I just finished The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis. I thought it was a great story. I would highly recommend it to kids and adults alike.
The title of the book is interesting. Why isn't it The Boy and His Horse? Doesn't the horse belong to the boy? In this story, the answer is no. The Horse, Bree, is a free Narnian Horse that has the ability to talk. The title shows that it would be just as appropriate to assume that the boy belongs to the horse as the horse to the boy. Interesting? I think so.
The Horse and His Boy is a story about a young man named Shasta. He runs away from his guardian (who is not such a nice man) with a talking Horse, Bree. They are trying to get to Narnia, the nation located north of Shasta's home. During his journey, they meet a young lady, Avaris and another Narnian, Hwin. They discover a plan to attack Archenland (the lands neighboring Narnia) and Narnia itself. The companions must hurry to Archenland to warn them of the coming attack.
A theme in the story that edified me was the theme of providence. Aslan directs and protects each characters in the story. The powerful part of this theme is the characters are frequently unaware of Aslan's direction and protection. It reminds me of God's providence in my own life and it reminds me to trust in God's plans. God is directing and God is protecting each and every one of us. Our lives may seem like it's spinning on its own merit but it is being carefully directed by God. Amen.
Overall, the story was outstanding, the writing was fantastic and the pace was perfect. I would highly recommend this book to any kid or adult.
It has come to my attention that there is some criticism about Lewis being a sexist. Quite frankly, I don't really sense that. Lewis did not have our modern 'enlightened' values (for those that didn't catch it, I put ENLIGHTENED in sarcastic quotes). I think that Lewis' view of gender roles were fine for the time that he lived.
Well, until the next time... :)
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