My little sister practically forced me into reading the Harry Potter books starting last weekend–and it’s been fun. But I was delighted when June rolled into July, marking a hiatus from venturing into unknown worlds and inviting me to return to my first-fantasy-love: Narnia.
That’s right, it’s time for Reading to Know’s annual “Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge”–and I’m here with bells on.
I’m reading Prince Caspian this year, continuing my slow march through the books, attempting to dig deeply and savor whatever symbolism and meaning my mind can find.
To be honest, I’m a bit scared this year, worried that I won’t find anything meaningful, that my brain won’t be working, and that my analysis will be shallow.
Even as I listened to an audiobook version of Caspian on my way to work on Monday, my mind was racing for the perfect symbol, the perfect theme to settle upon for my blog posts this month.
But time traveled on and my mind slowly grew accustomed to Narnian air and ready for whatever meaning is to be found in this volume.
“I don’t think Edmund would have had a chance if he had fought Trumpkin twenty-four hours earlier. But the air of Narnia had been working upon him ever since they arrived on the island, and all his old battles came back to him, and his arms and fingers remembered their old skill. He was King Edmund once more.”
~from C.S. Lewis’s Prince Caspian
Just as it took the Pevensies time to acclimate themselves back to Narnia–even just to recognize that they were in Narnia, it has taken me awhile to shed my grown-up analysis and to return with the eyes of a child. But I’m back. I’ve escaped. Whether called by Susan’s horn or in through a picture or hidden in a wardrobe, I have made my way in and I’m not leaving until I’ve experienced it fully.
Are you coming?
Check out some of my previous years’ explorations in Narnia:
- The Magician’s Nephew: Case Studies in Greatness
- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: The Cross of Christ
- Unsatisfactory Satisfaction: Part 1
- Unsatisfactory Satisfaction: Part 2
- Evaluating Trustworthiness (in Narnia)
- The Horse and His Boy: A Sovereign God
I love your posts and can’t wait to read what you come p with after breathing the Narnian air! :-)
I love how you wrote this and the analogy of breathing Narnian air.
I think that is a fantastic way to describe it. It’s time to breathe in Narnia air again. And it takes time to acclimate. I’m right there with you this time!