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The Last Battle (Paperback) (Paperback)
by C. S. Lewis
| Category:
Narnia, Adventure, Fiction, Ages 4-8, Children's book |
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Four children open a magic wardrobe door and fall into another world - A tale of awakening, hilarious, beautiful, frightening, and wise. |
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Author: C. S. Lewis
Publisher: HarperTrophy
Pub. in: July, 1994
ISBN: 006447108X
Pages: 240
Measurements: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BC00096
Other information: Reprint edition
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- MSL Picks -
The world of Narnia is coming to an end. A false Aslan is abroad in the land and the people (and beasts) struggle to follow what they think is the truth. Eustace and Jill, from The Silver Chair, are sent to Narnia to help the last king of that land rally his troops for the final battle.
This is the apocalyptic volume of The Chronicles of Narnia. If The Magician's Nephew speaks of a creation reminiscent of the book of Genesis, this book speaks of an end reminiscent of that foretold in the book of Revelation. Here, everything comes to an end, and the entire purpose of the existence of Narnia is finally explained by Aslan. The Christian references are unmistakable. Aslan, like the Biblical Christ in Revelation, triumphantly comes to bring an end to his world and save his people. Most of the material in this book is very Christian-like, all the way down to the separating of the creatures on the right and left hands of Aslan.
This, the final volume of the Chronicles, brings everything to a head. This book provides the so-called meaning of life, and gives validity and value to all of the good deeds the children have been trying to do since the first book. Here, the good have their reward. The descriptions in this book (especially the end) are absolutely beautiful, and the finale is nothing short of moving. Lewis, a master of Christian apology, succeeds here in bringing to life the Christian concept of the end of the world, and of the final rewards of the just. No part of the Chronicles of Narnia would be complete without the vision afforded by this, the final book.
Target readers:
Kids aged up 4
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C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably the most influential Christian writer of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English literature at Oxford University until 1954 when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. His major contributions in literary criticism, children's literature, fantasy literature, and popular theology brought him international renown and acclaim. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include The Chronicles of Narnia, Out of the Silent Planet, The Four Loves, The Screwtape Letters, and Mere Christianity.
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Many Narnian years have passed since Eustace and Jill helped ensure the Royal line. But when they are jerked back violently into this strangest of lands they find the present King in danger and Narnia facing its darkest hour. With Eustace and Jill at his side, the King, the noble unicorn Jewel and a few remaining loyal subjects must stand fast against the powers of evil and darkness and fight the Last Battle to decide the future of this once glorious kingdom.
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Chapter Four
What Happened That Night
The King was so dizzy from being knocked down that he hardly knew what was happening until the Calormenes untied his wrists and put his arms straight down by his sides and set him with his back against an ash tree. Then they bound ropes round his ankles and his knees and his waist and his chest and left him there. What worried him worst at the moment - for it is often little things that are hardest to stand - was that his lip was bleeding where they had hit him and he couldn't wipe the little trickle of blood away although it tickled him.
From where he was he could still see the little Stable on the top of the hill and the Ape sitting in front of it. He could just hear the Ape's voice still going on and, every now and then, some answer from the crowd, but he could not make out the words.
"I wonder what they've done to Jewel," thought the King.
Presently the crowd of Beasts broke up and began going away in different directions. Some passed close to Tirian. They looked at him as if they were both frightened and sorry to see him tied up but none of them spoke. Soon they had all gone and there was silence in the wood. Then hours and hours went past and Tirian became first very thirsty and then very hungry; and as the afternoon dragged on and turned into evening, he became cold too. His back was very sore. The sun went down and it began to be twilight.
When it was almost dark Tirian heard a light pitter-patter of feet and saw some small creatures coming towards him. The three on the left were Mice, and there was a Rabbit in the middle: on the right were two Moles. Both these were carrying little bags on their backs which gave them a curious look in the dark so that at first he wondered what kind of beasts they were. Then, in a moment, they were all standing up on their hind legs, laying their cool paws on his knees and giving his knees snuffly animal kisses. (They could reach hisknees because Narnian Talking Beasts of that sort are bigger than the dumb beasts of the same kind in England.)
"Lord King! Dear Lord King," said their shrill voices, "we are so sorry for you. We daren't untie you because Aslan might be angry with us. But we've brought you your supper."
At once the first Mouse climbed nimbly up till he was perched on the rope that bound Tirian's chest and was wrinkling his blunt nose just in front of Tirian's face. Then the second Mouse climbed up and hung on just below the first Mouse.
The other beasts stood on the ground and began handing things up.
"Drink, Sire, and then you'll find you are able to eat," said the topmost Mouse, and Tirian found that a little wooden cup was being held to his lips. It was only the size of an egg cup so that he had hardly tasted the wine in it before it was empty. But then the Mouse passed it down and the others refilled it and it was passed up again and Tirian emptied it a second time. In this way they went on till he had quite a good drink, which was all the better for coming in little doses, for that is more thirst-quenching than one long draught.
