‘THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW’ is the first book in the series of 7 books that together form ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ by C. S. Lewis. He was friend of J R R Tolkien and they used to spend hours together in their club ‘inklings’ discussing the ideas of their stories. That very well explains the common thread that exists between the 2 of Greatest Magic cum Adventure cum Fantasy books of all times : ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’.
‘THE LOIN, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE’’ was written first and its huge success inspired C. S. LEWIS to continue the story in 5 further books and one he wrote as a prequel to ‘THE LOIN, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE’’l. This prequel was ‘THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW’ in which C. S. LEWIS has provided the start to everything that a reader finds in the later books. In ‘THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW’, reader is taken to the times when Narnia was formed from Nothingness, its inception point; the history of Witch and how she arrives in Narnia; where from the Wardrobe came and how it became the passage between our worlds and that of Narnia in later books.
IN ‘THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW’ we have Digory and Polly travelling to different worlds with the help of Magic Rings created by Digory’s Magician Uncle, Uncle Andrew. Its by a trick of profound meanness with the help of which Uncle Andrew sends them to other worlds just to test the working of the Magic Rings, as he himself doesn’t have the courage to do so. In their trip, Digory and Polly find themselves in a strange but mystifying place, called Woods, full of small ponds, each one of which is a passage to different worlds. First pond that they try, leads them into Charn, a world at the verge of its end, full of darkness and Fear. Its from this world that awake the Witch from her sleep and bring her into our world.
Digory and Polly soon comprehend the intention of the Witch, which is to conquer and rule our world. So, to get rid of her they travel back to Woods and this time, the World they enter, turns out to be NARNIA: forming in front of their eyes from nothingness. As the Loin, Aslan’s song roars and everything take shape in front of their very eyes: plants , animals, mountains, rivers … but the worrying thing is Witch has her eyes on this world from the moment she sees it.
Will they, Digory and Polly, be able to get rid of the Witch in Narnia? This time around they have also brought with them Uncle Andrew; a Cab Driver and his horse, Strawberry. What role are they going to play in the adventure and the new world of Narnia? Also, the Loin, Aslan, charges Digory of bringing Evil into Narnia, in the form of Witch, on the very day of its inception. To compensate for which, he is given a task by Aslan that could keep the Witch at Bay, atleast for some time. Will Digory succeeds in finishing the task and correct his mistake? What role each of these characters play in later books and how wardrobe comes into picture. Read ‘THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW’ to know and enjoy it all.
‘THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW’ is joyful journey and could be enjoyed equally by children and adults. Language is very simple and straight forward and flow is uni-directional. One gets the feeling of comfort with the pace from very first page without any hiccups to get cozy with the narrative. I didn’t lost the interest at any stage of its reading and its really a great experience when you start imagining it all, all along, and not just read it. Picturisation of Narnia in the movies certainly helps one in imagining it all.
Chapters covering the formation of Narnia, Digory and Polly journey to mountains to bring the Apple, Digory and Polly’s adventure in Charn, Short stint of Witch on Earth, forms some real interesting read.
Other than watching the 3 movies based on 3 books of this series I had no experience of Narnia before reading this book and its always good to start the journey from the beginning and that’s what ‘THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW’ provides an interesting start to a long but adventurous journey into the world of Narnia. Are you joining in?
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PYAR HUMIEN PHIR MILAAEGA.......