallels during my research for this review. 

One of my least favourite elements of the book was the characterisation. I felt that it was bland and sexist, and was a defining aspect for this book’s lower rating. In hindsight, you could chalk the simplicity of the characters up to the books being for children, and the sexism up to the date of writing (1950). Nonetheless, both features certainly stand out when reading it. When Santa gives Peter a sword and shield, he is given them with the expectation that he will fight in the upcoming battle. Then, Susan is given a bow and arrow, and a horn to call for help, and Lucy is given a dagger and a vial of healing cordial. Both girls get told by Santa “I do not mean for you to fight in the battle.” When Lucy is told this, she insists she is brave enough to fight in the battle. Santa states “That’s not the point. But battles are ugly when women fight.” This incredibly sexist remark was brushed off by the characters, but it stuck with me for the rest of the book. After the Lucy is left with the job of healer (along with Mrs. Beaver, another character whose role in the novel was littered with sexism), it is shown that Lewis gave the women in this book very limited roles.

I had mixed feelings about this book's ending. It was charming enough, and definitely hooks you into the world further, but I feel like it did remind me of the "it was all a dream" trope, which I feel is overused in media - but I think that is just down to it's overuse in modern media.) Although I have to admit, an ending in which they didn't leave Narnia would have been (personally) preferred, I can see why it was not written like that, as it would have been unfulfilling and wouldn't be able to segway into the rest of the series as smoothly.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this book, due to Lewis' simplistic style of writing, alongside such a beautiful fantasy world. However, the outdated, sexist characterisation present in the novel would make re-reading a bit difficult. I'd recommend it to fantasy-lovers who are looking for an easy read and don't mind Christian symbolism, but if you do read it, just keep in mind the datedness of certain elements.