James

Finally

Revisado: 04-06-25

Yeah, it's virtual voice, but since I like dry deliveries it works out for me, especially with all the other performances of The Unspoken Sermons I've heard being overly emotive (for my tastes).

The sermons themselves are without peer. Like Lewis, I love GMD despite his Universalism (and hey, it might even be true, though I doubt it). There's no other writer who combines the challenge to give all to Christ with indescribable comfort and hope.

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Re-Written by the N.I.C.E.

Revisado: 03-28-25

The Alex Jennings performance of Books 1 and 2 are good, maybe even better than the Ralph Cosham recordings of the same.

But the dramatizers of That Hideous Strength have seen fit to reivision and empower Jane in the typical reactionary way (CSL is deemed misogynistic these days). I saw that coming, and could forgive it if the writer had lifted a finger to preserve the beauty of the novel. Instead she leaned into the Sci Fi creepiness of the tale, which is suffocating without the beauty of the original book shining in the darkness. The production and acting are superb, which only makes the whole thing more nauseating. I hate to be so hard on someone's hard work, and I respect (while disagreeing with) the wish to empower Jane. But I wish these activist writers would just write their own stories.

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A Calmer Narnia than the popular audio

Revisado: 04-27-24

I snagged this for the Nania performances. The ones in the mega-hit audio collection of Narnia that has been the only available version until now are too over-the-top for me. I don't think the readings here are masterful exactly, but they are more chilled out. Worth it to me, as a lover of these stories who wants the least interference from over-emotive reading as possible. If a dryer narration is your preference, these may be a relief for you.

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Come for the GMD, Stay for the ... David Bowie?

Revisado: 04-19-24

Now, here's a wild-eyed miracle of an audiobook. I've waited forever for a Phantastes performance I could love (and tried and failed to convince myself I did love one). As soon as I heard the sample, I thought, hey, this could be it. The reader is quiet and unassuming, but intelligent and spellbinding. And then, the story's songs are performed in a folk rock style, near Bowie's sensibilities to my ear, and I was beside myself. Actually, many times it called Labyrinth to mind, if Labyrinth were full of goodness and hope instead of camp and repulsively grotesque funkiness (sorry, David, I still love you). The songs are fantasy-rock magic, and especially because the reading parts are so understated in comparison with the rock and roll interludes. Is it fully in the spirit of George Macdonald? I think your mileage may vary on that question. But as a concept, as an interpretation, I think it's wonderful. It's opened up the world of Phantastes for me anew, and I've only heard the first couple of hours so far. If you're brand new to Phantastes, be prepared for a tale so episodic some find it tedious, but be patient and you may be enchanted. If you're already initiated, give this a spin. You'll know soon if the music parts work for you.

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A Treasure

Revisado: 12-12-23

There are a few CSL recordings available from various souces; I believe I have them all: 1) an early manuscript of The Four Loves, 2) a talk on The Pilgrim's Progress, 3) a radio adaptation of an address he gave to Cambridge in which he proposes a different line of demarcation between the historical periods (my personal favorite), 4) a short treatment on Charles Williams, 5) his introduction to The Great Divorce, 6) three short readings (an excerpt from That Hideous Strength, an excerpt from Perelandra, and the epilogue of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales) all recoded by Douglas Gresham when he was a young boy, and 7) this surviving excerpt from his broadcast talks that later became Mere Christianity.

I find each of them wonderful and invaluable as a window into CSL's personality and power of communication. It is of course a pity we only have these brief glimpses into his audible person, but taken together they are indispensable, at least to me.

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eh ... there's something happening here ...

Revisado: 11-20-23

A sideways, weirdly veiled attack on the legitimacy of Lewis's work. Written by and for the sort of person who'd like to account for Lewis's popularity in some other way than "he was a great writer and thinker." So I guess if that's you, happy reading. Otherwise, save your credit for better fare.

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Finally

Revisado: 07-02-23

I've been through half a dozen Brothers Karamazov performances through the years, finally satisfied with the Walter Zimmerman audiobook. But this one is superior.

Finally, a reader doesn't strain to sound female for those voices, but just gently lightens his natural voice. I don't know why more performers don't make this choice.

This voice is strong, but never overwrought. He is entirely relaxed, but lively. Deep, but not in a showy way. Never sounds contrived. It's a perfect performance.

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For Me, The Best of Lewis Biographies, So Far

Revisado: 10-30-22

Your mileage may vary. I've tried a dozen CSL Bios, and for the most part, I haven't loved them. I think I enjoy looking at the world WITH Lewis (reading his own works, or books like Into The Region of Awe, which spotlights Lewis's mysticism, or the Baxter book, which spotlights Lewis's medievalism) more than looking AT Lewis. So most CSL bios, even Sayers' and McRath's (sp) leave a weird aftertaste for me.

For reasons I can't articulate, Poe's books (I've listened to the first two of three) deliver scenes of his life with a more direct, dry atmosphere, and usually I'm looking WITH Lewis again, not AT him. Not to say Poe doesn't slip into the occasional cringy sentimental or over-reaching observation. He does. But it's brief, and then he's back to the plain facts. I'm surprised that a writer whose day job has the name Chuck Colson in it has written the Lewis biography I can love, but he has.

For a moderate Lewis fan, the book may be tedious. But for readers like me who have read most of the Lewis canon, and who are familiar with the short versions of his life, this is a nice, mostly unfussy expansion of the world Lewis inhabited and illuminated.

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Treasure

Revisado: 08-25-22

In a letter, CSL referred to this book as the main tune of his writing career, during the long years he wrote it, while the popular works he churned out on the side were "the little twiddly bits" of his writing during those years.

I'm writing this review to other listeners who come to the book as CSL lovers first and 16th Century Lit fans second. To the learned 16th Century Lit fan, I can't say much because of my ignorance.

But for the CSL fan, I'll say: this might not be your favorite topic to hear CSL discuss, but it is Lewis at his highest craftsmanship and widest breadth of knowledge. I love him as an organizer of ideas and I love his prose voice, so for me this is a serious treasure. It's also just plain fun; there's a lightness to it because eternal matters are only peripherally involved. In terms of laying out clearly a bunch of stuff he knows well, he is at the top of his game. And often enough, something from his faith bubbles up unobtrusively, organically. If you can hang in there with the subject matter, the rewards are wonderful.

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I Dunno ... It's Doug Doing Doug Things

Revisado: 05-11-22

Wilson clearly loves CSL. Yet, here he spends a lot of time making sure you hear the few things in CSL he disagrees with.

Worth it, though, for at least these two gems:

1. Dougs take on the underrated depth of That Hideous Strength

2. Doug's hopeful vision for Susan's fate in Narnia.

I remain unconvinced of Wilson's nitpicks with Lewis on most every front, though I see where he's coming from, and I like hearing him explore the details. God bless his Calvinist heart. Doug is too good and to important to grudge him his witty and careful arguments, even if I disagree with so much.

I can't help thinking his book would be better if he doubled the length and expounded upon his latent support of CSL instead if just announcing it and then proceeding to conentrate on the few places he parts ways with Lewis.

Still, a worhwhile listen.

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