The Narnia Boom
• Christian Pop Culture
Fundamentalists salivate at the thought of having the work of someone smart to push their agenda.
"There are 45 to 50 books trying to ride the coattails of the movie opening," says Lynn Garrett, religion editor of Publishers Weekly. "In sheer numbers, that is unmatched."
Once worried that the story's religious content might be diluted, many Christians now see the film's opening as a tremendous evangelical opportunity.
"For evangelicals, Narnia as a highly successful film event offers significant mission opportunities," says Phyllis Tickle, author of numerous books on Christian spirituality, and former religion editor for Publishers Weekly.
"Lewis and his work come bearing gifts--including the cachet of enormous intellectual credibility, high critical regard and unquestioned academic standing," she says.
That academic standing stems from English Literature in the 16th Century, not his fiction or apologetics.
`Narnia' inspires a boom in Lewis books
As a result, anyone prompted by the movie to seek out further reading on Narnia will be greeted by a shelf-full of mediocrity. There's no shortage of titles — "The Way Into Narnia: A Reader's Guide," by Peter J. Schakel (William B. Eerdmans: 206 pp., $14 paper), "Pocket Companion to Narnia: A Concise Guide to the Magical World of C.S. Lewis," by Paul F. Ford (HarperSanFrancisco: 368 pp., $9.95 paper), "The Heart of the Chronicles of Narnia: Knowing God Here by Finding Him There," by Thomas Williams (W Publishing: 202 pp., $13.99 paper), and even "C.S. Lewis & Narnia for Dummies," by Richard J. Wagner (Wiley: 364 pp., $19.99 paper). ...
... "The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis" (HarperSanFrancisco: 368 pp., $25.95) — offer limited insight. Like public radio hosts during a pledge drive, these authors always return, too soon and for too long, to the pitch. ...
"The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy" (Open Court: 304 pp., $17.95 paper), edited by Gregory Bassham and Jerry L. Walls, and "Revisiting Narnia: Fantasy, Myth and Religion in C.S. Lewis' Chronicles" (BenBella Books: 310 pp., $14.95 paper), edited by Shanna Caughey, contain essays by writers who consider Narnia from pagan, feminist and even animal-rights perspectives. Too often, though, these critiques offer little more than another flavor of doctrine, looking at Lewis through the filter of his opinions about, say, dark-skinned people or vegetarians.