This Month's Books - February 2006

Smith of Wootton Major by J.R.R. Tolkien
A short, thoughtful tale about the gift of fantasy. That is, it's actually about Smith and his excursions into Faerie, but on another level it is "about" (more like Latin "de") the gift of fantasy, or faerie, or myth, or whatever you want to call it.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
A book I've read many times and is still very good. I think it ought to be mandatory reading for Western humanity in general.

Prince of Annwn and The Children of Llyr by Evangeline Walton
These are the first two books of a four book series called the Mabinogion Tetralogy. They are a retelling of the Mabinogi as fantasy novels and are therefore set in ancient Wales. The writing is pretty good and the stories are interesting. They are written from a decidedly pagan point of view which has good, humane Mother gods in conflict with harsh alien Father gods (including, apparently, Christianity). There is at least one spiritual realm, and the suggestion of many, each having its own incarnations of the gods. Interesting, though obviously anti-Christian. But I can't recommend the books, unfortunately--and I did not finish the second--because they contain a good deal of objectionable content, probably worthy of an R rating.

That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis
The third part of Lewis's Space Trilogy (the others being Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra) and the only book that takes place solely on Earth. I think this is the third time I've read this book (this time with my mom). Every time I finish it I am forced to say "amazing!" Who else but Lewis could combine angels and demons, a scheme for world domination, and Arthurian legend with two purposely bland protagonists and an unorthodox structure, and include a study of the desire for the "inner ring" and most of his own worldview to boot? Of course this means that it's impossible to take everything in at the first reading. Be warned, too, that it starts slowly and can be confusing at first, and there is at least one chapter near the end with potentially disturbing violence. Still highly recommended. (It can be read on its own, but it's better to read the first two books in the series first. And you really should read them anyways.)