Monday, April 8, 2019

Unexpectedly Disappointing Read. C. S. Lewis' "Surprised by Joy"




The small volume is a memoir or autobiography of the author's faith in God and return to Christianity. My reaction to the book is more a measure of my shortcomings as a reader than this esteemed writer's skills. I was interested in his narration: he suffered several very hard knocks as a child (he was born in 1898, died Nov 22, 1963, same as Kennedy): his mother was terminally ill with cancer and died in the home; his father was an emotional basket case, basically, for all of his life afterward. The boys were sent to a "dying school" with an abusive head master. Enough to make a person doubt in the deity.  But never again did he have bad teachers. He lost many friends in WW 1; was wounded himself.

But I could not grasp exactly how he reaffirmed in Faith, as an adult. The intellectual influence of many colleagues from the Academy. Lewis was a "Chair" at Oxford for years.

Maybe I will try the book again--or another by the author. But for now, I am "with" this little newborn shown above.

Here is a link to some of the notable "quotes" generated by the author: https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/c_s_lewis

No comments:

Post a Comment

To Remember Dad's 103rd Birth Anniversary, Something Different

 My Grandparents on my Dad's side were both "bonus babies", kids who were born to much older parents, long after they expected...