Review of CS Lewis's Pilgrim's Regress

[Canuckster1127]

The Pilgrim's Regress: An Allegorical Apology for Christianity Reason and Romanticism by C. S. Lewis
Edition: Paperback
Price: $9.75


Listen to the Audio Tape if you can!, February 24, 2006
I recently listened to this work of Lewis' as read by Whitfield from the 3rd edition. I have no doubt that I would have enjoyed reading it, but this narration truly brought it to life in a manner that reading might have failed to do.

Having some background certainly will help the reader to understand what Lewis is doing here. Certainly, someone unfamiliar with John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" would stand a pretty good chance of getting lost. I'm not sure I agree that familiarity with Lewis's other, later, writings is necessary although it certainly wouldn't hurt. Aside from Bunyan, I believe this work stands well on its own.

You might want to consider as well, reading the afterword to the 3rd edition in which Lewis gives some insight to his use of the word romanticism which he believes on second thought adds to some confusion due to it's broad use. Reading that in advance may add some needed enlightenment. Reading it a second time is probably a needed investment as new applications and understandings will appear. That is the nature of well written allegory.

Allegory is often a misunderstood literary vehicle. Lewis struggled with his relationship with JRR Tolkien at some levels because Tolkien absolutely despised allegory in all its forms and was wary of any work where he detected it. No doubt Lewis was well aware of that and got an earful through his association with Tolkien as well as his other acquaintances who over the years came to be known as the "Inklings" where current writings were read, critiqued and evaluated.

Lewis dabbled in allegory in other areas although no other work truly can be called a pure allegory so much as this, his first novel as a believer. The Narnia Chronicles contain allegorical literary devices but are not purely allegory. The Space Trilogy can be said to do the same but is even less allegorical than the Narnia Chronicles.

Really good allegory, doesn't require a key to give it understanding. This work of Lewis can be said to be really good allegory but there are some elements of higher literature (to be expected in a professor of Literature) and some language elements where Latin maxims are included without the benefit of translation. If you're reading this for anything other than entertainment you'll find you probably need to do some work to understand the subtle nuances that Lewis conveys in his use of these maxims as well as some of the names which will not be so readily apparent to the casual reader. That understood, the casual reader should still be able to come away with the gist of what Lewis is illustrating and be entertained in the process.

A brief word about the narration, as I listened to this on CD rather than reading it directly. It is outstanding! The use of many distinctive voices which are memorable and consistent make this a dramatic reading that is rivaled by few others I've ever heard. In fact, I'm almost tempted to push for your first experience to be hearing it that reading it for just that reason. There is a cadence to the reading that shows Lewis had a grasp on drama and poetry that I wish he'd have continued to evidence in his later works to the degree he did here. It is breathtaking and brilliant on its own merits whether you are in sympathy with his primary message or not.

Definite 5 stars all the way around! An excellent book.