The Magician's Nephew by C.S.Lewis

The Magician's Nephew by C.S.Lewis

The secret passage to the house next door leads to a brand new world. Narnia...where horses grow wings and talking beasts are called to life...a new world full of magic, where the adventures begin.

Digory and Polly meet and become friends one cold, wet summer in London. Their lives burst into adventure when Uncle Andrew, who thinks he is a magician, sends them hurtling to somewhere else. They find their way to the new land Narnia! But when they awaken to an evil sorceress, Polly and Digory are sent on a quest to stop her before she destroys the world they've just discovered.

  

This book is apart of 'The Chronicles of Narnia'. It was written well after the majority of the Narnia books, but its time frame is before the other books, therefore I recommend reading this book before the other books in the series-to discover how the world of Narnia came to be.

The character of Digory is a typical mischievous child who wants to explore and push all of the "Do not touch!" buttons, or in this case levers. In saying that, he is not a stereotype for he has many other qualities; he is courageous and caring - not to mention - he has a brilliant gift for seeing people's true intentions and he openly states his findings.

Polly is more reserved than Digory, but she still has a sense of fun; she happily obliges Digory by exploring mysterious places in their surrounding area. Unlike Digory, Polly has a great deal of sense, which he seems to ignore on many occasions. The mix of Digory and Polly together brings a great dynamic to the story and together they are a suited team to combat the corruptness of  certain adults that accompany them on their journey.

My Cat Catch Book Rating Scale above- I really liked it (4/5 cats)

Cat Cat Rating Scale- http://minstrelcrazy.blogspot.ie/p/reviews.html

I enjoyed this book, but it didn't necessarily enchant me like I presumed it would. Perhaps, the hype around 'The Chronicles of Narnia' placed my exceptions among the clouds; when it is more so looking up at the clouds-so to speak.

Aslan -the lion who created Narnia- referred to Polly and Digory as the daughter and son of Adam and Eve. This, I felt was irrelevant to the world of Narnia, where many river gods and gods of other nature dwell. It did not seem authentic to suggest the religious beginnings of humans, maybe the author was being primitive with his views considering the time-frame it was wrote in, but I felt the reference to religion wasn't necessary... Also, there happened to be a similar 'garden of Eden' area, in which a magical apple tree inhabited. Digory was sent to retrieve an apple from the tree but was coxed by the evil sorceress. For such a magical place like Narnia, I think it shouldn't relate to the bible- where Eve was apparently manipulated by a snake- representing evil. It should be a unique beginning and I'm somewhat disappointed with the unoriginal idea used.