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The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia Paperback – December 2, 2009

by Laura Miller (Author)

40 customer reviews

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THE MAGICIAN'S BOOK is the story of one reader's long, tumultuous relationship with C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. As a child, Laura Miller read and re-read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and its sequels countless times, and wanted nothing more that to find her own way to Narnia. In her skeptical teens, a casual reference to the Chronicles's Christian themes left her feeling betrayed and alienated from the stories she had come to know and trust. Years later, convinced that "the first book we fall in love with shapes us every bit as much as the first person we fall in love with," Miller returns to Lewis's classic fantasies to see what mysteries Narnia still holds for adult eyes--and is captured in an entirely new way.

In her search to uncover the source of these small books' mysterious power, Miller looks to their creator, Clive Staples Lewis. What she discovers is not the familiar, idealized image of the author, but a man who stands in stark contrast to his whimsical creation-scarred by a tragic and troubled childhood, Oxford educated, a staunch Christian, and a social conservative, armed with deep prejudices.

THE MAGICIAN'S BOOK is an intellectual adventure story, in which Miller travels to Lewis's childhood home in Ireland, the possible inspiration for Narnia's landscape; unfolds his intense friendship with J.R.R.Tolkien, a bond that led the two of them to create the greatest myth-worlds of modern times; and explores Lewis's influence on writers like Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Franzen, and Philip Pullman. Finally reclaiming Narnia "for the rest of us," Miller casts the Chronicles as a profoundly literary creation, and the portal to a life-long adventure in books, art, and the imagination. Erudite, wide-ranging, and playful, THE MAGICIAN'S BOOK is for all who live in thrall to the magic of books.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Jam-packed with critical insights and historical context, this discussion of C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia from Miller's double perspectives--as the wide-eyed child who first read the books and an agnostic adult who revisits them--is intellectually inspiring but not always cohesive. Finding her distrust of Christianity undermined by her love of Lewis's indisputably Christian-themed world, Salon.com cofounder and staff writer Miller seeks to "recapture [Narnia's] old enchantment." She replaces lost innocence with understanding, visiting Lewis's home in England, reading his letters and books (which she quotes extensively) and interviewing readers and writers. Lengthy musings on Freudian analysis of sadomasochism, J.R.R. Tolkien's Anglo-Saxon nationalism and taxonomies of genre share space with incisive and unapologetic criticism of Lewis's treatment of race, gender and class. The heart of the book is in the first-person passages where Miller recalls longing to both be and befriend Lucy Pevensie and extols Narnia's "shining wonders." Her reluctant reconciliation with Lewis's and Narnia's imperfections never quite manages to be convincing, but anyone who has endured exile from Narnia will recognize and appreciate many aspects of her journey. (Dec. 3)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From The New Yorker

In this powerful meditation on �the schism between childhood and adult reading,� Miller recounts her tumultuous relationship with the favorite books of her youth, C. S. Lewis�s �Chronicles of Narnia.� Filled from an early age with a distrust of the Catholic faith in which she was raised, Miller didn�t notice the Christian subtext, and when she learned of it, as a teen-ager, she felt �tricked, cheated.� Combining memoir, criticism, and biography, Miller takes Lewis to task for his �betrayals,� including the racial stereotyping and �litism that, she argues, inform the books. Yet her respect for Lewis�s talent remains; scrupulously placing him in his historical context, she crafts a nuanced portrait of the author as a sensitive curmudgeon and comes to the realization that �a perfect story is no more interesting or possible than a perfect human being.�
Copyright ©2008 Click here to subscribe to The New Yorker --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product details

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Back Bay Books; 1 Reprint edition (December 2, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316017655
ISBN-13: 978-0316017657
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,016,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #434 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Genres & Styles > Children's Literature
- #564 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Genres & Styles > Science Fiction & Fantasy
- #615 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > History & Criticism

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Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5 stars

5 star		43%
4 star		33%
3 star		2%
2 star		7%
1 star		15%

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Top customer reviews

Warning: not an easy introduction

Bycatulluson September 30, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

An abundant source of information on the life of CS Lewis, of medieval English literature, of Tolkien, and the author's own life. Sadly, the book is disorganized, and we get too little insight in Narnia and the Narnia saga. An OK read, but for a casual Narnia reader, who wanted a to understand more of the world of Narnia, it was a disappointment.

