The Narnian: The Life & Imagination of C.S. Lewis
I am an unapologetic Clive-O-Phile, and (thanks to Michael) an adoring fan of Alan Jacobs. I just finished The Narnian, and it was almost too much for my delicate, excitable nature. Jacobs approaches this biography with a view toward understanding not just Lewis’s brilliant mind, but also his passion for story, myth and romance (which I ardently share), and how that passion was a driving force in Lewis’s conversion to Christianity, his fiction and non-fiction writing, and his public and private lives. It’s written in Jacobs’s usual wry, clean prose (very reminiscent of Lewis, actually), and with a tenderness that never tips over into sycophancy. It’s a lovely, langourous ramble through an imagination dusty with “old books and legends.”
I’m looking forward to reading it. I’m actually more interested in it because of Jacobs than Lewis – i think I might be hitting my tolerance level for Lewisiana recently. If this is anything like Jacobs’ other writing though, my guess is that he uses Lewis as the launching point for exploration into a dozen different avenues of thought.
Oh, man, I’m geekin’ out here. Thanks for pointing me to it, Aly. I’ll move it to the top of the very long reading list you’ve provided me. [grin]
Cerise