Author: C.S. Lewis
Year of Publication: 1953
Official Fan Page
Synopsis: NARNIA...where owls are wise, where some of the giants like
to snack on humans, where a prince is put under an evil spell...and where the
adventure begins.
Eustace and Jill escape from the bullies at school through a
strange door in the wall, which, for once, is unlocked. It leads to the open
moor...or does it? Once again Aslan has a task for the children, and Narnia
needs them. Through dangers untold and caverns deep and dark, they pursue the
quest that brings them face and face with the evil Witch. She must be defeated
if Prince Rilian is to be saved.
STEPH SAID
Rating: 
Review:
To better review this book, I will divided into three parts.
The first part covers chapter one through chapter five; the second part covers
chapter six through twelve; and the third part covers chapters thirteen to
sixteenth, the very end.
The first part is, in essence, like any other Narnia book. Some kids, in
this case Eustace and Jill, are living their lives when are summoned to Narnia
and are embarked on a quest. In this case, to find Caspian’s missing son:
Rilian. This book had something different though. First, upon leaving Earth
they entered Aslan’s world, not Narnia. And second, in this story the mission
and instructions were handed out by Aslan himself, the only time he ever has,
or ever will, do something like that. Eventually, (after neglecting the first
sign, out of four that Aslan talked about) Eustace and Jill recruited Puddleglum and started their
journey towards the Wild Lands of the North.
The second part of this story was predictable.
After crossing Ettinsmoor, the group encountered a woman on a green dress and a
silent knight in black armor. Earlier, while listening to the story of how
Rilian disappeared, these lines were spoken:
He saw the [snake] gliding away from [his mother] and made after it with his sword drawn. It was great, shining, and as green as poison […]
[…] at noon Drinian looked up and saw the most beautiful lady he had ever seen; and she stood at the north side of the fountain and said no word but beckoned to the Prince with her hand as if she bade him come to her. And she was tall and great, shining, and wrapped in a thin garment as green as poison. […] It stuck in Drinian's mind that this shining green woman was evil.
So, when I read about a woman in a green dress, I immediately
knew it was the same woman, the witch who had turned into a snake and killed
Rilian’s mother. Hence, the silent knight beside her was definitely Rilian. The
group didn’t suspect this. Then, the woman, upon learning the group was looking
for the ruined city of the giants, told the kids about Harfang: a city where
giants were nice. She said:
"Only tell them," answered the Lady, "that She of the Green Kirtle salutes them by you, and has sent them two fair Southern children for the Autumn Feast."
Knowing that giants eat humans, I understood that the kids
weren’t going to eat in the Feast, rather be eaten. Instead, the kids and
Puddleglum heard the literal words and rushed to Harfang. The next chapters
were employed in the journey towards Harfang, their stay there and their
escape, after finding out they were the main course for the Autumn Feast.
After missing three of the four signs Aslan told them to
search for, the group accidentally reached Underland, which lead to the third
part of the story: the unexpected.
What came afterwards was really good. Learning that Rilian
was under a spell, breaking the spell and trying to escape Underland, we even
got a glimpse of the gnomes’ homeland: the Land of Bism. This part was nicely
written; even though it didn’t have a faster pace, this part did have a change
in tone. Even though I knew everything was going to be fine at the end,
sometimes I felt tense and hopeless. The fact that they were underground and
the lights were going out one by one made things worse.
The ending was great. I love how Aslan helped Eustace and
Jill resolve their school issues. It is the first time I’ve seen Aslan do
something good, maybe even fun, without scolding someone.
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