The A-Z of C S Lewis: A Complete Guide to His Life, Thoughts and Writings by Colin Duriez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I would call this book review rather mixed. Mostly, I can recommend this book. It has an incredible amount of information about C.S. Lewis, and it does assume that you are basically familiar with him and his writings. The book is not to be read as a biography or pleasure reading. This is an expanded dictionary, and it is a reference book. You can basically find any information you need about this Christian author, and I discovered much new information. I now long to read some of C.S. Lewis’s writings with which I am not familiar.
My complaint is that in the author’s brevity, I believe sometimes things were not written using the most careful language so as not to be misunderstood. I believe that when one tries to reconcile all of C.S. Lewis’s writings, one will definitely struggle. He was a Christian whose faith continued to evolve over time. Just like with any growing Christian, what is believed at the beginning of the journey may not be the same as what is believed in subsequent years. I do not believe a Christian can be an agnostic, and I also don’t believe that a true Christian will discount a literal heaven. Those are just a couple of the exceptions I would take with this volume. But in the end, the author accomplished his purpose. I am intrigued by C.S. Lewis more than I ever was, and I am already attempting to decide what I will read by Lewis next!
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.
A Complete Guide to His Life, Thoughts and Writings
Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of C. S. Lewis’s death, this complete guide covers all of Lewis’ works, from his literary criticism to Narnia
C. S. Lewis’s work is widely known and regarded, but enthusiasts are often only aware of one part of his work—his children’s stories and his popular theology; and yet he wrote so much more, including science fiction and literary criticism. This volume brings together all aspects of C S Lewis’s life and thought. Arranged in alphabetical order, it begins with The Abolition of Man—written in 1943 and described as “almost my favorite”—to Wormwood, a character in The Screwtape Letters. This book will delight anyone who is interested in C. S. Lewis and wants to learn more about him, his thought, his works, and his life.
Learn more and purchase a copy here.
Colin Duriez was for many years a commissioning editor at Inter-Varsity Press UK. He has subsequently appeared as a commentator on DVDs of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings, and BBC television’s The Worlds of Fantasy. He is also the author of “The Inklings Handbook” (with the late David Porter), “J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis: The Story of Their Friendship,” and “Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings,” and has contributed to definitive reference works relating to Tolkien such as “The Tolkien Encyclopedia” (Routledge).
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12 Comments
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What an inspirational character he is! almost all of his books are read by me. Your review is also good.
Thank you for sharing this. -
I have always been intrigued by C.S Lewis and his books. This book I have not read as of yet. I’ll have to put this one down on my wish list.
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I haven’t read any of his books but this sounds like a very interesting one.
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I have read almost all his books, thanks for this amazing review.
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Sounds like an interesting read. CS Lewis was a talented author and it’d be good to read more about him.
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This is a great review of this book. C.S. Lewis is such an interesting person, and a book about he and his writings is wonderful.
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this sound like a great book to read
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I all way like c.s. lewis books
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I haven’t read any of his books.You have written a fantastic review.
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I am not fond of his writings. He is to vague and not really interesting to me. His writing is definitely male oriented.
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I have tried to read some of his writings and it isn’t easy to comprehend for sure. I want to know what he has to say but it takes a lot of thinking for sure. Thanks for your review.
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Lovely review.
