Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have read and re-read all seven of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia many times in my adult life. And plan to do so again and again. The remarkable thing is that the stories still seem fresh and alive. They never seem to get boring and there are always new insights waiting to be discovered. Even for the adult reader. I would highly recommend the stories to all young readers, even though I myself did not read them as a child. I think I was so bent on trying to read the entire works of Enid Blyton at the time, that I failed to notice anything Narnian about my local library.
"New insights" are what the Companion To Narnia is all about. Paul F. Ford has done a wonderful job of assembling all of the myriad of characters, places, themes; all the rich history and lore of Narnia and beyond, into this one encyclopedic book. I really cannot see how it could be improved upon. It is massive in scope. I have read it and "used" it for years now.
The book is arranged alphebetically and all topics are meticulously cross-referenced (an asterisk follows any word or phrase which is an entry elsewhere). Even though this is not the type of book that is commonly read from cover to cover, picking it up and starting from any topic will surely tempt you to the reading of the asterisk-linked articles. In Narnian terms, I think of this as the hidden "Turkish-Delight" feature of the book. Let it take you where your curiosity and interest leads.
At the end of the articles, Ford has placed in parentheses an abbreviated reference to the specific book and page number that coincides with the topic being discussed. This sends us back to the original source of the material if necessary, and allows Ford's book to be not only a companion, but a sort-of concordance as well. It is a very useful feature.
The copious footnotes will definitely appeal to those who are interested in learning more about the creator of Narnia. These notes clearly show that Paul Ford is an expert in his knowledge of the man C.S. Lewis. (A good example is the numerous footnotes to the article entitled "Digory Kurke").
Another great feature of the book is that not only are characters and place-names discussed, but also the IDEAS and THEMES of the Chronicles are examined. For instance there are comprehensive articles on such things as: Dreams, Knowledge, Fear, Privacy, Sounds, Music, Obedience, Birds, Ecology, etc. Of particular worthy mention is the great five page section on Biblical Allusions.
The final thing I will mention is that there are wonderful illustrations throughout the book, and these serve to take the imagination even further into the world that is Narnia.
The book is appropriately titled. My desk-dictionary has, as one of its definitions for the word companion... "one of a pair of matching things". In my opinion, any bookshelf that has its Narnia, ought to have its Companion.
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