by Tedd » March 6th, 2008, 7:27 am
I would love to hear other fans weigh in on an issue I've always been a stickler about... what order to read The Narnian Chronicles. I have a lot of respect for Doug Gresham, but I still think the original published order is far preferable to chronological.
Allow me to explain. In LWW, Lucy comes upon a lamp post in the middle of the forest, which is odd. The children are all individually affected when they hear the name Aslan for the first time, and Lewis writes, "Now of course they didn't know who Aslan was, any more than you or I" (that's from memory so it may not be exact). Aslan, of course, we are introduced to later on in the book. But what of that silly lamp post in the forest?
Only five books later, in published order, do you read how that lamp post got there, and it's a delightful "A-HA!!" moment. But if you read The Magician's Nephew first, you are utterly robbed of that moment... it spoils LWW. You already know how that lamp post got there. And you already know who Aslan is, long before hearing His name when Beaver tells the children about Him.
The rest of the books? I don't think it matters as much. But I agree completely with our kind and dedicated host: above all, LWW should be read first. Even if Mr. Gresham felt otherwise, I am exceedingly grateful that the movies were released in the original order.
Thoughts? Agree? Disagree?