Revisiting Narnia: Prince Caspian
Before I get into my review, let me just mention that the order I'm reading these in is the order that seems to make sense to me to re-read them. But I also think that for first-time readers, whether they start with The Magician's Nephew or not, it works soooo much better to read Prince Caspian as a direct follow-up to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
The story begins about a year after the Pevensie children's first trip into Narnia, and it begins at a train station. I've always liked the notion of being whisked away into another realm and having one's surroundings dramatically change. There's a bit of humor involved in the way Lewis writes the transition, too, and I like the bits about Edmund having left some items behind but still having a sandwich in his pocket when the children suddenly find themselves exploring what turns out to be a deserted island.
What a mysterious island it is! And yet familiar! The reveal works wonderfully, and the storytelling in this book is masterful. Structurally, C.S. Lewis outlined the book with a clever approach that also serves the themes and the overall plot (and indirectly addresses a "hidden" theme in the scriptures about the Lord and time).
As it turns out, the island is the ruins of Cair Paravel, and the set-up simultaneously: 1) allows transition time for the Pevensie children to transform back into their Narnian selves; 2) establishes the fact that a long time has transpired in Narnian time during the year in "our time"; and 3) provides a metaphorical image of the way Narnia is "now" cut-off from the former kingdom of High King Peter and his siblings.
From the opening, the book then flashes back though a clever narrative told and introduced using a framing device through a dwarf (who turns out to be Trumpkin) who tells the story of Caspian. This section of the book has always been my favorite, where the Prince is raised and instructed by secret teachers and then must flee from his uncle who wants to kill him in what feels a bit Shakespearean as it is told.
After Caspian flees, he meets a rag-tag group of underground (sometimes literally) old Narnians who represent some of the most diverse cultures, creatures, etc., in the whole series of books. My favorite is the Mouse, named Reepicheep, whose appearance is always both amusing and oddly elegant. But in addition to the Talking Mice and different kinds of dwarfs (Lewis's spelling), there are Nyads and Dryads, a Giant, the Bulgy Bears, a Badger, a Squirrel, a Mole, a Hedgehog, a Centaur, Owls, Fauns, and other creatures I've heard of only in this book. Together, these creatures form a sort of alliance and prepare to challenge the throne of the usurper King Miraz. They send for help and utilize Susan's horn to call on the kings and queens of the ancient past, High King Peter, King Edmund, Queen Susan, and Queen Lucy.
When the story catches up to the children, they of course have it put together what has happened and some notion of why they have returned to Narnia. But they still have a bit to learn about trusting each other and leading the way, and a parallel to the previous book happens when Lucy sees something, then vocalizes it to the group, but then they all - except Edmund (yes!) - reject her suggestion and defer to "High King" Peter, and then even Lucy does not follow what her heart and soul are telling her to do. It's a striking segment in the book, and it develops further the theme in the book that sometimes doing what is right requires us to take a stand, step out from what others are saying and doing, go against the crowd and culture, and lead in a different direction. Of course, the right direction in the book is to follow the Great Lion himself - Aslan - who has reappeared.
And in light of some of what I've been reading in the prophets recently (and the New Testament), I see Lewis making a point that, again, I think he has felt and experienced in his own life and reading, and therefore is applied to his creative writing. This is perhaps the most allegorical section in the book.
The rest of the book is a great fantasy adventure story about a messed up and divided kingdom that is eventually restored. The theme of being on the right side and the fact that the wrongs will be judged and corrected in the end is illustrated in scene after scene throughout the rest of this book. In the middle, there are some weird moments, including the appearance of the character Bacchus and some other mythical figures that seem to be included due to Lewis's literary background more than his Christian conversion, and this is a key point that often is overlooked when people downplay the Narnia books as mere allegory. Nay, there is much more going on in the author's creative imagination than simple A=1 and B=2 application of scriptural descriptions and biblical principles to his storytelling. Rather, this book is another example of the way Lewis wears his influences both overtly and subconsciously in his fantasy writing.
