So, I've finally finished the entire Chronicles of Narnia for the first time. This book finds Jill and Eustace called back into Narnia when King Tirian encounters a difficult problem. Shift the ape found a lion skin and dressed Puzzle the donkey in it. Then, with his fake lion, he dubbed himself Aslan's emissary and started taking over Narnia, putting the Talking Beasts to work, forging alliances with the Calormenes, and generally making life miserable for everyone but himself. The Narnians don't feel that everything's right, but they're afraid to contradict Aslan's orders.
Of course, Aslan eventually does show up, but so does Tash, the Calormene god, and this leads to a bizarre, otherworldly (even for Narnia) series of events. Several parts of the ending reminded me of Lewis' The Great Divorce, his imaginary journey to Heaven and Hell. He also makes an interesting case for pluralism, or at least something about intentions and actions that aren't always linked.
It's a grand, sweeping ending to the world of Narnia, one with a true "happily ever after" at the end.
Fed to jonathan's brain | July 26, 2005
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