Books in Review: Inside Narnia

I have been a fan of Narnia since I first read the series when I was in junior high. I eventually became a fan of the other works of C.S. Lewis as well as the story of his life. Then my senior year of high school, I was assigned a research paper in my English class that was both a biography of an author as well as a literary analysis of one of their works of literature. When I decided to do this paper on C.S. Lewis, I went through some of the books I already owned about C.S. Lewis and discovered this book. I came to realize that this book went a step above most books that merely talk about the spiritual values in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – this book did the work of literary analysis for me while keeping the language understandable and the spiritual values at the forefront. This book was so rich in the details I needed, I didn’t have to reread The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to complete my paper. If you a huge fan of Narnia or need help with a research project like mine, I cannot recommend this book enough ~ Bethel

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​The Chronicles of Narnia is one of the most beloved fantasy series in history. With seven books written by the well-loved author C.S. Lewis, the first book of the series, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, is probably the most beloved. This book, full of biblical parallelisms and practical life themes, has had many books written about it that try and get to the bottom of all of them. While some of them do a good job, others struggle with diving deep enough while also being understandable to the average person. However, there is one (or rather a series) that stands out above the rest by examining the book in a whole new way.

​In Inside Narnia, author Devin Brown dives into a compelling analysis of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, the first book released in The Chronicles of Narnia. Instead of just reviewing the spiritual themes or values in the story, Brown takes deeper by exploring the interesting symbols, deeper meanings, and fascinating details that often get missed. You also learn details about the life of C.S. Lewis that contributed to the story. While some books that do this type of literary analysis would be considered dry or uninteresting, this book makes the analysis engaging and understandable (as long as you have a basic understanding of literary analysis). As this book breaks down The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe chapter by chapter, you will come to see this beloved story in a whole new light and see how this fantasy world can teach us spiritual truths about our own world. If you are a fan of The Chronicles of Narnia or you have a research paper involving these topics, this is a book I highly recommend. 

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Teen Rating. I read this book as a senior in high school and really enjoyed it. However, I was a student who was both passionate about the topic and knowledgeable about literary analysis. A teen (or adult) that struggles with English or literary analysis may struggle with understanding portions of the book. On the other hand, if a student needs to do a project like a research paper on these topics, this would be a great resource to help them out

Personal Rating. This book is a great resource for both Narnia fans and literary analytics. I can’t recommend it enough

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Two Additional Books

 

​Inside Narnia was originally released in 2005 to coincide with the release of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe film from Disney and Walden Media. When the film proved to be successful, Devin Brown chose to write more books to coincide with the release of the subsequent films. Inside Prince Caspian was released in 2008 and Inside the Voyage of the Dawn Treader was released in 2010. They were all republished with new covers by a different publisher in 2013.

Original Cover (Baker Books, 2005)

Original Cover (Baker Books, 2008)

Original Cover (Baker Books, 2010)

​Both of these books use a similar precise to Inside Narnia. While I haven’t either of these books all the way through, I do own them and have read parts of both of them. I believe that they do they maintain a similar quality to the first book and would be valuable if you are interested in learning more about Prince Caspian or The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. 

Re-release Cover (Abingdon Press, 2013)

Re-release Cover (Ablingdon Press, 2013)

Re-release Cover (Abingdon Press, 2013)

​However, Brown did not continue the series after the original film franchise was discontinued. Personally, I would love to see him complete this series one day, especially the one that would explore The Last Battle in greater detail. I also wish they hadn’t discontinued the film franchise, but that’s another story for another time.