Overall, I really enjoyed revisiting Prince Caspian. It impressed me as a follow-up to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in that it works both as a sequel to that book and as a further exploration of the the world of Narnia and the possibilities it holds for interesting storytelling.
The story begins about a year after the Pevensie children's first trip into Narnia, and it begins at a train station. I've always liked the notion of being whisked away into another realm and having one's surroundings dramatically change. There's a bit of humor involved in the way Lewis writes the transition, too, and I like the bits about Edmund having left some items behind but still having a sandwich in his pocket when the children suddenly find themselves exploring what turns out to be a deserted island.
What a mysterious island it is! And yet familiar! The reveal works wonderfully, and the storytelling in this book is masterful. Structurally, C.S. Lewis outlined the book with a clever approach that also serves the themes and the overall plot (and indirectly addresses a "hidden" theme in the scriptures about the Lord and time).
As it turns out, the island is the ruins of Cair Paravel, and the set-up simultaneously: 1) allows transition time for the Pevensie children to transform back into their Narnian selves; 2) establishes the fact that a long time has transpired in Narnian time during the year in "our time"; and 3) provides a metaphorical image of the way Narnia is "now" cut-off from the former kingdom of High King Peter and his siblings.
From the opening, the book then flashes back though a clever narrative told and introduced using a framing device through a dwarf (who turns out to be Trumpkin) who tells the story of Caspian. This section of the book has always been my favorite, where the Prince is raised and instructed by secret teachers and then must flee from his uncle who wants to kill him in what feels a bit Shakespearean as it is told.
After Caspian flees, he meets a rag-tag group of underground (sometimes literally) old Narnians who represent some of the most diverse cultures, creatures, etc., in the whole series of books. My favorite is the Mouse, named Reepicheep, whose appearance is always both amusing and oddly elegant. But in addition to the Talking Mice and different kinds of dwarfs (Lewis's spelling), there are Nyads and Dryads, a Giant, the Bulgy Bears, a Badger, a Squirrel, a Mole, a Hedgehog, a Centaur, Owls, Fauns, and other creatures I've heard of only in this book. Together, these creatures form a sort of alliance and prepare to challenge the throne of the usurper King Miraz. They send for help and utilize Susan's horn to call on the kings and queens of the ancient past, High King Peter, King Edmund, Queen Susan, and Queen Lucy.
When the story catches up to the children, they of course have it put together what has happened and some notion of why they have returned to Narnia. But they still have a bit to learn about trusting each other and leading the way, and a parallel to the previous book happens when Lucy sees something, then vocalizes it to the group, but then they all - except Edmund (yes!) - reject her suggestion and defer to "High King" Peter, and then even Lucy does not follow what her heart and soul are telling her to do. It's a striking segment in the book, and it develops further the theme in the book that sometimes doing what is right requires us to take a stand, step out from what others are saying and doing, go against the crowd and culture, and lead in a different direction. Of course, the right direction in the book is to follow the Great Lion himself - Aslan - who has reappeared.
And in light of some of what I've been reading in the prophets recently (and the New Testament), I see Lewis making a point that, again, I think he has felt and experienced in his own life and reading, and therefore is applied to his creative writing. This is perhaps the most allegorical section in the book.
The rest of the book is a great fantasy adventure story about a messed up and divided kingdom that is eventually restored. The theme of being on the right side and the fact that the wrongs will be judged and corrected in the end is illustrated in scene after scene throughout the rest of this book. In the middle, there are some weird moments, including the appearance of the character Bacchus and some other mythical figures that seem to be included due to Lewis's literary background more than his Christian conversion, and this is a key point that often is overlooked when people downplay the Narnia books as mere allegory. Nay, there is much more going on in the author's creative imagination than simple A=1 and B=2 application of scriptural descriptions and biblical principles to his storytelling. Rather, this book is another example of the way Lewis wears his influences both overtly and subconsciously in his fantasy writing.
Overall, I really enjoyed revisiting Prince Caspian. It impressed me as a follow-up to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in that it works both as a sequel to that book and as a further exploration of the the world of Narnia and the possibilities it holds for interesting storytelling.
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