Skip to main content

The Horse and His Boy

Featuring Bit, Age 7

Our last read aloud of 2011 is complete. We just finished The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis. I had read all of the Chronicles of Narnia to Bit when she was four and she enjoyed them then. This time however she not only enjoyed this but was pulled into the story. She was vocal and opinionated about everything and really engaged with the text. It was heartwarming for me as this is my absolute favorite of the seven books.
The Story
In Narnia it is the Golden Age as the High King Peter reigns with his siblings, but to the south of Narnia in the land of Calormen, a boy named Shasta has lived a simple and harsh life with his father in a fishing hut. Everything changes on the night a powerful Tarkhan wants to buy him as a slave and it is revealed that Shasta is not from Calormen at all. With the help of the Tarkhan's war horse, a talking horse captured from Narnia named Bree, Shasta escapes and head for the north and freedom. Along the way he and Bree form an alliance with a proud young Tarkheena named Aravis and her horse Hwin, also a talking horse from Narnia. They too are escaping life in Calormen. The four end up playing an intricate role in the fate of the northern countries of Archenland and Narnia, both of which find themselves under threat from Calormen.

Bit's Thoughts
 I really like this book. It was my second time reading it. I enjoyed it much more this time and thought it was very funny. Especially the end. My favorite character is Aravis. I think she is very brave. She wants to go out all by herself. There is a character in this book named Lasaraleen who really annoyed me. She was silly and mostly cared about frilly dresses and all that. Aravis was so much better. I'm very happy that Aravis had a happy ending.

My Thoughts
Yes, this one, overlooked by many and hated by many who do actually read it, is my favorite of the series. I love how it is classic fantasy. There is a group of companions, a quest, a kingdom to save, an enemy to conquer, secrets to be uncovered, and an unknown heritage to be discovered. All the tropes of classic fantasy written before they were really tropes. This is the tightest of the plots Lewis wrote in any of the Narnia books. The story is wholly contained within this one volume. You can go into it knowing nothing of the other books and have all you need. The character arcs in this are also well done. Particularly that of Aravis, who is my favorite Narnia heroine. (I wrote about that more here.) From a Christian perspective I also appreciate the theology in this book and the way Lewis wove it into the story more than in any of the others. It is far more subtle, although still obvious, and is so layered. No matter how many times I read it I pick up on elements I missed before every time.

Bit and I won't be starting a new novel read aloud until January. There will be too many interruptions in the next couple weeks. When we do start back up we will be reading Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw.

Comments

Betsy said…
How can anyone hate this book???? Totally agree: the BEST of the series. I knew we were kindred spirits as soon as I found out you agreed with me :-).
Chachic said…
You read the Narnia books to Bit when she was four? Hmm my godson is five and maybe I should give him the Narnia books for his next birthday. I got him a Roald Dahl book for Christmas.
Brandy said…
We read them to her then because she asked. She was asking for novel read alouds at the age of 3. My son is no where near ready for them yet and he is 3 and a half. It depends on the kid. I think Roald Dahl is a great choice to read to a five year old and they will be books he can read early on once he becomes a fluent reader himself.

Popular posts from this blog

Favorite Kissing Scenes

When thinking of a favorite things post I could do for February I decided it would have to be kissing. I've already done couples and I was feeling in the mood to do something fluffy and Valentine's related. So kisses it is. I read more MG than YA, and the YA I read tends to not focus on romance so this was actually harder than I expected it to be though a few jumped into my head right away. (And one of my choices does actually come from a MG book. One is adult. Gasp!) The actual scene from the book is quoted followed by my thoughts. The king lifted a hand to her cheek and kissed her. It was not a kiss between strangers, not even a kiss between a bride and a groom. It was a kiss between a man and his wife, and when it was over, the king closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the hollow of the queen's shoulder, like a man seeking respite, like a man reaching home at the end of the day . - The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner Turner doesn't write the

TTT: Most Recent Additions to My TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly themed blog hop created by  The Broke and the Bookish  and now hosted at  That Artsy Reader Girl . This Week's Topic: Most Recent Additions to My TBR List From Most Recent to Least: What books have recently caught your eye?

This Side of Home

What attracted me to This Side of Home by Renee Watson was the cover. The story hooked my interest. The characters made me fall in love. Maya has lived her entire life in the same neighborhood in Portland hanging out with the same group of friends: her twin sister Nikki, their best friend Essence, and Ronnie, Malachi, and Devin-three boys her father mentors. They have plans for the future that involve each other: prom, college, life. But things in their neighborhood are changing. People are moving in and starting new businesses. Property values are going up as a result. In addition to change, this is also causing trouble. Essence has to move out of her  house when the owner decides he can make more money selling it than renting it. The racial demographics of the school, which has been mostly African American, is shifting. This presents new challenges and choices for Maya and her friends. It brings new people into their lives at the same time. Maya has to figure out how-and if-she wa

Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serafina and the Black Cloak  by Robert Beatty is a thrilling tale of mystery and adventure set at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC in 1899. Having lived in Asheville and visited the house several times, there was no way I was going to pass up a chance to read this. (Also it's MG fantasy, always a bonus for me.) Serafina lives in secret in the basement of the Vanderbilt's spacious vacation home. She has lived there most of her life. Her father worked on the house as it was being built and is the mechanic who runs the massive generator and keeps the electricity going. Serafina is the chief rat catcher, slipping through the halls of her massive home secretly and quietly. She is light on her feet, sees well in the dark, and is quick enough to catch the vermin and keep them out. Serafina knows she if different and strange. Her father insists she stay hidden. But all that changes when one night Serafina witnesses a horrible crime. A little girl, a guest in the house, is fleein

Shorter Musings MG Fantasy

Here are some shorter musings on recent MG fantasy reads. Anya and the Dragon   by Sofiya Pasternack This book is fun. It is a book full of adventure, an obvious bad guy, some more complicated morally gray area characters, and a strong, brave heroine. It is also a book about friendships, community, and fighting for what is right. All things that usually work for me really well. While I enjoyed this, I did feel it was a little overlong and there were certain plot points at the end I didn't love. However, there were things I thought were done really well, such as Anya's Jewish faith and the idea that power needs to be challenged. In the end it was a middle of the road read for me, but it is one I will certainly be recommending to dragon and fantasy adventure lovers I know! R is for Rebel   by J. Anderson Coats This is tough because I usually really like Coats's books. I had such a hard time with this one though on so many levels. It's difficult to get into because t