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Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer [Paperback]

C. S. Lewis
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)


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Book Description

March 21, 1973
In the form of warm, relaxed letters to a close friend, Lewis meditates on many puzzling questions concerning the intimate dialogue between man and God. Lewis also considers practical and metaphysical aspects of private prayer, petitionary prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, and other forms of prayer.

“A beautifully executed and deeply moving book” (Saturday Review).


Editorial Reviews

Review

"A beautifully executed and deeply moving little book." —Saturday Review

"[Lewis] is writing about a path that he had to find, and the reader feels not so much that he is listening to what C.S. Lewis has to say but that he is making his own search with a humorous, sensible friend beside him. That is writing that requires great literary skill … That this should be the last book that we shall have from C. S. Lewis is a matter of genuine regret."—Times Literary Supplement

"The unbeliever is likely to enjoy the book most for its shrewd asides…Opinions of this kind are expressed with the admirable directness and simplicity which characterized the style of this often indirect and highly complex man."—New Statesman
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

C. S. (Clive Staples) Lewis (1898-1963), one of the great writers of the twentieth century, also continues to be one of our most influential Christian thinkers. A Fellow and tutor at Oxford until 1954, he spent the rest of his career as Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge. He wrote more than thirty books, both popular and scholarly, inlcuding The Chronicles of Narnia series, The Screwtape Letters, The Four Loves, Mere Christianity and Surprised by Joy.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 132 pages
  • Publisher: Mariner Books (March 21, 1973)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 015650880X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0156508803
  • Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.8 x 0.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
(39)
4.6 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
47 of 50 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Deep and Personal June 27, 2002
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is one of those books where I found myself taking an hour to read a paragraph, which I had previously read. I just needed to ruminate on Lewis' thoughts. It's not theological in the sense of Mere Christianity or The Four Loves- he is clear here and elsewhere that he does not want to write a devotional book and indeed thinks he has little to offer on the subject, as he is untrained in these areas. So while he covers the same areas as Richard Foster's Prayer, this book has a decidedly different feel. It is personal, as if it were a collection of real letters.

And thus these are just letters. Often Lewis doesn't fully explain his ideas in an understandable way, to make it appear as if he is not writing to the general public, but only to Malcolm- a friend with whom he has a lot in common, with that secret language that all friends have. I appreciated too how personal asides were imagined, like "Your son is very welcome. We do *not* dress for dinner normally." and "Please tell Betty I do not need a bed downstairs, I am feeling much better." and, contrary to what Walter Hooper would have us believe, references to his conjugal life with his former wife.

Lewis' musings have the advantage of coming at the end of his life, with the full wisdom available. I especially liked his thoughts on getting whatever we ask for in faith vs. Jesus prayer in Gethsemane, difficulties in prayer focus, and the effectatiousness of our prayers.
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25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As I left for vacation a few weeks ago, I wanted to take several books in case of rainy days. I read Piper's Don't Waste Your Life (see earlier post on that book) almost in its entirety on that trip and did not get around to the second book in the stack. I chose Letters to Malcolm because I could not decide if I wanted to read a C. S. Lewis book or a book on prayer. So, here I found both in one volume. This was C. S. Lewis's last book, written about six months before he died and published some time after his death. (Incidentally, he died the same day as JFK, 11/22/63).

Letters to Malcolm presents to the reader one side of a two way dialogue between Lewis and "Malcolm." We do not get to read Malcolm's letters, but Lewis's replies usually help us to know what in on Malcolm's mind. Many people often ask, "Who is Malcolm?" Some assume it is Malcolm Muggeridge (I think I have even taught this in the past). In actuality, it seems that Malcolm is a fictional character, with just enough biographical information given to make him believable, but not too much where someone might say, "Ah, I know who Lewis has in mind here." All we know of Malcolm is that he and Lewis have been friends since college, and have kept in touch over the years. We know he is an Anglican layman with a wife named Betty and a son named George.

