This is the first book I can recall (at the moment) that truly had an impact on me. The story immediately took me away from reality. It was an escape from every day life and the beginning of my life-long obsession with reading. To this day, I dream of installing a over-sized wardrobe somewhere in my house, cutting out the back and using it as an entrance into another room. Yes, because of this story, I am still a child at heart.
I went looking for the doorway to Narnia as a child on more than one occasion -hoping and believing that one day I would open the door to my parent's closet, brush past the clothes hung side-by-side and step into another world. I believed I would find it with the conviction other kids believed in Santa, the Tooth Fairy or the Easter bunny.
Far too often I still wish to find that magical doorway. Or perhaps I simply long for an escape. The monotony, boredom and non-creativeness of a day-to-day job is enough to drive my creative mind insane.
As a child, I would find a place to hide and read the story. While I was reading I was there -experiencing it not in my minds eye but so engrossed that coming back to the real world became a disappointment -much like the experiences of the characters.
I was horrified when the white witch killed Aslan. For some reason, that scene stuck with me through the years. It was like watching William Wallace being tortured in Braveheart or, ironically (for several reasons -Mel Gibson and the Aslan/Jesus comparisons), Jesus being tortured in The Passion of The Christ (both had my mouth hanging open and my mind thinking, my god, how can this happen to someone) except when I read of Aslan's murder, I was not desensitized to the violence quite yet.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a must read -not for kids alone but for everyone for so many reasons. It certainly changed my perspective on life and left me wanting more of the magic found in the pages of a great book.
If, one day, I go missing, do not weep for I've finally found the door to Narnia!
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6-5-2012
An epic selection! Truly a magical, wonderful book.
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