Friday, February 12, 2010

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis


Synopsis from Barnes and Noble:
Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensey, the heroes and heroines from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, return in this fourth installment of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series. The four children are transported from an English train station to an island in the world of Narnia. Though Narnia has been at peace since the children left, it is now under the control of Wicked King Miraz. The youngsters, along with Aslan the great lion, must help young Prince Caspian restore Narnia's glorious past. This full-cast dramatization adheres closely to the book's text. Actor Paul Scofield is the "storyteller," and other British actors read the character parts. The production features sound effects and background music, and is a more complete version of the story than the BBC audio production (Bantam Doubleday, 1998). Children familiar with the series will enjoy this impressive production.



My thoughts:
“Prince Caspian” is the fourth book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. While I saw the movie version a few years ago I had never read the book before. As always, it is interesting to look at what was changed when the book was made into a movie. After listening to this on cd I watched the movie again. While a lot of the movie follows the book quite well, there were definitely some changes. The whole fight scene in the castle courtyard never happened. I loved Reapacheep. The little mouse was such a fun character. I also wondered what the lifespan of Dwarfs is because the Dwarf that served the white witch was Knickabrick and there is also a Knickabrick in this book as well who keeps talking about how much better off they were when the white witch was in power.

One thing I worry about when I listen to a book is what I am missing. Especially since I listen in the car I know there are times when I am distracted by traffic or looking for my turn or even just loud noises outside and I will stop listening and then tune back in a realize that I don’t know what I missed. My preferred method for reading is to have a chance to sit down and hold a book in my hands, but I also love that audio books make it possible to read while on the go.

I was glad to see that Peter, Susan, Edmond and Lucy had the chance to come back to Narnia again. I don’t know if some or all of them will be in the rest of the books. I know about the next one because that is the one I am listening to now, but for books 6 and 7 I keep wondering if they will still be present or if we will be introduced to all new characters. Another thing I am thankful for is that I can share this series with my children. They are getting very into listening to these stories.

1 comment:

  1. I hear you about audio books. There are some books just too dense for me to listen to. I do love it for driving alone, however sometimes I feel as I have missed something.

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