It is hard to say if the "Lewis" who "writes the letters" is a characterized persona or if he is Lewis-proper. There are certainly readily recognizable streams of thought and biographical details that are consistent with the "real C. S. Lewis," but there are a few surprises thrown in to keep us guessing. The daily deluge of letters that Lewis received and wrote undoubtedly gave him plenty of fodder for his "letter-writing" books like this one and The Screwtape Letters.
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25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars An Exchange Between Friends December 9, 1999
By sue
Format:Paperback
This book by C. S. Lewis offers something his other books do not. Rather than being a work of fiction or an exploration of his thoughts on religion, this is an intimate exchange of letters between C.S. Lewis and his longtime friend, Malcolm Muggeridge. They discuss the nature of prayer, among other things, and the letters give us a glimpse into Lewis at his most thoughtful. He's not attempting to entertain or to present his case to an audience. He's exploring, with a friend, the most intimate feelings he has about religion. His frustrations, his most sublime moments communing with God, his feelings of inadequacy and much more are revealed in the form of letters to a dear friend. We can put ourselves in Lewis's place and travel the paths he travels, much as we would if we were writing the letters. This is Lewis at his most accessible. He's not the lecturer, the professor or the famous novelist. He's a man on the same search as the rest of we Christians.

Muggeridge is a perfect foil. More of a curmudgeon and skeptic, he nevertheless responds to Lewis's questions and wonderings with respect and sincerity.

Along with the Screwtape Letters, I find this to be one of Lewis's finest books about religion.

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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent reflections on prayer July 26, 2000
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Lewis's letters to a fictional friend address many of the perplexities about prayer and inhibitions to prayer likely to plague anyone who's ever thought much about it, and his writing is, as always, a pleasure to read.

I'm from a non-religious background and found the practice of verbal prayer attractive but hard to make any sense of. This book helped me to get over some of my intellectual blocks to prayer and actually pray.

(Two other recommendations for the prayer-impaired or anyone wanting to enrich their understanding of prayer: Ann and Barry Ulanov's "Primary Speech" and Karl Rahner's "The Need and the Blessing of Prayer.")
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars He doesn't reinvent the wheel...
I love the simplicity of this book! Lewis allows us to follow along in his own thought process but through the simple manner of letter. Read more
Published 9 days ago by Yukon Brennan
5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite prose
I will always number Lewis among my chief literary heroes. But I have just discovered this gem of a book..and may have found a new favorite to savor for years.
Published 1 month ago by Larry in Richland
3.0 out of 5 stars Hard read for me
I love C.S. Lewis but this book was hard for me to follow, but it's just the format. I don't really enjoy reading letters that are not specifically addressed to me I can't focus... Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. Marston
5.0 out of 5 stars Opening the Gates of Wonder
I don't know if this book was 'fiction'(ie: 'Did C.S. Lewis truly have a nephew named Malcolm; were these letters historically true?'). Read more
Published 2 months ago by Rosemary Breau
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic read
I'm a big Lewis fan so enjoying this book was no surprise. But I read it through in a few days and liked it so much I immediately started reading it again! Read more
Published 5 months ago by Smileem10
5.0 out of 5 stars Plain but Wise
A short read marked with bits of treasure, sometimes uttering aloud the nuances of prayer that we have prided ourselves over but failed to do.
Published 5 months ago by sfyr
5.0 out of 5 stars Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer by C. S. Lewis
Excellent and the immersion reading for this book is so fantastic, this feature really appears as if C. S. Lewis is reading it along with me.
Published 6 months ago by BAS
5.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous
It's a little odd reading one side of a two-sided conversation but this is some of CS Lewis' best - to the point, clear, even humorous from time to time. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mark Loves Kindle Books
5.0 out of 5 stars A Unexpected Treasure
Just finished reading "Letters to Malcolm" by C.S. Lewis. It is generally considered to be one of Lewis's lesser works, but I would rate it as one of his best (chapter 21 may be... Read more
Published 10 months ago by marc barber
5.0 out of 5 stars Great discussion on prayer from a master thinker and writer
This books consists of several letters written by CS Lewis to his friend and fellow author, Malcolm Muggeridge, on the topic of prayer. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Jeremy Myers
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