Tumnus’s Bookshelf: The NarniaFans Book Reviews: “A Grief Observed”

Welcome to Tumnus’s Book Shelf where we review any and all books related to Narnia and CS Lewis! For this weeks review, we will be looking at CS Lewis’s A Grief Observed.

Title: A Grief Observed
Author: CS Lewis
Publisher: HarperOne
ISBN-10: 0060652381
ISBN-13: 978-0060652388

Summary:

Written in the wake of the death of his wife Joy, CS Lewis’s A Grief Observed is a haunting, poignant and reverent recollection of one man’s journey through grief and recovery, and how his faith grew because of it. While the book has plenty of spiritual insights, it has many more insights into simply the human condition. Short, brief and to the point, this is not just the story of one man, but the story of humanity as it brilliantly captures grief every one goes through in the midst of a loss or separation of a loved one.

Reviews:

When this book was first published, CS Lewis submitted it under another Pen name, NW Clerk. The name itself comes from the old Anglo Saxon word meaning, “ I know not whom.” His reasons have well been documented. The book itself was essentially his journals he kept while grieving the death of his wife. He was concerned that readers would read the book and judge h him for his apparent lack of faith in the midst of a great personal crisis. Later, by the persuasion of his friends he published it under his own name.

One can certainly understand why he would not want to publish it under his own name at first. In A Grief Observed, we see CS Lewis asking difficult questions. We see him wonder why God would allow him to fall in love, only to loose his wife. We do not see him lay out brilliant theological insights or expounding on doctrinal truths, at least not right away. Here, we see CS Lewis, less as a Titan of the apologetic world, and more of a broken man, similar to the Biblical character of Job, crying out to God and seeking answers.

One of the most striking passages comes when CS Lewis addresses the idea of the consolations of religion. When he does they are very evident to the reader as the clever little aphorisms we toss around at funerals like ,” oh, don’t worry, you’ll see them again”, “ this too shall pass”, or “God has a plan.”

Lewis retorts with, “ Talk to me about the truth of religion and I’ll listen gladly. Talk to me about the duty of religion and I’ll listen submissively. But don’t come talking to me about the consolations of religion or I shall suspect that you don’t understand.” To first time readers, they can be struck by this passage and ask, how could CS Lewis say that? Logically, he should take great comfort in knowing that.

Here however, and through out the book, we come to understand this is not Lewis the apologeticist. writing, this, is Lewis the man. A normal, ordinary human like all of us .When he says this, and everything else in the book, we find ourselves thinking where have I heard this before? It is in that moment we discover, thoughts, questions and even doubts no different then our own. We see Lewis, asking his readers as we ask those around us when we grieve to listen to us. We see him asking, not for answers but simply to be comforted.

We do see how God guides Lewis through his grief and come to terms with Joy’s death, though at the same time we still get the incredible sense that something has been lost that cannot be returned. This book, like many of Lewis’s other works draws you in immediately. However because this one is more autobiographical in nature it is considerably the most engrossing of his non-fiction works. His style, even when it is in the midst of grief is still clear and concise.

This is with out a doubt, the best of CS Lewis’s non-fiction works. Readers are encouraged to read it a first time before grief strikes them and then read it again while grieving. This is in the end not just a book, but a map through the road of grief, and a mirror into the human condition.

Five out of Five shields

Order the book from Amazon.com