![]() In fact, Lewis spent one whole book doing this: Studies in Words. Lewis often noted the importance of defining the meaning of words we think we understand. And to do that I think I shall start where Lewis would-by defining terms. Therefore I shall confine myself to reviewing the illustrations. Now, where to start in such a review? First of all, since The Screwtape Letters has been in print for sixty-seven years and is a classic of Christian literature and satire I see no need to review the text of one of C. This was a chance to get a free Lewis book. What was there to hesitate over? I love Lewis. (Apparently in that one, Lewis uses Screwtape to raise some particular criticisms of public education.) The two are frequently printed together but as I have an old copy of Screwtape Letters I didn't know!Īs you may or may not also be aware, The Screwtape Letters has been turned into an off-Broadway play, a fact I find rather unbelievable.When asked to write this review of The Illustrated Screwtape Letters I jumped at the chance. Unbeknownst to me, he did write an essay sequel to The Screwtape Letters called Screwtape Proposes a Toast. He found it laborious and vowed never to write another book in letter form again. Interesting to note, Lewis did not enjoy writing this book. This book a compelling and ingenious way to knock some sense into Lewis's readership. ![]() He uses the demon characters of Screwtape and Wormwood to explain exactly how we humans let pride block our view of truth. In The Screwtape Letters Lewis focuses a lot on how humans are so easily distracted from pursuing Christ by thinking of themselves when it comes to war, sex, intellectual capabilities, or taking some sort of moral high ground. Yet so easily we give into the temptation to think ourselves "not as bad as all that" - an attitude which repeatedly dunks us into hot water time and time again. We are a sad lot of humanity who think we have so many answers to all of life's many and varied problems. In pondering his own attitudes he was able to pinpoint areas where humans think themselves noble or superior when they are, in fact, suffering from delusions of grandeur. Some people aren't very prone to self-evaluation but Lewis most definitely made a regular habit out of doing so. Lewis does best: he describes human nature to his readers in a clever way, using a dollop of wit and a garnish of irony. It is, for the reader, a book about temptations in life and how to identify them properly and keep our eyes focused on Jesus. ![]() Wormwood's job is to keep the human from committing his life to "the Enemy" (who is, of course, the Christ) and his uncle is attempting to give advice and tips as to how Wormwood might go about accomplishing this task. The story is told in letter form, wherein a head demon by the name of Screwtape is writing letters to his demon nephew, Wormwood. In case you are unaware of the premise of this book, it is one of Lewis's fictional works which was published in 1942. ![]() I sat down with The Screwtape Letters late last week and read it in about two sittings. She gave me the time and that's rather a lovely gift. Barbara from Stray Thoughts selected this read for us and I was glad of it because I had been wanting to read it again but hadn't made the time. This month's book club read is The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. ![]() Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge (74). ![]()
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