Litrerary Crit Comparison

 Literary Criticism: The Narnia Code Versus Frodo's Journey

I came to a conclusion recently. Not all literary criticism works the same way.

In the space of a month, I had the joy of reading some literary criticism on works by some of my favorite authors. One was a reader-friendly version of a dissertation on C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia series, and the other a collection of essays addressing themes in The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. Although I love the works of both authors deeply, I found that reading the commentaries about their works was a completely different experience. It wasn't different because the subjects were different. My experience as a reader was so varied because of the style the commentators took. 

Style?

What do I mean by "style"? I think there are several different things I mean by it in this case. Writing style, overall structure, and presentation of evidence are perhaps three different things I mean by this one word. I'll break it down a bit.

Writing Style

Really, this is probably the least dissimilar of the three elements I'm looking at today. There is a too-heady, dense way of writing, and an easy-to-read way of writing. Michael Ward, in his Planet Narnia, was very much guilty of the too-academic language that made me abandon the project of reading his original work. Joseph Pearce, in Frodo's Journey, has a pretty readable prose, although I found his belaboring of alliteration and even some wordplay distracting at times, or even annoying. Ward's prose was much better in The Narnia Code - which was excellent - but I found the personal stories of how he developed his theory a little out of place. I think I perhaps prefer a bit more of the style where the commentator just sits down with the work and talks about it, not bringing much of himself into the review, at least directly.  Pearce plays with that line a little bit when he makes claims that such-and-such an element obviously refers to this, or can't help but remind one of that, but I appreciate that he leaves out the personal stories of how he came to his ideas.

Overall Structure

There is a time and a place for short essays that are somewhat linked together, but I think that structure is best employed when lots of authors are talking about various facets of the same story. I don't think it served Pearce well in Frodo's Journey, as it left me wondering why it bore that title when the personal journey that Frodo makes is mentioned so little throughout the work.  think Pearce did a bit of a better job in Bilbo's Journey, but I read that ages ago and can't be sure that most of the work truly was focused on Bilbo and his development as a character.

Ward's organization worked much better in The Narnia Code; he  gave background information, stated his claim, and then proceeded to systematically walk through how his ideas could be interpreted as playing out in Lewis' series. I'd argue that there were still some flaws with structure, but it made sense to me as a reader and helped get me interested in hearing what he had to say next.

Presentation of Evidence

Both Pearce and Ward had trouble substantiating claims. They used circumstantial evidence and speak from a place of authority that one could contend they may or may not truly hold. There was a slight difference in how they made their claims, though. Ward carefully laid the groundwork for establishing why we can probably assume things - it's not the strongest or best claim, but he tries. Pearce, on the other hand, has no problem with stating things are self-evident that are not necessarily so for the reader. I think I appreciate a more - shall we say - humble attempt at literary criticism. But, how far can we trust that, seeing as it is an absolute amateur making her critique of two published authors who are well-known in the world of Inklings scholarship?

Overall Effect

I'm going to end my rambling, not-well-organized brief critique with a thought on the overall effect the two works of literary criticism had on me. Ward left me wanting to reread the original series sometime, but with his book handy for me to reference. Pearce left me kind of glad I was done with his work; it's not fair to say if it would have had me wanting to reread the original series, though, because I am in the midst of finishing up listening to an audiobook version as I write out these thoughts. 

I often enjoy reading literary criticism, but I want what I read to point me back to the original work as well as keep me coming back to itself to get those ideas again.

August 2023 Book Bracket

This month started brings us a majority of audiobooks, but a respectable showing for a month in which work starts back up.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin**

Minli, a daughter of poor farmers, is inspired by her father's stories and sets off to ask the Man of the Moon to change their fortune.

Why I picked it up: This one made it onto my to-read list and I thought I might listen to it while I was on my honeymoon.

My impressions: This is an award-winning book, and I can see why. The story is interwoven with many tales that, in the end, almost all connect with each other. Every tale has something to do with the action and provides a rich background against which the main storyline takes place. The writing was absolutely beautiful in some sections, with one part - about sleeves, of all things - really touching me. Intriguing characters traveled through a fairytale landscape, with a satisfying ending to boot. There are some (religious?) practices mentioned in the book that wouldn't line up with Christian religion - such as trying to learn what one's fortune is - but good and evil are otherwise easy to detect. I think this book would be appreciated by most mid- or upper-elementary students, especially if they are alright with a story that doesn't have to be supper fast-paced from the start. 

Northwind, by Gary Paulsen**

The Viking orphan Leif survives plague and travels north in his canoe, learning to survive the wild bays and even, at times, the open ocean.

Why I picked it up: I was in need of an audiobook while I scrubbed at what I discovered was a filthy kitchen floor.

