Book Review - The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe

The most popular of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, the second book in the series of seven and published by Geoffrey Bles, 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' is based on Christian theology. The yummy mixture of fantasy and children's literature was first released in London on 16^th October 1950 under the ISBN 0060764899. In the momentous days of World war 2 the four siblings—Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy– leave for the English countryside during air raids in London. They live with an eminent professor where they find a magic wardrobe during a game of hide-and-seek that leads them to another world, the world of Narnia; a world of fauns and talking animals.

Behind the armor of fantasy and fiction Lewis concocts the story so as to turn the eyes of the readers towards the eternal spirituality. The white which, the embodiment of Satan, tricks Edmund into betraying all the good in Narnia while Aslan the epithet of Christ comes to rescue the innocent and punishes the sinners. The readers, who are not aware of the 'Deeper magic before the Dawn', are left with a throbbing heart when Aslan is 'apparently killed' by the Witch. A heart wrenching and extremely poignant scene teaches us lessons of love and self-sacrifice. While Aslan has been brutally slayed the children have to fight the war against the witch single handedly.

Will the good triumph over the evil? Is it possible that Aslan (Christ) could perish? What are the 'Deep' and the 'Deeper magic'? There is no charm in a drab catechism; the only way to seize the thrills and the frills of a piece of literature is to read and construe it! Even theatrical and TV series depictions fail to do justice to the way Lewis brews the characters to life.