"Here is cheese, Sire," said the first Mouse, "but not very much, for fear it would make you too thirsty." And after the cheese they fed him with oatcakes and fresh butter, and then with some more wine.
"Now hand up the water," said the first Mouse, "and I'll wash the King's face.
There is blood on it."
Then Tirian felt something like a tiny sponge dabbing his face, and it was most refreshing.
"Little friends," said Tirian, "how can I thank you for all this?"
"You needn't, you needn't," said the little voices. "What else could we do? We don't want any other King. We're your people. If it was only the Ape and the Calormenes who were against you we would have fought till we were cut into pieces before we'd have let them tie you up. We would, we would indeed. But we can't go against Aslan."
"Do you think it really is Aslan?" asked the King.
"Oh yes, yes," said the Rabbit. "He came out of the Stable last night. We all saw him."
"What was he like?" said the King.
"Like a terrible, great Lion, to be sure," said one of the Mice.
"And you think it is really Aslan who is killing the Wood Nymphs and making you all slaves to the King of Calormen?"
"Ah, that's bad, isn't it?" said the second Mouse. "It would have been better if we'd died before all this began. But there's no doubt about it. Everyone says it is Aslan's orders. And we've seen him. We didn't think Aslan would be like that. Why, we - we wanted him to come back to Narnia."
"He seems to have come back very angry this time," said the first Mouse. "We must all have done something dreadfully wrong without knowing it. He must be punishing us for something. But I do think we might be told what it was!"
"I suppose what we're doing now may be wrong," said the Rabbit.
"I don't care if it is," said one of the Moles. "I'd do it again."
But the others said, "Oh hush," and "Do be careful," and then they all said, "We're sorry, dear King, but we must go back now. It would never do for us to be caught here."
"Leave me at once, dear Beasts," said Tirian. "I would not for all Narnia bring any of you into danger."
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| View all 5 comments |
Amanda Richards (MSL quote), Georgetown, Guyana
<2006-12-30 00:00>
This last book in The Chronicles of Narnia is another fast read, requiring only a few dedicated hours of page turning. It is vastly different from any of the other books, and is the one most laden with theology and imagery.
The ruler at the time is King Tirian, and he soon has his hands full. Lantern Waste is being destroyed, apparently in the name of Aslan, and along with Jewel the Unicorn, Tirian must get to the bottom of the mystery. Closer investigation reveals that men from Calormen are cutting down the Narnian forest, astonishingly being assisted by talking Narnian animals.
But there is treachery afoot, and a false prophet succeeds in confusing the living daylights out of the Narnians, until they no longer can distinguish wrong from right, or Aslan from Tash, the God of the Calormenes.
Eustace and Jill are again summoned to the rescue, returning one year after their last adventure, but in fact over two hundred years have passed in Narnia since The Silver Chair.
The story rapidly advances, with the age old theme of good against evil. The most important physical place in the story is a stable, which has a lot more to it than is immediately evident. People who believe in a supreme being see amazing things within, non-believers see nothing at all. People and animals that pass through its humble door are rewarded according to their purity of heart, and are appropriately greeted by either Aslan or Tash.
The somewhat abrupt ending came as a surprise to me, especially after the joyous reunions and discovery of the true Narnia, even though there had been hints casually dropped along the way.
This is a fine book to end a wonderful series, a classic if ever there was one. |
A reader (MSL quote), WI United States
<2006-12-30 00:00>
Over the years, this last book of Narnia has become my favorite of them all. It is a tale of ancient wisdom redeemed and of ancient promises kept.
These are the last days of Narnia, for all worlds must eventually draw to an end. Indeed, their ends lie in their very beginnings. A clever ape has duped an innocent donkey into posing as a false Aslan. The innocent are taken in by this deceit out of their love and remembrance of the Great Lion. They allow all manner of abomination to be done in the land for they are told that it is by Aslan's will. The sacred trees are cut down, the innocent are sold into slavery, and the enemies are invited into the kingdom. They are even told that slavery is true freedom. Yet, in the ape's greed and pride even this was not enough, for he combined Aslan's name with that of the evil one to make a new god- Taslan.
However, there was still a king in the land, Tirian, of the line of the High Kings of Cair Paravel. The king himself was almost duped by the false Aslan until he realized that the true Lion would never order such evil and wickedness to be done in his name. Taken prisoner by the servants of the enemy the king made a desperate prayer to the true Aslan for aid to save the land. In response to his call came a Son of Adam and a Daughter of Eve, friends of Narnia from the time of legends.
