For those who have, how does C.S. Lewis compare to J.R.R. Tolkien? Are the C.S. Lewis books on par with LOTR or are they more for children?
The Narnia books are geared for children but are some great writing anyway. You might try "The book of the dun cow" for some more adult good vs evil type fantasy reading. In it's original form it was part of a collection written by Irish monks in the early 1100s.
Check out the link above, it has audio clips as well. I particularly like the clip for "Mere Christianity."
Also, Lewis and Tolkein were contemporaries and friends. Both were admirers of each other's works.
The books are for children, but they're not a bad read. It would probably take you only a couple of hours to get through the first if you're interested.
I think Chronicles of Narnia are definitely lighter reading, and probably aimed more for kids; but, as an adult you will pick up on all the Christian themes, making them that much more enjoyable. I read them as a kid, and really liked them. I think I'm going to re-read them too. As an aside, and I'm sure you know this, there is nothing even remotely racist in these books. These people astound me with their ignorance. I've often thought, if Jesus himself came back today, the Libs would be the first to try to stop him, even before Islamists would. Enjoy the books.
Tolkien and Lewis were great friends...members of a group of writers/professors called the Inklngs. They both read each other's manuscripts before they were published.
Chronicles of Narnia are more for children (Like the Hobbit I suppose) and the story is more allegorical with Christianity. THat is the reason for the outcry. People can look at Tolkien, recognize the forces of Good vs Evil, but not really come away with a truly Christian message. Lion Witch and Wardrobe particularly tells the story of Christ in allegorical form..It's an absolutely WONDERFUL book and the film's trailers look like it will do it justice...DESPITE being from Disney.
> For those who have, how does C.S. Lewis compare to J.R.R. Tolkien?
Lewis unmistakeably wrote Christian allegory, whereas Tolkien depicted a struggle simply between good and evil. I read the Narnia Chronicles when I was a kid and the Space Trilogy after college. The Christianity wasn't intrusive--I'm not a Fundy--and they are books you'll always remember.
Lewis and Tolkien were friends and peers and often reviewed each others' work. The Narnia novels, and the Christian allegories contained therein, are more accessible to young readers than LOTR. The stories are shorter, the characters are young and not overly complex. and the plots move right along. LOTR requires more thought, reflection, and patience. I love both sets of stories - they just don't write them like that anymore!
My uncle introduced me to the Chronicles of Narnia when I was young. I have read the series more times than I can count. I still read them. Even as a child, I knew what the symbolism meant and loved it. Every time I read the books, I get something new from them.
My Dear Wormwood,
The most alarming thing in your last account of the patient is that he is making none of those confident resolutions which marked his original conversion. No more lavish promises of perpetual virtue, I gather; not even the expectation of an endowment of "grace" for life, but only a hope for the daily and hourly pittance to meet the daily and hourly temptation! This is very bad.
I see only one thing to do at the moment. Your patient has become humble; have you drawn his attention to the fact? All virtues are less formidable to us once the man is aware that he has them, but this is specially true of humility. Catch him at the moment when he is really poor in spirit and smuggle into his mind the gratifying reflection, "By jove! I'm being humble," and almost immediately pride- pride at his own humility- will appear. If he awakes to the danger and tries to smother this new form of pride, make him proud of his attempt- and so on, through as many stages as you please. But don't try this too long, for fear you awake his sense of humour and proportion, in which case he will merely laugh at you and go to bed.
I love it!
The Chronicles of Narnia are somewhere in between The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. The genius of C.S. Lewis is how he interweaves deep philosophical questions in a book with simple language accessible to children. Re-reading the book as an adult, I find myself marvelling at how he does it.
We are very excited about the movie! WETA Workshop, the group that did the special effects for the LOTR movies is also doing the effects for Narnia. It's looks great in the trailers!!
Tolkein and C.S. Lewis were both members of the Oxford group called the Inklings. Personally I think the Chronicles are easier reading and seem to be aimed at children while LOR is more adult level.
If you get a chance rent the movie Shadowlands, it is the story of Lewis' marriage to Joy Gresham. It is a very good introduction to Lewis the man. And by all means read the Chronicles though written at an easy level the stories are excellent and deserve an adult readership too.
I have never read the Narnia books, but Lewis' non-fiction books are brilliant. Virtually without peer.
I read all the Narnia books in third grade. I was probably an advanced reader, but I don't think I would have been old enough for LOTR at this time. I didn't get to these until eighth grade. There are some other science fiction books by C.S. Lewis such as Perelandra that are aimed at an older audience.
The reading is lighter, and the content is lighter. It's like comparing, "The Passion of the Christ" to "Ben Hur."
Narnia is child-friendly, but it does contain significant adult material. Apart from being Christian rather than witchy, Narnia compares more with Harry Potter than with Lord of the Rings. (Rowling was an avid Narnia fan.)
The conservative world view of Narnia is not quite so paleoconservative as Tolkein, who considered Beowulf as the END of British literature, but he is more overt. His Christian references are still mythological, but are much harder to miss. And he deals with modern society enough to be baldly political, trashing co-ed public schools, for instance, in books 3,4,5 and 7.
The reading is lighter, and the content is lighter. It's like comparing, "The Passion of the Christ" to "Ben Hur."
Narnia is child-friendly, but it does contain significant adult material. Apart from being Christian rather than witchy, Narnia compares more with Harry Potter than with Lord of the Rings. (Rowling was an avid Narnia fan.)
The conservative world view of Narnia is not quite so paleoconservative as Tolkein, who considered Beowulf as the END of British literature, but he is more overt. His Christian references are still mythological, but are much harder to miss. And he deals with modern society enough to be baldly political, trashing co-ed public schools, for instance, in books 3,4,5 and 7.
Not that I have any "problem" with Narnia....it just ain't that good!
I can't speak with regards to book comparisons, but I do know that Tolkien and Lewis were acquainted and influenced each other.
They are like a kiddy Lord of the Rings but has more meaning to the story. For example if someone dies in Lord of the Rings it is horriable and scary like with the Wraiths, but in the Narnia books it would just say ,"he fell over and died. But to answer your question yes in a way it is a childrens book. But you want to know something I am 19 and I still find the Book fun to read. So this movie is going to be kick ass!