The Chronicles of Narnia- Part 3: Out of the Wardrobe
The Last Battle (1956)- C.S. Lewis (211 pages)
The Last Battle surrounds Eustace and Jill’s final adventure into Narnia as they attempt to help King Tirian of Narnia. In Narnia, a monkey, named Shift, and a donkey, named Puzzle, are attempting to pose as Aslan after they found a lion's skin along a river. From here, chaos ensues as this false Aslan attempts to enslave Narnia, and the power-hungry Calormen enter Narnia to support this false Aslan in their own quest for Narnia. This book review is very difficult because I feel like there are potential spoilers at every turn, if you make it this far I want you to experience the surprises that ensue. I will say that in the Last Battle there is in fact a last battle in Narnia, and Tirian is often mentioned as the last King of Narnia very early on in the tale. That should lead you pretty quickly to the outcome of this book, the ending of Narnia. The second half of the book is Lewis explaining how the world ends, judgment day, and the afterlife or heaven. Lastly, what I appreciated is Lewis does try to give some fan service, or what the reader wants, in the latter pages of the story of Narnia. The first 130 pages or so of this book I struggled with immensely, the writing was on the wall and I saw everything I had read for six books coming to a tragic close. While the subsequent half of the book makes up for some of that, I still found this book to be a tougher read.
This final tale is a culmination of Lewis’s views on the afterlife and judgment day. In the final days of Narnia, the group attempting to fight the last battle is tested often, both physically and mentally, as they battle against quite overwhelming odds. At each turn, they do not falter and stay true to Narnia and are ultimately rewarded for it. This testing of your worthiness has been a constant theme throughout the Chronicles. The second half of this book is devoted to Lewis’s view on the afterlife what it looks like, feels like, and who is there. I found it to be a very compelling section and one that also does a good job of closing the story together.
Thematic Questions: 8, Lewis’s take on judgment day and the afterlife is a rich read.
Enjoyment: 6, the first half of the book is a struggle to read through as you see the downfall of Narnia but the second half makes up for some of it.
The Chronicles of Narnia
Overall, the Chronicles of Narnia is a very compelling story that details the progression of a world from dawn to dusk and everywhere in between. While I overall enjoyed the collection as a whole, I have two main critiques: the lack of a cohesive narrative across the Chronicles and the time jumping that occurs across each book.
The lack of a cohesive narrative had me struggling throughout the Chronicles. What I mean by that is often one book can be read entirely independently of the rest. You can read the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or the Silver Chair or The Horse and His Boy, and they are fully encompassed independent stories. I saw this as a large detractor. Even if Lewis could just slip in more allusions to previous stories or tales I think that would help significantly and sometimes he does but not nearly enough I felt.
My second point involves the time jumps that occur throughout the Chronicles. I found the time jumps, meaning in one book you are in year 500 for instance then in the next you are in the year 1500, to create a jarring experience for the reader. The characters I knew and loved in the last book have suddenly been dead for 1000 years and I now have to relearn to care about this new set of characters. I think this contributed to the lack of cohesion. Beyond the humans from our world, there is little continuity in characters across the books.
These Chronicles are rich with an abundance of themes both in number and breadth. I think overall the main focus of the Chronicles is on temptation and the afterlife. Throughout all the books making up the Chronicles temptation and the ills that follow are the drivers of the story, often for the rest of the tale, the main characters have to fight and struggle both physically and mentally to undo the wrong. The afterlife is another constant theme, sometimes they search for it physically other times conceptually but it is a concept that Lewis plants in the adventures often. In the end, Lewis brings both these themes together in the afterlife, showing who deserved it and who didn’t but he also shows what the afterlife is: a place of joy and beauty, a place of richness of every sense, a place where good beats evil, and a place with no temptation.
Thematic Questions: 9, the Chronicles are rich with allegories and allusions with a strong mix of themes that doesn’t overburden the plot.
Enjoyment: 7, I overall enjoyed the Chronicles. While I felt that cohesion was lacking between the books it is still a very enjoyable read.
I hope you enjoyed this collection of book reviews on the Chronicles of Narnia, my next book review will revert to my previous format.