The king and his allies draw to them those who have remained loyal. Though fearfully outnumbered they stand together to fight the Last Battle, even though they know Narnia is no more. For even if the kingdom is lost they also know that noble death in the service of Right and Justice is a treasure that no one is too poor to buy. As the king and his companions were overcome and forced through the door into the unknown they found that on the other side a new world awaited them. The High Kings and Queens of Narnia awaited them there - and behind them, Aslan himself. And He recognized who had remained true and loyal to Him and the Good. And as the Great Lion stood at the door between the worlds and roared, the world was unmade. All those called home through the door looked him in the face and either turned left or turned right- but all went to where they truly belonged. Then the door was shut and those who had chosen the Good were led to Aslan's country- the real and eternal Narnia that will never end and of which the old Narnia was only a shadow... |
Matt Poole (MSL quote), Melbourne, Australia
<2006-12-30 00:00>
The Last Battle is the Narnian apocalypse. Like many stories based on the Biblical model of the end of the world, this book is often brutal and uncompromising, (which some people may find disappointing) but in the end very beautiful and satisfying. Think of the Bible's Book of Revelation meets George Orwell's Animal Farm.
Shift the Ape is a manipulative sort of beast. For instance, he pushes his "best friend" Puzzle the Donkey around all the time, playing with his emotions and sense of reason to get him to do whatever Shift wants him to do. One day, they find an old lion skin washed up in Cauldron Pool. Shift has a horrid idea. He'll get Puzzle to wear the skin, and pretend to be Aslan, the Great Lion, the savior of Narnia. The other talking animals will revere them both, giving them anything they want. Puzzle is reluctant, but manipulated by Shift, he agrees. Shift sets himself up as "the mouthpiece of Aslan", guilt-tripping and scaring the talking animals to follow him, to make an alliance with the warmongering Calormen, to merge their gods as one, and to capture their king. It is a time of great destruction, confusion and deceit. Poor King Tirian, tied to a tree, prays to Aslan, to the real Aslan, for an end to all this trouble and turmoil. Will the Great Lion answer his prayer?
No matter what your preferred reading order The Last Battle, the seventh written and the seventh chronologically, is definitely the last one you should read. There are many references to past books which you'll only really appreciate if you've read all the others in the series. There are also many characters from past books too! (Eustace and Jill from "The Silver Chair" being just two of them)
C.S. Lewis was a devoted Christian, and his faith shines through in all his written works. The Last Battle is no exception; in fact I'd say his faith is even more obvious here. There are many parallels you can draw between The Last Battle and the Book of Revelation. Shift, for instance, seems to be the antichrist, or perhaps he is akin to "Babylon the Great", the harlot of Revelation 17. She, in Revelation, is drunk on the blood of the saints, and Shift in Narnia, is drunk on Calormen wine. Both are dressed in red (scarlet), and both are connected with blasphemies of their savior. It's worth reading both to compare. There's also some allegory regarding the nature of belief within the pages of The Last Battle. In life there are some who believe the truth (King Tirian), while others are deceived by false truths, either through fear or by ignorance (the Talking Animals allied with Shift). There are some who don't believe in anything, either because they are in on relgious deceit for their own gain (like the Cat and the Tarkaan), or because they've seen the trickery of a false religion, and don't want to be tricked themselves (like the Dwarves). Whatever the belief, they all have consequences when the truth (the real Aslan) reveals itself.
It's not mentioned much, but The Last Battle was first released in 1956, the year of the Suez Crisis. This was a conflict that put the world on the brink of nuclear war. Though an Arab-Israeli conflict on the surface, most of the tensions were a result of the incompetence of then British Prime Minster Eden. Being a British citizen, this conflict can't have been far from C.S. Lewis' mind when he wrote this book. In my opinion, I think this background of world tension contributed a lot to the feel this book. The grim moments are grimmer here than in the rest of the series, the beautiful moments all the more beautiful, the truths more shocking. It's a book with definite emotional power. Even though it's "a story" for children, every time I read I get caught up in the hopes, the fears, the sorrows and the triumpths of the Narnians.
A fitting finale to a wonderful series, one of my favorites. Highly recommended.
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Mark Baker (MSL quote), CA United States
<2006-12-30 00:00>
King Tirian of Narnia is thrilled to hear the rumors that, after a couple hundred years of silence, Aslan has returned to the country. But when he goes to investigate himself, he discovers that no one is allowed to see the Lion. In fact, an ape is speaking for Him. The new pronouncements are just as puzzling, including the enslavement of the talking animals. What is going on? His few allies include Eustace and Jill from our own world. But can they defeat this new evil?
This book is different from others in the series because the story starts in Narnia and then brings the characters from our world into theirs. But the differences don't stop there. This is a stirring conclusion of a great series. The symbolism is strong, and I find this book one of the most interesting of the series from that standpoint. The story is probably one of the fastest in the series, with so much intrigue and fighting going on, it's hard to put down, even on a reread. The ending leaves me with a feeling of euphoria mixed with just a little bit of melancholy because the series is over.
While the order the other books in the series are read doesn't matter as much, this one must be read at the end to fully appreciate it. It's a wonderful ending to a wonderful series. Don't miss it.
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