Gustavo L L itibaren Bongo, Venezuela
1953 Newbery Medal Winner
This book was different than I thought it was going to be. It is a story which represents Lewis' views on Hell and Heaven. Those stuck in Hell don't believe they are in Hell because it seems almost the same as Earth. They get interactions with those in Heaven, but most of them are unwilling to "convert." The thing those in heaven want them to do is totally give up themselves--their pride, their obsessions, their insistence that they are always right. Heaven is like the world also, only more real. It is very philosophical and overall a good read. The thing that snags me the most is the recurring theme that in order to "get into Heaven" one must want nothing but to know God. This sounds alright, and half the time I am for it. But one example (of many similar situations) in the book is of a mother wanting to reconnect with her dead son. She is told that she may see her son once she desires only for God and no longer to see her son. In "A Grief Observed," which Lewis wrote much later, he criticized this view. He said it is like telling a child who wants candy, "You must grow up first until you are an adult and no longer want candy, and then you may have candy." I sometimes see how the earlier view makes sense, but I can never stay satisfied for long. Overall it is a good book which gave me more to think on the idea of Heaven and Hell as something quite different than the traditional views.