Mini Review: The Magician's Nephew by CS Lewis

Title: The Magician's Nephew
Series: The Chronicles of Narnia #1
Author: CS Lewis
Illustrator: Pauline Baynes
Format: Paperback, 202 pages
Pub. Date: 1983
Source: Little Free Library


Book Description:

When Digory and Polly are tricked by Digory's peculiar Uncle Andrew into becoming part of an experiment, they set off on the adventure of a lifetime. What happens to the children when they touch Uncle Andrew's magic rings is far beyond anything even the old magician could have imagined.

Hurtled into the Wood between the Worlds, the children soon find that they can enter many worlds through the mysterious pools there. In one world they encounter the evil Queen Jadis, who wreaks havoc in the streets of London when she is accidentally brought back with them. When they finally manage to pull her out of London, unintentionally taking along Uncle Andrew and a coachman with his horse, they find themselves in what will come to be known as the land of Narnia.

Review:

★★★

Confession time: I've never read the Chronicles of Narnia.

I'm a huge fan of the films, and I know they're beloved classics, but I never read them as a kid. I happened to find the first two at my local little free library, and decided to give them a go. Better late than never, right? I didn't realize that this book, while meant as a #1 to the series, was published 6th, and apparently people skip it.

I sort of understand why. I found this book, honestly, kind of boring. It's almost entirely world building and setting up for the rest of the chronicles. If I had read the other books in the series and come back to it, I feel like I would have appreciated it more. But as a first book, it's like a 200 preface.

Not that it's bad. It's enjoyable enough. I appreciated the origins of not just Narnia and the witch, but things that are so signature to the stories like the lamp post.

I also really liked the illustrations that are sprinkled throughout the book. I didn't realize the books had drawings, and it was a pleasant surprise.

I'm glad I read this book, and I look forward to continuing my adventures in Narnia, but I probably won't be reading this again.