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- Considering he wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, one of the most popular collections of children's literature of all time, it's no real surprise that C. S. Lewis received thousands of letters from youngsters during his career. What's admirable is that he attempted to reply to each and every one of those pieces of fan mail, and not just with a generic, impersonal line or two.
The fantastic letter seen below is a perfect example. It was sent by Lewis to a young American fan named Joan Lancaster in June of 1956 — just a few months before the seventh and final book of the series, The Last Battle, was published — and is actually an invaluable, generous response filled with practical writing advice, all of which still rings true.
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FYI: He's not just the "Narnia guy." Most people automatically jump to this, because it's his most famous work, but his masterwork of fiction is largely considered to be the book Till We Have Faces, a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. Another set he's particularly well known for is his Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength). And of course, the man wrote volumes of non-fiction as well: The Problem of Pain, the Great Divorce, Mere Christianity, etc.
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No worries. I'm pretty easy going about books, and I am one of those people that finishes most every book I start, even if I don't particularly enjoy it.
I'll start with Till We Have Faces. I'm reading Chruchill's The Gathering Storm atm, and i have yet to decide if I am going to finish out the series or not before I pick up something else. So, I might read it as my next book, or a few books down the line. At any rate, I'll get back to you when I do.
forwardslash · 4395 days ago · link ·
If you do read the Narnia series I also recommend Planet Narnia. There's a whole lot more to the books then just the biblical symbolism.
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Yeah. I think what bothered me most was that the lion came off as a condescending puppet master type. He acted loving, but his actions were questionable. If I remember correctly, he watched the kids struggle and people die, and then when it looked like all was lost, he came in and roared and everything was ok. It made you wonder why he wouldn't just make things better sooner if he was the only real solution to begin with.
thenewgreen · 4395 days ago · link ·
Life is funny. I could go years without ever mentioning CS Lewis and today I referenced him. I made a joke about how the town we were in, Gastionia, sounded like a mythical CS Lewis realm. Unfortunately, it was a small, somewhat dirty little town with no good restaurants to speak of. -Not that narnia is full of great restaurants. Or was it? Like you, I never read it.