Perelandra (Paperback)

by C.S. Lewis (Author) "AS I LEFT the railway station at Worchester and set out on the three-mile walk to Ransom's cottage, I reflected that no one on that..." (more)
Key Phrases: Deep Heaven, Green Lady, Fixed Island (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Commonweal Writing of the highest order. Perelandra is, from all standpoints, far superior to other tales of interplanetary adventures. -- Review

Review
The New YorkerIf wit and wisdom, style and scholarship are requisites to passage through the pearly gates, Mr. Lewis will be among the angels.

Los Angeles TimesLewis, perhaps more than any other twentieth-century writer, forced those who listened to him and read his works to come to terms with their own philosophical presuppositions. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (June 3, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684823829
• ISBN-13: 978-0684823829
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #294,555 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eden as it should have been: Lewis' descriptive mastery, November 18, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Perelandra (Space Trilogy) (Hardcover)

Perelandra is quite the most hauntingly beautiful book this reviewer has ever read. From the moment Ransom, the principal character, enters Venus, we are treated to descriptive passages that have the ability to place in your mind an unforgettably beautiful world. Lewis' sweeping prose creates a remarkable vision of an Eden that knows no pain, and the book as a whole leaves the reader with a deep sense of joy and an appreciation of the loveliness of human life. Lewis is quite deliberately retelling the Christian story of temptation, and the theology espoused in the arguments between Ransom and the devil's advocate, Weston, watched with some confusion by Venus' "Eve", show a deep and profound grasp of the methods of evil, and the twisting, roundabout attempts to persuade her to disobey God. Within this story, Lewis disputes and gives an answer to the still prevalent assumptions of much of science fiction - that man must survive at all costs and extend his seed to the ends of the universe. The physical fight with Weston, told around more stunning descriptions of the natural beauty of Venus, suggest that evil is not all-powerful, and Ransom himself recognises the smallness of his actions against the great dance of life, which is the theme of the fast, moving conclusion to the work. Of the three novels that make up this sequence, Perelandra is by far the most thought-provoking, lucid, beautiful and complete. Lewis himself felt that this stand-alone novel was one of his best, and this reviewer encourages anyone who wishes to sample his adult fiction to get this book.

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Floating on an ocean of bliss, April 4, 2001

By	John Salonia Jr. (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

Lewis' Ransom trilogy (OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET, PERELANDRA and THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH) ought to be read with his THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, if only to get the "inside track" of how the possessed (or rather, dispossessed) Dr. Weston plans to handle the coming human population on the watery planet of love.

And a literal planet of love it is. Since love has its own innocence (which includes ignorance, unfortunately) it is a ripe target for the "Bent Eldil" (i.e., Satan) who has already corrupted Thulcandra (as Earth was named before the Fall).

Lewis brilliantly reinterprets traditional Christian mythology in his system of planetary trials. Malacandra (Mars) was never tempted and never fell; Earth was tempted and fell (but never had an advocate), and now Venus is being tempted --- but the Devil doesn't have a free field this time. The innocent Queen of Perelandra at least gets to listen to Ransom's arguments against the nature of evil.

Another of Lewis' strengths is that he "de-romanticizes" evil, making it an unpleasant, unintelligent malignance bloating itself on sheer nastiness (Ransom following the trail of flayed-but-living Venusian frogs to the possessed shell of Weston is quite chilling). It is an unforgettably repellant portrait of the Devil and his kin.

All of Lewis' re-imaginings of medieval superstition are equally brilliant and coherent, and they almost distract the reader from the sheer loveliness of the new world and its inventive life-forms. Think of the charm of VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER translated into adult terms, and you'll get the idea.

It seems to me that Lewis might have based the central idea of this book on "The Tale of the Indian" in Maturin's MELMOTH THE WANDERER. If he did, he took the idea to a new level and embedded it in a story where it achieves much better expression.

Some critics have complained about Lewis' "proseletyzing", but really it is a minor picky point. As an unbeliever myself, I don't find it offensive, nor is it excessively apparent. Lewis puts it as a matter of common sense ("avoid nastiness") and mostly lets it go at that.

Lewis does have his weaknesses as a writer (who doesn't?) but they are mostly invisible in this novel. The only (minor) flaw is the "Carnival of the Animals" finale, which admittedly is a bit much. But after all the great stuff that came before it, who cares about such a minor quibble?

52 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun AND allergorical, November 14, 2000

By	Michael Battaglia - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

That wacky C.S. Lewis, thinking he can stick Christian ideals and
beliefs into a science-fictional setting. What gall. You know what
the funny part is? It actually works, which is something of an
accomplishment in itself. Y'see, this story continues from the last
book (Out of the Silent Planet) where Dr Ransom is sent to
"Perelandra" (Venus) where he finds a fantastic unspoiled
paradise populated by strange and quite friendly animals . . . and a
single green woman who seems rather innocent of the world (psst
. . . think "Eve"). No sooner do they get to chatting then
someone shows up who might just be the agent of the Devil, trying to
tempt "Eve" into disobeying "God" (not called God
but you get the idea) and Ransom has to figure out how to put a stop
to someone who is not only smarter, older and has lots more experience
at this, but managed to do it right once before. Arguments ensue.
People who have read Lewis have complained to me that he tends to
"preach" a bit too much, and I can see from this novel where
people get that idea from. But really it isn't that much of a
problem, for every couple pages of theological argument (cloaked in SF
terms, really) he slathers the page full of absolutely beautiful
descriptions of the planet, you can get lost sorting through all of
them. He really thought this place out and while it's nowhere near
the "real" Venus, my first rule of writing is chuck science
if it gets in the way of a good story. And in the end you have a good
story, it's good versus evil in the classic sense, yes, it's from a
"Christian" perspective but it mostly boils down to
"Devil=bad". There's plenty of other stuff to recommend as
well, the fight between Ransom and the Devil's advocate (couldn't
resist . . . sorry) is one of the most brutal fights I've ever seen in
a old style SF novel and Lewis manages to contrast the sheer brutality
of the fight with the beauty and splendor of the planet around them.
By the end it gets a bit on the metaphysical end of things, but all in
all an entertaining romp. Be prepared if you read the first book and
were expecting more of the same, this is a different tone entirely,
more philosophical and searching and definitely more than just a
science fictional retelling of the Garden of Eden story.