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A believer

ByJohnon July 3, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Laura Millier is a fine writer and thinker, and her Magician's Book is a terrific project. I spent my miserable childhood lost in imaginary worlds, and while reading this she allowed me to sit on edge of the magic I lost myself in while giving me tools to understand - for better and worse - its charms. I spent several years teaching Harry Potter to inner-city middle school students, and I tried to do as well by my students as she does by us.
Miller for years has been principal literary critic for Salon.com, the original and perhaps best of the internet-only publishing ventures. My reading (and listening - Miller knows audiobooks and I commute in LA traffic) have been almost exclusively shaped by her tastes. I don't regret that a bit.

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A Fascinating Look into the Narnia Wardrobe of CS Lewis

ByMondoon May 29, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

A sceptic as far as Christianity goes but the author writes a compelling tale of her on again off again relationship with CS Lewis' writings-especially The Chronicles of Narnia. A thoughtful and very well written book.

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Highly recommended for CS Lewsi fans

ByB. Bauron November 16, 2013

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is a great book, but you definitely need to be a Narnia fan to get the full benefit of it (maybe even to get any benefit, but I can'[t say that for sure). I really love how she goes into the Tolkien?Lewis differences and similarities, and friendship.

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Thoroughly engaging

ByAtaraon September 29, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I am generally more attracted to fiction than nonfiction, but this was a delightful read. I very much relate to the author's experience of the Narnia series and found the book engrossing, thoughtful, amusing, and well-written.

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Wonderful

ByTired Old Teacheron May 16, 2013

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Not just for lovers of C.S. Lewis, Laura Miller delves in to what it means to be a reader, to be a reader who cares about meaning and existence, and most of all, a reader who looks to literature for consideration of those themes. Well worth it.

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Written as well as her subject

ByDerek T. Joneson April 1, 2009

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

A study of C. S. Lewis' Narnia series from an intriguing perspective: that of a nonbeliever. Miller makes it clear in her prologue that she is enthusiastic about Lewis' work but remains unmoved by its Christian message. As a Christian myself, I was preparing for something that was perhaps bitter or deconstructionist, but it is neither. Like Lewis himself, Miller has a talent for presenting a complex subject in a concise and direct manner, well organized and reasoned without being dry.

Miller reveals the influences that led to Narnia, from country Irish landscapes to the British Empire's encounter with the Middle and Far East, from boarding schools to medieval cosmology, from Norse gods to Greek heroes. One of the most fascinating chapters deals with the contrast between Tolkien's purist approach to language and culture, and Lewis' more inclusive patchwork: Anglo vs. Irish, Catholic vs. Protestant, one vs. many.

She preserves the sense of wonder and mystery of her subject even while she examines its structure and origins, something which is difficult to do at all, let alone do well. I recommend this book highly to anyone who loves Narnia, and would encourage fellow Christians to read it as well. Much of what has been written about Narnia assumes that its magic is only window dressing for the Gospel message; Miller reveals its other richness.

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I suspect this book taught me more about Lewis than Lewis himself knew

ByK GLADSTONEon June 26, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I suspect this book taught me more about C. S. Lewis and his dreams than Lewis himself knew. Read it!

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Most recent customer reviews

It's kind of a turd, to be honest.

It basically amounts to a long but simple-minded (childish) anti-Christian rant that really doesn't go anywhere or evince any intellectual musings or discussion points of merit.Read more

Published 10 months ago by Byron H

Grand fallacy

Typical journalist: seeking a sensationalist approach to a topic in order to make press, and embarrassing herself in the bargain by being shocked to find out later that books she...Read more

Published 1 year ago by Amazon Customer

com an shave enjoyed her writing there

This book far exceeded my expectations. I rarely read literary criticism, but I follow Laura Miller on Salon.com an shave enjoyed her writing there.Read more

Published 1 year ago by Sharon Hogan

Author is ashamed of liking children's fantasy

I couldn't get past the intro, where she repeatedly mentioned that adults -- especially members of the intelligentsia like her -- are always ashamed of loving children's fantasy.Read more

Published on February 25, 2015 by Nancy McC

The poor reviews here largely miss the point

As a bookish Jewish child, I enjoyed the Narnia books very much as a youngster and re-read them often until I was perhaps 10 or 11.Read more

Published on February 12, 2015 by Andrew in Denver

... alive on the page for me - it was like she was reading my thoughts in passages

I'm a huge Narnia fan and this book really came alive on the page for me - it was like she was reading my thoughts in passages. Mr. Tumnus is my favorite character as well.Read more

Published on August 2, 2014 by I. Sondel

Real literary criticism, not hagiography.

The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventure in Narnia, by Laura Miller

Despite the subtitle, this book is not just for readers of C.S. Lewis.Read more

Published on May 14, 2014 by Philadelphia

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