On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature

by C.S. Lewis

Book Overview

A repackaged edition of the revered author's collection of essays on writing fiction.

C. S. Lewis--the great British writer, scholar, lay theologian, broadcaster, Christian apologist, and bestselling author of Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many other beloved classics--was a professor of literature at Oxford University, where he was known for his insightful and often witty presentations...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0062643606
• ISBN13: 9780062643605
• Release Date: February 2017
• Publisher: HarperOne
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Valuable for Both Readers and Writers

Unlike other Walter Hopper edited anthologies of C. S. Lewis works, "On Stories" is a coherent whole. C. S. Lewis fans will certainly want a copy, but more important Lewis' essays on twentieth century fantasy and science fiction will entertain and inform readers of those genre. Hooper opens with a twenty page biography of Lewis, for the few unfamiliar with that background. Finally, hidden among the personal opinion and criticism are nuggets about the craft of writing. One example, from "On Science Fiction" (p. 60), "Every good writer knows that the more unusual the scenes and events of his story are, the slighter, the more ordinary, the more typical his persons should be." He gives the examples of Alice, Gulliver and the Ancient Mariner has commonplace people set in extraordinary adventures. I'll leave his explanation to the reader intrigued enough to pursue "On Stories."

The Next Best Thing

"On Stories" is a collection of essays that C.S. Lewis wrote regarding the very topic he knew most about - literature. His title essay sets the ground for the ones that follow, as he lays bare everything from fairy tales to criticism. Included are reviews and appraisals of the works of his pals and fellow Inklings Dorothy L. Sayers and J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as reviews of other writers and the writing of juvenile stories. This collection is cohesive and well-laid out. Although, if read all at once, one is bound to encounter Lewis repeating himself (due to the fact that these essays are taken from a span of time). His arguments are well thought and cogently written, as usual. He takes umbrage in several essays, but always tells 'why' he feels that way. He is adoring in his praise for works he loves, and critical of works that he believes to have failed. His essay on George Orwell is fascinating - Lewis believes "Animal Farm" superior than "1984" and is somewhat flabbergasted by the latter's success. Reading C.S. Lewis' thoughts on literature, I believe, is the next best thing to having had him as a professor of literature. One can only imagine what it must have been like to be a student of this thoroughly intelligent and well-read man - many of his students must have been intimidated. Yet the reader is given the opportunity to see the ligther side of Lewis in the final piece entitled 'Unreal Estates', a recorded conversation between Lewis, Kingsley Amis, and Brian Aldiss, that is filled with the author's incomparable humor. Having grown up on Lewis' stories, it was wonderful to read his thoughts (and the pictures that sparked those thoughts) behind them.

Elegant, readable literary criticism

This collection primarily contains Lewis' essays and reviews concerning fantasy and science fiction stories. Many of the essays contained in this volume originally appeared in the magazine Time and Tide, while others appeared in a variety of regional magazines. The nineteen essays cover such topics as fairy stories, juvenile fiction, period criticism, and science fiction, plus the writers E. R. Eddison, H. Rider Haggard, Dorothy Sayers, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams. The title essay sets the tone for the bulk of the essays in this volume. Lewis takes issue with the critics who downplay the genre of Romance and instead prefer realism and character development in their novels. While excitement is important in this genre, Lewis notes that elements such as atmosphere, ideas and imagery are equally important or more so. Lewis argues these other elements are what cause people to re-read the classic Romances; the initial excitement is gone, but the other facets of the story provide opportunities for discovery and wonderment for the reader.His reviews of the writers mentioned above, while glowingly positive and supportive, are balanced in that he also notes their shortcomings. For example, while he praises Haggard for being a mythopoetic storyteller, he notes the man could not or would not write, and worse yet, he tried to philosophize. With Tolkien, he saw problems in the opening chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring, and notes how all the characters can be split between good and evil. In other essays Lewis lays out rules he feels reviewers should follow. One of the most important Lewis argues is that the reviewer must like the subject he is reviewing. Hating a subject does not allow one to do an objective review. Lewis also feels that it is improper for the critic to play amateur psychologist since s/he has not had the opportunity question the author directly, nor are they trained psychologists. Other important criteria are: 1) honesty in the review; 2) giving formal cause on why something is "bad"; 3) using words and language properly. This is an intelligently written book that is a welcome relief to much of the literary criticism being produced today. Lewis writes in a clear, elegant style, and does not hide behind jargon.

A fine discussion of stories

As a voracious reader and prodigious author, C.S. Lewis had lots of views to air on the art of telling stories. Twenty pieces he wrote through the years are here collected in a compendium that ranges over a wide array of topics. The titles give a good idea of the sorts of things you'll find in this book: The Novels of Charles Williams, On Three Ways of Writing for Children, Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What's to Be Said, A Panegyric for Dorothy L. Sayers, Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, The Mythopoeic Gift of Rider Haggard, and Different Tastes in Literature are some of the things that Lewis discourses about with verve and understanding. This is fine reading for those who love enlightening commentary about what comprises good fiction.