Customer Reviews

C.S. Lewis & Narnia For Dummies

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Being rather fond of both the novells and the essays of C.S. Lewis reading books on his work often turns out to be a rather disapointing experience. However interesting to a certain extend, most of them do not catch the reader, dryasdust as they are written.

"C.S. Lewis and Narnia for Dummies" is a good exception to that rule. Taking advantage of the proven "For Dummies" concept Wagners enthousiasm for the work of Lewis really is contageous. Appearantly Wagner has read a lot from Lewis. Without falling into the trap of being to over-detailled he uses his knowledge about Lewis to draw the big lines and add just enough extra information to make it interesting for other "fans" without alienating those for whom even "The Lion, the Wich and the Wardrobe" is a totally new experience.

For me, considering myself as a lover of most of the work of Lewis, "C.S. Lewis & Narnia For Dummies" was a celebration of recognition. I can not judge for those who are not into Lewis yet - I do not dare to call them dummies - but I can imagine for them this book is appealing to get lost in the wonderful fantasy world of Lewis or even try one of the many essays Lewis has written. At least they won't be frightened by a writer who is to seriously. Wagner obviously likes to make a little fun about himself making it more pleasant to follow his argumentation. I couldn't read the book without a smile.
"C.S. Lewis & Narnia For Dummies" is a book only to be surpassed by the original work of Lewis himself. In the light of the actual interest for fantasy in general and C.S. Lewis in particular consider this book as a must if you are not familiar with Lewis yet. And if you are, there is a good chance that you will enjoy this book as much as I did.

This is a well written and thoughtful introduction to C.S. Lewis. The author walks you thru the life and accomplishments of C.S. Lewis (Known as "Jack" by his friends and admirers).

I plan to re-read the Narnia books, then I will explore some of Jack's other writings.

The second half of the book explores The Chronicles of Narnia, and then discusses some of the deeper writings of C.S. Lewis.

For anyone who wants to better appreciate the writings of C.S. Lewis, this is a great place to start.

I really enjoy using this book as a guide to better understand C.S. Lewis and his life's work.

This book would make an excellent Christmas gift !!

I read "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" when I was 9. I think two years later I read, "The Last Battle." I enjoyed both of them. For a long time, I forgot about Narnia, but when the movie version of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" came out, I started thinking about Narnia again. I saw the movie and thought it was quite faithful to the book, as I remember it.

Wagner's book helped me reacquaint myself with Narnia. He also showed me levels of symbolism in Lewis' books that I never saw before. In addition, Wagner talks about the other works of fiction and non-fiction that Lewis wrote. One of the most famous works of fiction by Lewis outside of the Narnia series is "The Screwtape Letters" which is a series of letters from one devil to another on the subject of tempting humans. After reading Wagner's introduction to the book, I really want to read "The Screwtape Letters."

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about C.S. Lewis and his books.

I wanted this to help me understand Chronicles of Narnia, and love that it comes with info about C.S. Lewis. "For Dummies" always presents information in a fun way and this is no exception. Another great resource book.

This is the first book of Richard Wagner I have read. What a impressive and thoughtful it is! Very enthusiastic and at the same time easy-to-follow. I am going to use this book as a text for my sunday school class.

"C. S. Lewis and Narnia for Dummies" was timed to capitalize on the first Narnia film. It assumes, though, that the reader is seeking solely spiritual guidance and not critical insight and is more interested in the author than his best-known work. That limits its usefulness.

Wagner covers the characters and how they embody Christian values and human frailties in great detail, examining point-by-point how readers can identify with their great deeds and mistakes and apply the lessons they learn to one's own everyday life. (A discussion of how the dwarves of "The Last Battle" represent modern cynicism is particularly good.) The author's knowledge of Lewis's personal life lends insight (Jill Pole's rough experiences in her "experimental school" were based on Lewis's own in a similar institution; Digory's quest to save his ill mom was wish-fulfillment for Lewis, whose own mother was not so lucky). And hey - there's even a recipe for Turkish Delight!

The author's a bit weak, though, when it comes to the plots - each individual Narnia book receives the briefest of outlines (less than a page). At times, this leaves his analysis of Narnia's spiritiual lessons a bit facile; he would have been wise to cut some of the pages belaboring how, yes, Aslan is meant as an analog to Jesus in favor of exploring specific meaningful moments, like Puddleglum's "I will live like a Narnian even if there is no Narnia" speech. Also unexamined are Lewis's views on Islam as depicted through the Calormenes (no "Tash is Aslan; Aslan is Tash" here) and the Problem of Susan debacle. Both are significant, frequent fodder for challenges to the books, yet Davis elides them; judging from his tone and focus, I'd conclude that's he's perhaps loathe to present theories to which he does not subscribe or which present Lewis in a less-than-ideal light, even if only to defend him. Readers can wish to explore Lewis's allegory without fully agreeing with its perspective, and I wish this author hadn't chosen to limit his viewpoint.

Also, the book is called "C. S. Lewis and Narnia for Dummies" for a reason, as it's more dedicated to the former. The first couple chapters are an introductory paean to what a swell guy Lewis was personally, and the second half deals with Lewis's other works - Screwtape, his books on his conversion to Christianity, and so forth. (Only about 100 of the book's 350 pages deal with Narnia.) Wagner's work is, again, thorough and slightly evangelical. It's questionable, though, how much of this will be of interest to a ...for Dummies reader; these works are of a different nature, written for a different audience, and reading through Narnia is a task in itself. The level of detail - down to an exhaustive enumeration of Lewis's famous friends and his own favorite authors - is overwhelming; this is more for those already obsessed than those seeking an introduction to Lewis and Narnia.

Perhaps, then, this book shouldn't have been published under the Dummies label; it's not for a general audience lured in by a mass-market movie. If your church is planning a Narnia read-along, this book'll provide plenty of discussion ideas, but it's too vague for book-by-book discussion. If you want (much) more info on C. S. Lewis and his other writings, have at it. Those looking for a little light shone on the message of Narnia specifically, though, might look elsewhere.

Great book!! Every question you thought you had about C.S.Lewis+ those never even thought to ask, answered in EASY-FUN to read art piece of a book.
Amazon is thee only place to purchase books. Used like NEW for penneys on a dollar & NO gas bill!!

This book has already converted one of my non-Lewis-loving friends into someone who quotes him as if she had been reading him forever! Can there be a better endorsement?

As something of a Lewis expert, I did not expect to enjoy the book myself but found it very good. There is a lot of humor in it, and you don't have to read it cover to cover, but can easily find what interests you.

The icing on the cake is that I purchased a used copy from Amazon for one cent plus shipping! And it arrived in mint condition.

Other than a few editing errors (such as using contractions all the time--Aslan's coming to Narnia), I have found this book to be very factual and informative about C.S. Lewis and the series itself. The author has definitely done his homework. I teach a writing class for junior high students using the Chronicles of Narnia and found the information in this book very interesting to read. I have learned a few more things about Lewis and how he thought, which makes the Chronicles even more fun to read.