In his excellent book about reading, An Experiment in Criticism
An Experiment in Criticism (Canto)
, C.S. Lewis made an argument that there are different kinds of readers. Whether you view this as three or five stars will depend on what sort of reader you are. This is the Lewis for those who read The Discarded Image
The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature (Canto Classics)
and his volume on sixteenth century literature
English Literature in the Sixteenth Century
. Lewis was chair of Mediaeval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge, and in a certain sense, these reviews center around classical and English literature, but at one remove, with Lewis reviewing someone's book on an Arthurian tale. What's interesting about this is it puts you in Lewis' own milieu, interacting with the authors and ideas, through books, of his day. It's also interesting to note who published these reviews. Many were in the Oxford Magazine or "Theology". The new essay here was written for T.S. Eliot, editor of "The New Criterion".
This essay makes some interesting points, and seems to me to go with The Abolition of Man
The Abolition of Man
. although I found it more readable than that book, which always seemed to me to be an answer to a controversy I know nothing about. Fortunately, Cambridge Press/ Canto has enabled the "Look Inside" feature, so a prospective reader can scan the contents. I was interested to read reviews of authors I've read other books by, but I'd have liked Lewis to have reviewed other books by them, such as George Steiner's "In Bluebeard's Castle" and Denis de Rougemont's "Love Declared". General readers may enjoy the four reviews of his friend, Tolkien's, books, and some, like me, the reviews of Charles Williams' poetry. The best writing on that, however is the preface from "Essays Presented to Charles Williams", the entire book being well-worth reading
Essays Presented to Charles Williams
.
So now we come to more likely readers for this collection. Those who are reading Milton, or the same person writing about Milton whom Lewis here reviews. Or Spenser, or The Odyssey. Almost everywhere Lewis lets drop a brief, perceptive comment that readers will find invaluable. Another invaluable thing is the nearly forty pages of notes in the back. These would be more helpful as footnotes (and less likely to be missed), but they add immeasurably to the reviews. I have trod softly in this review, my only goal being to dissuade a certain sort of reader who reads Lewis for the stories or apologetics, and to persuade another sort of reader who favors the academic side. As an example of the second sort, a philosophy professor, on hearing I had obtained this volume, immediately asked to borrow it.
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