Book Discussion of the Month
This is a new idea of mine that will hopefully work out.
For each month, I will select a particular author (so that the discussion will have wider range) and start a discussion of his/her work. I will make it a sticky topic then split the thread and undo the sticky thread at the end of each month so that the particular author can be continued talked about.
Please feel free to suggest some interest authors - the only criterior would have to be that the author is more or less widely known to ensure participants.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - summary, spoiler included
from my memory:
Four siblings - Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy (in this order) - were sent to stay in the country from London during the war (I guess it was WWII, but I could be wrong). The house belonged to an old professer whom the children hardly met. His housekeeper was the one who took care of the four children. The house looked stately and was frequently visited by groups of people. One day, it rained (I think) outside, and the four children decided to play hide and seek indoor. Lucy (the youngest) was looking for a place to hide in a room when she heard the housekeeper talking to the visitors. She knew the housekeeper wouldn't like catching her during the tour, so she slid inside a wardrobe.
To her surprise, she found that the wardrobe had no back - that is when she walked further inside, she felt something cold and soft like snow instead. So, being a sensible girl, she went back and took a fur coat to wear then went in to explore the new world.
She passed a lamp post (this will be significant later) and found herself in a forest. Then a fawn named Mr. Tumnus appeared and befriended her. He took her to his house and gave her tea. Well, turn out he supposed to take her to the White Witch, but he was too good and kind to do so, so he led her back to the lamp post secretly.
Lucy returned to her world and told her siblings about her adventure, but nobody believed her, especially Edmund would make fun of her (he was rather the black sheep among the four).
One day, he saw her entering the wardrobe again, and he followed her to make more fun of her but found himself instead in Narnia. Unluckily for himself, he didn't catch up with Lucy but met the White Witch instead in person. She took him to the castle and gave him some magic sweets (turkish delight?) that made him addict to the taste.
for the sake of the sweet, he had to promise her to bring all his sibilings to see her. You see, there was a prediction that sons of Adam, and daughters of Eve would one day come to Narnia to deliver Narnia. So she wanted to get rid of the four children all in one time.
Edmund met Lucy on her way back but later denied that he had met her at Narnia at all. Later, due to another group of visitors again, the four children had to take refuge in the wardrobe. They found themselves in Narnia and met Mr and Mrs Beaver who informed them that Mr. Tumnus was captured (Edmund told the witch everything, so she knew that he was betraying her to protect Lucy).
They all went to the beaver's house, and Edmund sneaked away to see the witch. The rest noticed his absence, and the beaver deduced that he had fallen under the witch's magic. So, they packed up and hurried off to avoid the witch. They decided to go to Cair Parvell, the seat where sons of Adam and daughters of Eve should sit (not sure of its significance but something in that term).
On the way, they met Father Christmas, and the weather turned warmer as the sign of the end of the witch's reign.
The three sibilings met Aslan - the golden lion - who gave them gifts (peter got sword and shield, susan got arrow and a horn to blow for rescue, lucy got magical water to cure the sick).
Many creatures of Narnia also came to meet them. They formed an army to fight against the witch.
Later, Edmund was rescued from the witch; he repented, and Aslan sacrificed himself in place of Edmund's punishment as a traitor.
But the next morning, he resurrected, and helped Peter to kill the witch.
And the four children then became kings and queens of Narnia till one day many years later, they went on hunting and found a lamp post. They walked past the lamp post and became four young children again.
the end.
This is really a well written book. I was immediately impressed with the richness of text and imagination right away when I first read it.