Blog 6A: Anticipating the Novel-The Magician's Nephew

Blog 6A: Anticipating the Novel: The Magician’s Nephew

The Magician’s Nephew is a novel that was published in the Chronicles of Narnia Series. While I have heard of this series of books, I have yet to read them all, but I have read one, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The book that we are reading, The Magician’s Nephew, is the sixth book published in this series, and is about the journey of two children. Their Uncle Andrew is the magician who sends the children to another world. This book not only explores the fantasy world, but it also has many elements in it which are similar to C.S. Lewis’s life.

The children are similar to C.S. Lewis in that they are growing up in the early 1900’s in London, the same time that Lewis was. Also, both the children and Lewis lose their mothers in early childhood, and their fathers live in another country as they grow up. The children and Lewis, on a lighter note, both wanted a pony when they grew up. Lastly, this book has a little more humor and is a little lighter in tone compared to the other books in the series perhaps due to Lewis as a older man reflecting back on his childhood.

Judging from the cover, it is clear that there is an aspect of fantasy in the book by the horse with wings, and the children riding it over a vast countryside with mountains, trees, and water. I then went on to read the first line, last line, and ninety-ninth page to anticipate the novel in a new way. The first line opens the story up nicely and clearly stating that the story begins when my grandfather was a child, illustrating to the reader that the book happened a while ago. The last line, and the ninety-ninth page were both quotes so it was harder to comprehend these. All in all, I look forward to reading the book and seeing what new adventure lies ahead of me.