Hey, everybody, welcome to Tumnus’s Bookshelf, the official book reviews for NarniaFans.com. For today’s review we will be looking at Douglas Gresham’s book, Jack’s Life: The Life Story of CS Lewis.
Title: Jack’s Life: The Life Story of CS Lewis
Author: Douglas Gresham
Publisher: B&H Books; Har/DVD edition (October 1, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0805432469
ISBN-13: 978-0805432466
Summary:
From his boyhood in Northern Ireland, to his service during World War I, to his conversion to Christianity to his romance with Joy, Jack’s Life is a vivid and heartfelt telling of the life of CS Lewis by one man who knew him best: his step-son Douglas Gresham.
Review:
Too often biographies are very dry reading. Not so for Douglas Gresham’s second book, Jack’s Life. Perhaps it’s because of the influence CS Lewis played n his life, or perhaps it’s just a coincidence, but this book almost feels like an eighth chronicle of Narnia. In truth, there is no more fitting way to retell the story of CS Lewis’s life then to capture it in such a way. Narnia was as much a part of CS Lewis life, as Middle-earth was to Tolkien, Never-Neverland to J.M. Berrie, Wonderland to Lewis Caroll, The Hundred Acre Wood to A.A. Milne and the Land of Oz to L. Frank Baum and to distance any of these men from the worlds they created would be a disservice to them .
Douglas embraces the fact that Lewis was best known for Narnia and weaves this biography around it to make it one of few times it is actually “fun” to read a biography. Douglas is just as good with the witty narrative as his step-father had been. Such lines as there ‘was a boy named Clive Staples Lewis and he did not deserve it,” are fond echoes of the style of Narnia.
Douglas certainly had his work cut out for him in writing the biography. There are many books written about Jack, a fact that Douglas acknowledges, but none of them are written in such a touching manner. You truly do get the impression that Jack was a truly wonderful person who Douglas Loved and still misses.
Douglas does dispel many of the rumors concerning Jack, such as the nature of his relationship with Mrs. Moore. He admits that no one fully knows and it isn’t our business to know and his relationship with her was something out of antiquity when a war-time promise to a fallen comrade was still honored. He is also able to dive into the Inklings meetings and show a different side to them ( having attended a few himself). We often wonder how it was Jack could tolerate Tolkien’s criticism of Narnia, but through Douglas’s examination we see that one of the main purposes of the Inklings was to share their works with each other and offer criticism, in a time when people were encouraged to be honest with others and it wasn’t taken as hurting someone’s feelings . Other then that it was to simply hang out, and have a good talk with friends.
Jack’s romance with Joy is dealt with but only briefly. It is just as well. For Douglas to write on it any more would have only been a retread of Lenten Lands, which was already superbly written. Perhaps the only minor quibble with Jack’s life is that as CS Lewis’ step-son, Douglas may seem to some readers, perhaps the more jaded and cynical sort, to have too much of an idealistic picture of his late step-father. Flaws that Jack had are certainly mentioned (such as his inability to ask people for help with things, for fear of being a burden to them, which led him to having many health problems.) but it terms of very many “juicy” or “gritty” details there are none. This is not a sleazy tell-all tabloid biography that litters the selves of the biography section. Upon reading a book on CS Lewis by some one who knew him well you find that the accusations of CS Lewis being a sexist, racist pig are only brought on by those who suffer from what Jack himself called “chronological snobbery.”
The only serious errors in this book ( at least in my copy), seem to be more of a problem with the type-setting upon publication (which can happen in a book. For example I have a copy of Voyage of the Dawn Treader where in one chapter, just before the end, the previous two chapters are repeated. It happens.) These errors, while annoying, don’t distract from the overall story itself. I am sure that future editions of the book will make the correct changes.
Unlike Lenten lands, Douglas doesn’t seem to deal with too much in terms of difficult subject matter ( such as his father’s infidelity that led to Joy’s divorce in the first place) . Because of this, Jack’s Life is good for readers 10 to adult, and unlike most children’s biographies it doesn’t seem to talk down to readers either. CS Lewis led a very fascinating life, ranging from his time serving in World War I, to his legendary friendship with JRR Tolkien, to his haunting romance with Joy Davidman, and now readers can get just a brief snap-shot of that life.
4 out of 5 shields
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