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I guess on reflection the blatancy of the Christian dogma destroyed my willing suspension of disbelief. This was never an issue for me in the Narnia series, whi

I guess on reflection the blatancy of the Christian dogma destroyed my willing suspension of disbelief. This was never an issue for me in the Narnia series, which I enjoyed. Nor even in the Screwtape letters which are pretty much a collection of sermons! Maybe it's the way it breaks genre rules, starts out as straight sci-fi then busts out the dogma part way through. Whereas Screwtape starts with a premise that Satan is personified so I accepted that from the beginning. Still interesting to see another side of Lewis's mind though. Maybe I'll give it another go one day.

jacobush 7y ago
I know what you mean. I'm a confessing but as an adult I even had a hard time reading Narnia. I didn't want it to be a thin veneer or allegory but it can be read as such, but as a child I never made the connection. I mean, I understood it was about God and stuff, but I took it more at face value. Lewis even says in the preface it's not an allegory but I have a hunch he just preemptively defended against that accusation from his friend Tolkien, who apparently hated allegories. :-D I have to re-read Hideous Strength too, I don't know what I'd make of it nowadays... I do remember I very much enjoyed the Arthurian legends come alive, it spooked me out.