The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia) - C.S. Lewis (1950)

This book told us about an adventure of four children: Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy who were sent away from London due to the war and lived in a country house with a Professor. The house was big and adventurous. It was Lucy who went inside a wardrobe full of coats in a room and came to a snowy wood, a different place called Narnia where she met a kind Faun named Thumnus. Narnia was controlled under a wicked lady called herself a queen: White Witch whose real name was Jadis. She was the one who made Narnia always winter. Thumnus was in fact commanded to bring human to White Witch and he was friendly to Lucy to lure her. However, he felt sorry and changed his mind. He led her to the lamppost where she could go back to the wardrobe and her real world.

Her siblings didn't believe her about her adventure in Narnia. But the next time in a hide-and-seek game they played together, as Lucy came again to Narnia to meet Thumnus, Edmund also came but he met the White Witch. She seduced him with Turkish Delight and promised him more if he brought his siblings to her the next time he went to Narnia again.

Then four of them came together to Narnia and instead of meeting Thumnus, they found out his place to be wrecked and a note left there, saying that he was brought to White Witch's castle for betraying her by fraternizing with her great enemies (human).

Lucy felt sorry for Thumnus and wanted to helped him but didn't know how. Later they met Mr. Beaver who told them what was really happening in Narnia. He told them that they couldn't do anything to beat White Witch, but the real King of Narnia, Aslan in on the way, and he was their only hope.

The story goes on when Edmund remembered the delicacy of the Turkish Delight and betraying his siblings by going to the White Witch himself just to be chagrined next. And how Aslan came and save Edmund and the whole Narnia, bringing back spring to the white dull-always pale Narnia.

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This story was quite light and suitable for children. From my point of view, the concept of story was great and flexible that if Lewis had wanted to, he had been able to make the story much longer and heavier for adult consumption but he didn't.

I love the story, the adventurous feeling you feel when you imagine coming to another world from a regular wardrobe full of coats. The fear when you found your friend's place was empty and knew that he was kidnapped by the evil. The admiration you feel when you see the Mighty King Aslan, his golden mane and his roar, his sacrifice.

This book told us also about betrayal and teach us to be careful of 'Turkish Delight'. Anything in this world can be 'Turkish Delight', looked seducing and worthy and by the time we use all methods to pursue it, we had just fallen to the trap. Nothing's good about this 'Turkish Delight'.


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