Fantasy Annotation

The Magician’s Nephew

By C.S. Lewis

Synopsis:

The first book of the Chronicles of Narnia series was not the first published, so fans of the series argue in what order the novels should be read. In any case most publishers mark this book as the entry point to the series. The story starts out with two children Digory and Polly talking to each other through a fence, that leads to a play date that expands into a new world. Digory’s odd Uncle tricks the children into wearing a set of magical rings that takes them to another realm. Here the reader sees the events that set the rest of the series into motion, the first encounter with the great evil witch and the lion Aslan, the sign of ultimate righteousness. The reader will quickly notice the story is thick with religious allegory that seems to dictate the plot and characters.

Elements of Fantasy:

Story Line

Saricks writes that a fantasy story is defined by the “expectation of ultimate victory over evil forces”, and in this regard The Magician’s Nephew follows closely to the genre description. Both this story’s plot, and overarching references to adventures in the future are filled with the hope of good finally triumphing over evil. In accordance with this characters are very easily seen as heroes, villains, or someone looking out for their own good (in The Magician’s Nephew this aligned the person with helping a villain every time). Our young heroes, Digory and Polly, act as children playing out a grand adventure in their minds. Paying little attention to ‘why’ magical things are happening around them, always accepting them as they are. Digory has a bit of a selfish streak he has to overcome a few times, but quickly falls into line every time.

Tone/Mood

In a children’s fairy tale fashion, the adults in the story seem bewildered by seeing the magic of Narnia, yet the children take it in stride without a challenge. There is the underlying concept that Narnia is a place more easily understood than the real world, and the children operate quite naturally in it. This is the offer to the reader also, to enjoy Lewis’ work there is an expectation that you will quickly through aside any challenges to the magic. Magic exists and is not explained; yet very few people outside the setting of Narnia know of its existence. This leads to a mood of wonderment for the reader, you are taken to fantastic places and meet magical characters, you’re investment in the characters has more to do with your commitment to good triumphing over evil than in empathy for a character’s choices or personality.

Pacing

The Magician’s Nephew is generally a quick read, both because of its minimal length, but also its fast pace. Compared to other works in the fantasy genre, Lewis offers less description of the surreal settings the characters find themselves in. The book bounces between action scenes quickly, but once in a scene lengthier descriptors are applied. Most fantasy is known for creating worlds to dwell inside, and Lewis offers the reader wonderful worlds, yet his narrative style moves quickly from one setting to the next often with action motivating the characters.

Language

Lewis wrote The Magician’s Nephew as a children’s tale, much like his friend and counterpart J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Yet when comparing the two the reading level of Lewis’ intended reader seems much lower. High fantasy language is mostly used in dialog between characters, yielding a narrative voice much more accessible. The main characters, being children, often talk and act in character which glues their characters together nicely, but does not include much of the fantasy jargon many associate with the genre. The narrator often speaks to the reader as an aside, justifying the children’s actions or remarking that the children would remember this or that event for the rest of their lives. You get the feeling while reading The Magician’s Nephew that you are being ‘told’ a story, literally, as if being spoken to.  

Read-A-Likes:

       

The Book of Three by Alexander Lloyd

             

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

   A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin