I've sort of revised my opinion on the whole Pullman vs. Lewis thing. I agree with Pullman about The Last Battle in particular, and in part when it comes to some of the other books, particularly The Silver Chair. (Interestingly, as a child, The Silver Chair was probably my favourite.) I still love the books overall, though, and Lewis' brand of Christianity is far less pernicious than that of today's American fundies. (He did, after all, let one Muslim and a few Jews get into Heaven.)
I also found a good review that asserts that Lewis was at his best when he was at his least allegorical, which is why people who read the books as children and haven't read them since then remember the lantern in the snow and not the obvious Christ metaphors.
In retrospect, though, I do think that the ending of His Dark Materials, in its recasting of the two adult villains as Nietzschian superheros, was almost as bad as some of Lewis' more blatant propaganda.
I'm still not sure whether I want to have kids, but I can't wait until some of the kids in my life are old enough to read these stories. My friend and I are taking his six-year-old nephew to go see The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and I'm quite curious about what his reaction will be.
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Date: 2005-12-13 05:09 pm (UTC)I've sort of revised my opinion on the whole Pullman vs. Lewis thing. I agree with Pullman about The Last Battle in particular, and in part when it comes to some of the other books, particularly The Silver Chair. (Interestingly, as a child, The Silver Chair was probably my favourite.) I still love the books overall, though, and Lewis' brand of Christianity is far less pernicious than that of today's American fundies. (He did, after all, let one Muslim and a few Jews get into Heaven.)
I also found a good review that asserts that Lewis was at his best when he was at his least allegorical, which is why people who read the books as children and haven't read them since then remember the lantern in the snow and not the obvious Christ metaphors.
In retrospect, though, I do think that the ending of His Dark Materials, in its recasting of the two adult villains as Nietzschian superheros, was almost as bad as some of Lewis' more blatant propaganda.
I'm still not sure whether I want to have kids, but I can't wait until some of the kids in my life are old enough to read these stories. My friend and I are taking his six-year-old nephew to go see The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and I'm quite curious about what his reaction will be.