My impressions: This fictional account has an interesting layer of culture or lore, but it fails to rise beyond the mere basics of a youth surviving in the hostile wild on his own. While it deals with themes of leaving behind a testament, being part of a community, and honoring those who have been good to us, its lack of plot keeps it from being a truly great book. I found some parts of it very realistic and wonder-inducing - such as navigating a deadly whale feeding ground and traveling up the learning curve on how to deal with bears. The Scandinavian setting and plague origins adds some fun (and, at times, depressing) flavor to the story. I did fast forward through some of the sadder portions, but most of it was fine to read. I think this book would be fine for most middle school readers - and probably some younger readers who could handle some of the stickier content. I don't remember if it had much in the way of non-Christian religious practices.

The Golden Goblet, by Eloise Jarris McGraw**

Ranofer, an orphan in Thebes, struggles to figure out how he can still pursue his dreams of becoming a goldsmith as he tries to elude the beatings of his abusive half-brother.

Why I picked it up: The kitchen floor needed more cleaning and I wasn't into my usual podcasts.

My impressions: This was a pretty good book. It had some darker elements in it - specifically, a physically abusive parental figure who, in this book, was a much older half-brother. As difficult as this content might be for any child to read, it added reality to the motivation of characters and helped flesh out Ranofer's character - his day-dreaminess, his painful longing to pursue a craft he loves, his moral shortcomings and his failure to trust his friends at times. It was so interesting to learn about Thebes and its Egyptian culture - at least, so far as I knew, it sounded like it had the ring of veracity. The story had an immersive quality - we get to dive deeply into Ranofer's personal life, as well as the culture that shapes his experiences. I think this would be a good book for upper middle school readers who could handle some of the trickier elements listed above. There is some explanation of religious practices, especially regarding the treatment of the dead and mention of offerings to priests, but I think it's pretty clear that these are the practices of a very different religion than what Catholics and Christians practice.

The Narnia Code, by Michael Ward

This reader-friendly version of a dissertation explains one scholar's popular but unproven theory that C. S. Lewis based each of his Chronicles of Narnia books on the qualities of the celestial bodies, as they were understood in Medieval times.

Why I picked it up: I was intrigued by the premise of Planet Narnia, Michael Ward's dissertation, but was bored and frustrated by the dense, challenging academic language. I decided it was worthwhile to pay $3 for an interlibrary loan so I could read the layman's language version.

My impressions: Yes, this book was worth reading and it makes me want to flip through the larger work it's based on to see if there are more connections Ward makes between Lewis' books and the planets. Ward seems very convinced of his own theory - and it has me thinking that I wouldn't be surprised if he hit on the key - but it doesn't mean he's found the definitive explanation. I did a very little bit of  online research, but it seems that there's not a real way to prove Ward's interpretation is the correct one, short of finding an undiscovered disclosure that Lewis had made to someone that this is what he'd done with his work. This book was a pretty quick read and one that I wouldn't mind owning myself sometime, especially since I think it'd be a cool activity to read the applicable chapter and then reread the original work. I felt like the really interesting chapters were sort of trapped behind the paywall of the first two or three explanatory chapters, but overall, it was a good read (even though I had to skip through some of the chapter on The Last Battle, which I still find rather depressing). I think this would be a great book for any high-school-aged or older fan of The Chronicles of Narnia to read at some point. I bet that even younger readers could appreciate at least parts of this book, too.

The Two Towers, by J. R. R. Tolkien**

The members of the Fellowship face adventures separately in war-threatened Rohan and in the wilds leading to Mordor.

Why I picked it up: My galpal in our reading club of two finished the book and I needed to get it done!

My impressions: Tolkien is a brilliant writer. I love the story. I can't say enough, so I'll say just a little here. I very much enjoyed listening to the audiobook version, narrated by Rob Inglis. I think just about everyone should read this, even though I know it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Bracket Play

The main note that I'd like to make is that I removed The Two Towers from competition. I think I said earlier that I'd have the books of The Lord of the Rings trilogy compete as a single entity when I had finished all three - and besides, I don't think it's fair to make the other books compete with it. It would have been the winner, without question.

So, for the bracket play amongst the more evenly matched works, we had all the rounds decided easily enough. I liked Where the Mountain Meets the Moon better than the survival tale Northwind. It would have been a close enough battle if Lin's book had to face The Golden Goblet, but that wasn't the case - McGraw's tale lost easily to The Narnia Code, which ended up winning the championship against Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. In spite of the lack of decisive evidence to back the author's case, I loved reading The Narnia Code and found it exciting to read. I learned a lot from it and it makes me want to reread the original Chronicles of Narnia series with Ward's book near at hand.

Even though I listened to three books that were not as high on my to-read list this month, at least two were somewhere on the list. I had been meaning to get to The Narnia Code after Planet Narnia proved to be a disappointing reading effort, so I'm overall pretty at peace with what I read in August.