The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 1

I loved the Narnia books as a child and read them many times, especially this first one. As a child, I was completely oblivious to any religious symbolism in the book, so for me it was simply a great adventure story with a fantastic hero in Aslan. I think I was around eighteen when I last read them and, as with many childhood books, have always been a bit worried to revisit them in case my older, more cynical self has turned me into a Susan – unable to remember the magic and find my way back to Narnia. But when I came across this series on Audible, with some great narrators, I decided to take the risk.<br/><br/>And it was worth it. The book didn't have quite the same effect on me as when I was seven, but it's still a great story very well told. This time around I was obviously more aware of the parallels to the Christ story but I was intrigued to note that there are a lot of other references too – Bacchus puts in an appearance, as does Silenus, and of course all the stuff about fauns and centaurs and other creatures from folk legends and mythology. It's all a bit of a mish-mash really but it works, and stops it from becoming overly preachy. Occasionally the messages are a little heavy-handed – about the evils of lying and so on – but this was fairly standard for children's literature of the time from what I recall, and isn't nearly as blatant as in some of them.<br/><br/>I was also much more aware of how terribly middle-class the children are, and how indoctrinated we were through the books we were reading to accept the subordinate, nurturing role of women and the heroic warrior status of boys. It's amazing that the generation of women who grew up reading books like these, and Blyton and most of the other books I remember, managed to both love the books and rebel against the message. I did wonder if young mothers of young girls today would be quite so happy to have them reading books where girls help lay the table while boys go off in a manly way to catch fish for dinner, not to mention the girls ending up on the diplomatic marriage market when they were older. Daughters of Eve, Sons of Adam...hmm! Correct me if my knowledge of biology is a bit shaky, but my understanding is that the procreation process requires both genders to participate (or a test-tube or turkey baster at the very least). But I'd encourage young mothers not to let it put them off – my generation seemed to survive the onslaught of not-so-subliminal messages. (I also found myself thinking how little had changed in the role of women in the thousands of years between the Old Testament and this book and yet how much has changed, for those of us in the West at least, in the sixty or so years since. It rather made me proud...)<br/><br/>But apart from all this adult over-analysis, I enjoyed the story a lot. The descriptions of the frozen world are great and the Queen is just as scary and horrible as I remember. Edmund is still a revolting little oick, Susan and Peter still badly need brought down a peg or two from their superior teenage smugness and I still identify with Lucy – youngest of four siblings, you see – even if she is a bit too sweet to be true. I loved the thaw – the way he matches the returning of life to the landscape with the returning of joy to the characters. Mr and Mrs Beaver are lovely, and poor Mr Tumnus! The bit with Aslan and the Stone Table is as moving and beautiful as ever it was and I still want to run and play with him, and put my hands in his golden mane! But why, oh why, must it end with them all having turned into stuffy, pompous adults complete with mock medieval language? I hated that bit when I was young and I hate it now – in fact, it was surprising how in tune young FF and old FF turned out to be. Perhaps my inner child isn't so deeply buried after all...<br/><br/>Michael York's reading is excellent. He gives all the characters distinct voices, and uses different British regional accents for the creatures. Mr Tumnus is Irish, the Beavers are some kind of rural English – Somerset-ish perhaps? - and I laughed a lot at Maugrim the wolf's vurry, vurry Scottish accent. The children's voices grated a bit on me – awfully posh standard English – but I did think they were right for the characters. And crucially he does Aslan's voice (and roar) brilliantly – just the right deep tones filled with power and menace, but with a warmth beneath.<br/><br/>So overall a happy visit to my childhood and I can now look forward to enjoying the rest. Since I'm sticking with the original publication order, next up will be Prince Caspian, narrated by Lynn Redgrave. Doesn't that sound good?

Yes, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe is a classic, well known story read brilliantly - what's not to love?

At first I wasn't sure about the narrator but Michael York was full of expression and read with real joy - his voices for the characters are spot on and bring each one to life.

I think I enjoyed the trip from the Beavers' house to the Stone Table the most, where the Pevencies meet Father Christmas and go on to witness the magic of accelerated Spring!

Magic, warmth and good conquering evil - a classic much-loved story at it's best.

I love the story, and have read it several times. I got the audiobook to listen to as I fall asleep. However, York's performance ruins the story! He has a patronising tone, with really strange emphasis and intonation. For example, his voice goes up at the end of a sentence, and there is not continuity, it's like he's reading a bunch of random sentences rather than a paragraph. Such a shame as Kenneth Branagh's performance in The Magician's Nephew was absolutely superb - a truly gifted voice actor. York just doesn't compare.

The Narnia series as a whole are the top stories we have listened to as a family. My 5 year old son loves them and listens repeatedly in the car and in bed.

The end with Aslan at the Stone Table was very dramatic and we were all silently listening to find out what happened.

Just enough drama not to detract from the actual text of the story.

It made us hold our breath sometimes with anticipation and suspense.

We are really looking forward to listening to the rest of the series.

I love love love this CS Lewis classic. The narration was good and added to the enjoyment of the story.

I have not read these books since I was a child, I was pleased to see all 7 books on this site. A good quality reading.

this is a lovely, British reading of the story. Michael bond uses fabulous accents (irish for Mr tumnus) to tell this story, without being over the top.

In my children's titles, it ranks at the top.

Aslan is my favourite. Lewis created him as an allegory of Jesus Christ.

Lucy and Aslan.

Course He Isn't Safe, But He's Good

I suppose most, if not all children read this book first and this was no exception for me. I can remember how it left me wondering at the end before I new of the other books - were there more to come, or was this the only one?

Waded through some weighty audiobooks so far and bought this short classic on whim. What a find! A total joy beginning to end - narrated perfectly by Michael York.
Can't recommend it highly enough.
Oh and it's definitely way more than a children's book...

It was a very good book and I will look forward to listening to the others.
I recommend this book.