Passport to Narnia

Review from ForeWord

 
FOREWORD THIS WEEK 11.02.05

Excerpt from:
BEYOND THE WARDROBE
"First be sure that you know exactly what to say. Then be sure you have said exactly that."
                                                                                                               --C.S. Lewis

     When my sister was in elementary school she received a boxed set of the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis as a birthday gift. She, like millions of others around the world, was immediately caught up in the tales of the magical land beyond the wardrobe. That was nearly thirty years ago and since then she has read the entire set at least three times and first book in the series, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at least five. 
     Disney's upcoming movie version of this classic will likely send fans like my sister heading for the bookshelf to revisit these novels that are delightful, fantastical adventures replete with heroes, villains and of course magic. Adults too have found the stories entertaining as well as worthy of academic study.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, published in 1950, was the first of seven books in the series. Millions continue to be sold year after year, with generation after generation captivated by Edmund, Peter, Lucy and Susan's visits to a world beyond the wardrobe where a wicked queen, well-mannered fauns, and talking animals are common. 
     These are clearly books that resonate with the reader but why? George Beahm, author of Passport to Narnia told FTW that he believes that there is more than simply a story at work. "These are books that, as one Lewis scholar said, can profitably be read as a child, a young adult, and an older adult: as one grows older, one appreciates its many layers, which Lewis scholar Paul Ford cites in Companion To Narnia: first, the literal (the story itself), then its moral dimensions, its allegorical dimensions, and finally its anagogical (religious or mystical) dimensions," he said.
 
     "Good fiction doesn't hold up a mirror to life; it shows us the world filtered through the sensibilities, the morality, the humanity, and the intelligence of the writer," said Beahm. "And in this case, we're talking about C.S. Lewis, who, as a scholar, a teacher, a writer of nonfiction and fiction, and as a popularizer of the Christian faith, had a unique worldview that is expressed in the Narnia books. In this case, the work cannot be considered without regarding the writer: the two are inextricably linked."
     To coincide with movie's December 9 release, publishers, both large and small, are providing us with a slew of new guides to Lewis's writing. HarperCollins, the exclusive English-language publisher of the Chronicles, is releasing 170 Lewis-related titles with 140 related just to Narnia.
     Small houses are also joining the fray releasing books that revisit this timeless classic from various points of view. Beahm said before he wrote his book, he looked at everything on the market related to Narnia and found that what was missing was an accessible reader's guide to the series, one that could be read by both young and older adults who are likely to be exposed to the Chronicles as a result of the movie. 
     "Millions of people will go see the movie without ever having had the benefit of reading the principal texts. So it stands to reason that a number of those people will go to the bookstore and look for an explanatory text that will not only tell them a little about the creator and his work, but where to go for more information. So, in that sense, my book has to be a literary compass that will steer people in the right direction. I don't want to overwhelm them with information; I just want to give them what they need to know to get "into" Narnia, get his bearings, and then explore Narnia on his own," he told FTW.