By C. S. Lewis
HarperChildrensAudio, 2004
An Unabridged Audio Recording on CD
ISBN: 978-0060582579
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction
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The Silver Chair By C. S. Lewis HarperChildrensAudio, 2004 An Unabridged Audio Recording on CD ISBN: 978-0060582579 Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction |
Reviewed by Israel Drazin - January 26, 2010
Several weeks have passed since Eustace returned from his sea adventure with King Caspian in the magical land. Eustace is now back in England attending a boarding school filled with bullies, where the school head has no control over the students.
Jill also attends the school. Eustace finds her crying because of the way she is being treated by the bullies. He tries to console her and tells her about the magic land. The two wish they can escape to Narnia.
They hear the bullies coming to hurt them, and they run. Suddenly they are transported to the other world. They land on a mountain and Aslan, the magic lion, transports Eustace to Narnia. But before blowing Jill there, he tells her that he brought the two so that they can find the lost son of a king. The king is now old and believes that he will die without leaving an heir to reign in his stead.
Aslan gives Jill four signs. First, Eustace will see someone he recognizes from his last trip. He should talk to that person immediately. Second, they should travel north to the land of the giants. Third, they will see a writing there on a stone and should do what the writing says. Fourth, they will recognize the lost prince when he asks them to do something in Aslan’s name. Aslan then blows Jill to Narnia where she finds Eustace.
The two see a very aged king leaving Narnia on a ship. They are told that the king is Caspian, who Eustace knew during his last visit. Eustace realizes that although only weeks have passed in England since his last adventure, some seventy years have gone by in Narnia. Eustace and Jill also realize that they failed to fulfill their first task, for Caspian has gone.
They become involved in an adventure with owls that fly them around on their backs but cannot take them north because owls do not like to fly during the day. The owls tell the children how the prince’s mother was killed and how the prince disappeared. They suspect that a wicked witch is involved.
The owls take the children to Puddleglum, a scarecrow type being, who is gloomier than his name, who sees bad in everything, but who agrees to help the children fulfill the second requirement of going north to the land of the giants, even though he tells them that their future will certainly be terrible.
Several adventures follow. The three pass through a land of stupid giants where stones are thrown. They meet a beautiful lady on a beautiful horse and a knight dressed in black who does not speak. The lady sends them to a house and tells them to say that they are "sent to your Autumn Feast." Jill forgets the third sign about a writing on a wall.
Readers will enjoy hearing the details of these adventures. They will also hear the other adventures the two children and Puddleglum had. Who was the beautiful woman? Were the three able to find the prince? Did they save him? Was there a wicked witch? Did King Caspian return and see his son the prince? Did the prince become king? What happened when the two children returned to England? Were they able to beat the bullies? What happened to the head of the school?
Dr. Israel Drazin is the author of fifteen books, including a series of five volumes on the Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible, which he co-authors with Rabbi Dr. Stanley M. Wagner, and a series of four books on the twelfth century philosopher Moses Maimonides, the latest being Maimonides: Reason Above All, published by Gefen Publishing House, www.gefenpublishing.com. The Orthodox Union (OU) publishes daily samples of the Targum books on www.ouradio.org.
