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English and Literature

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English and Literature

By: C. S. Lewis
Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
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About this listen

This volume of short essays and other pieces by C. S.Lewis is part of a larger collection, C. S. Lewis: Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces. In addition to his many books, letters, and poems,C. S. Lewis wrote a great number of essays and shorter pieces on various subjects. He wrote extensively on Christian theology and the defense of faith but also on ethical issues and the nature of literature and storytelling. Within these pages is a treasure trove of Lewis' reflections on diverse topics.

This volume includes

  • 1. "Christianity and Literature"
  • 2. "High and Low Brows"
  • 3. "Is English Doomed?"
  • 4. "On the Reading of Old Books"
  • 5. "The Parthenon and the Optative"
  • 6. "The Death of Words"
  • 7. "On Science Fiction"
  • 8. "Miserable Offenders"
  • 9. "Different Tastes in Literature"
  • 10. "Modern Translations of the Bible"
  • 11. "On Juvenile Tastes"
  • 12. "Sex in Literature"
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A Good Gateway Into The Essays Of C.S Lewis.

Firstly, I have to admit that I've never read anything by C.S Lewis. So this collection was all new ground to me. On the whole I found Lewis's writing easy on the ear and quite stimulating.
Of course some of his views may be now considered dated, but these essays were originally published in the 1940's, 50's and 60's.
However, this does not mean that some of his points are no longer valid ! A good collection, well read by Ralph Cosham.

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Sadly out of its time

Once a fan of Lewis, I read some of these pieces 40 odd years ago in other collections, and I realise now that his opinions have infected mine, in some degree, to this day. However, the present articles have by now retreated some way from the cutting edge.
Although in the main, he still has something to say on some issues, some of these pieces are utterly irrelevant. In the first, he begins by admitting that there is nothing to be said but then drones on tediously not saying it.
This is not to criticise the narration, which is well matched to the content.
You feel that he is writing in more innocent times. For example, in the last piece he suggests changing the law to keep up with the outcome of the Chatterley trial, and expects that there will be an immediate increase in 4 letter words, but that that would subsequently abate as fashion changed.
Lewis died not long after this, and so did not have the benefit of hindsight. As Larkin wrote: Sexual intercourse began in 1963, between the Chatterley trial and the Beatles' first LP. I will suggest that Larkin was referring to the course term for sexual intercourse now far more widely used than Lewis would have imagined.
As an aside, I have recently suffered somewhat from insomnia, and find that I am sound asleep after only a few minutes of this book. I shall (genuinely) keep it close at had for this purpose.

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