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Lisa of Troy's Reviews > The Last Battle
The Last Battle (Chronicles of Narnia, #7)
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Racist and Sexist and Ditto What Philip Pullman Said!
The Last Battle is the last book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. In the land of Narnia, a fake Aslan has appeared creating chaos and disorder in the magical land. How will CS Lewis pull together the entire series in this final book?
To be clear, this book is not a children's book, and it was extremely dark. To cut through some of the darkness, the author should have sprinkled a bit of humor throughout the book as in the first two books of the series. This is an end-of-the-world scenario, an epic good versus evil battle, but I was underwhelmed, and I was noodling on how it could have been written better. Immediately, The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman came to mind. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, The Last Battle is racist and sexist. As part of their battle strategy, the Narnians engaged in some form of blackface to disguise themselves as the enemy. Cringe. Total cringe. Also, one female character was excluded from all of the glory because she is "interested in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations." Think I am exaggerating? Philip Pullman is quoted regarding Narnia, "a peevish blend of racist, misogynistic and reactionary prejudice; but of love, of Christian charity, [there is] not a trace."
In this particular book, Pullman's idea rings doubly true, "As a critic . . . I rate him [CS Lewis] very highly, but I do detest what he was doing in his fiction." Although I have deep appreciation for the imagination of CS Lewis and how he paved the way for Philip Pullman's The Amber Spyglass, the racism and sexism in this book do not get a free pass.
100 Books to Read Before You Die According to the BBC:
https://www.listchallenges.com/bbcs-t...
2025 Reading Schedule
Jan A Town Like Alice
Feb Birdsong
Mar Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
Apr War and Peace
May The Woman in White
Jun Atonement
Jul The Shadow of the Wind
Aug Jude the Obscure
Sep Ulysses
Oct Vanity Fair
Nov A Fine Balance
Dec Germinal
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The Last Battle is the last book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. In the land of Narnia, a fake Aslan has appeared creating chaos and disorder in the magical land. How will CS Lewis pull together the entire series in this final book?
To be clear, this book is not a children's book, and it was extremely dark. To cut through some of the darkness, the author should have sprinkled a bit of humor throughout the book as in the first two books of the series. This is an end-of-the-world scenario, an epic good versus evil battle, but I was underwhelmed, and I was noodling on how it could have been written better. Immediately, The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman came to mind. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, The Last Battle is racist and sexist. As part of their battle strategy, the Narnians engaged in some form of blackface to disguise themselves as the enemy. Cringe. Total cringe. Also, one female character was excluded from all of the glory because she is "interested in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations." Think I am exaggerating? Philip Pullman is quoted regarding Narnia, "a peevish blend of racist, misogynistic and reactionary prejudice; but of love, of Christian charity, [there is] not a trace."
In this particular book, Pullman's idea rings doubly true, "As a critic . . . I rate him [CS Lewis] very highly, but I do detest what he was doing in his fiction." Although I have deep appreciation for the imagination of CS Lewis and how he paved the way for Philip Pullman's The Amber Spyglass, the racism and sexism in this book do not get a free pass.
100 Books to Read Before You Die According to the BBC:
https://www.listchallenges.com/bbcs-t...
2025 Reading Schedule
Jan A Town Like Alice
Feb Birdsong
Mar Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
Apr War and Peace
May The Woman in White
Jun Atonement
Jul The Shadow of the Wind
Aug Jude the Obscure
Sep Ulysses
Oct Vanity Fair
Nov A Fine Balance
Dec Germinal
Connect With Me!
Blog Twitter BookTube Insta My Bookstore at Pango
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Reading Progress
December 17, 2021
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Started Reading
December 17, 2021
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December 17, 2021
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33.0%
December 19, 2021
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Finished Reading
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Kat (Books are Comfort Food)
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Dec 19, 2021 08:58PM
Uggh. This already disappoints me. Wonderful review, Lisa. So sad this was a disappointment and good for you for not giving him a pass. Thank you! 🎄🎄💕
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Wow sounds amazing. Fabulous review Lisa🥂
Well-said. I remember reading this in high school and the treatment of Susan ruined the entire series for me.
You're too kind when you said this book was underwhelming. I thought it was garbage.
As a young boy in the late 60s I enjoyed these books enormously, but the line "interested in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations." stood out as silly even to me at such a young age. 'How could she forget the adventures she had had so recently' I used to think. Good review Lisa.
So, you find this book racist and sexist because...another author said it is? Lewis wrote these books in the '50s; while that's not an excuse for racism, he was a man of his own time. Those parts of his books don't age well and are problematic, but to point to one part of the book in a series and say he's racist isn't exactly a hot take.As for the female character excluded: she is excluded because (view spoiler). She's no longer a friend to Narnia because of her vanity and self-obsession, not because she's female. This isn't the end-all for her, she doesn't just go straight to hell.
love your review but why did u rate the book so highly?
Oh my goodness y’all are too much 🗿
Your review gives some interesting insights, contrary to my perception. Amazing 👍
It absolutely is a children’s book. Most people read it when they’re about seven. And Susan has a more nuanced story than you have implied. It just doesn’t end here unlike that of her siblings.
Many people believe Susan was excluded because she grew up or because she was feminine, and that Lewis had a problem with that for some reason. That is simply not true. The reason Susan wasn't there was not because she liked feminine things. It was because of her unbelief. It wasn't that she liked nylons and lipstick and invitations, it was that she put those things above what really mattered. She looked for purpose in the temporary things of the world and lost the faith she once had. She began to see Narnia as silly and childish, and decided she didn't need it in her life. It wasn't that Aslan didn't want her to be there. She wasn't there because she herself didn't want to be. But jer story doesn't end there. Actually, her story reflects Lewis' own. He was raised in a Christian home, but he experienced tragedy in life such as his mother dying from cancer when he was a boy, and then later on going to war (WWI) and seeing aweful carnage all around him. He ended up renouncing his faith, seeing it fantastical, wishful thinking, and became an atheist. Later on, he ended up becoming a Christian. He said in a letter to a fan that he left the door open for Susan to come back, and it's likely that she will. Susan was still alive in our world, so that wasn't the end for her. She didn't go to Hell, and can come to faith as Lewis did. The problem of Susan is much more complicated and profound than people think. I also disagree that it is racist. For one, we need to remember that Lewis lived during a different time, and certain things we wouldn't do today were not seen as racist back then. Anyone in Lewis' time would have thought the same as him. Also, the characters are not doing black face to try to mock people of a different skin tone or play them in a movie or stage production, etc. They were painting their skin as a diguise because they were venturing into enemy territory and they needed to look like Calormenes to save their friends.
Brilliant view, and all the political points are completely valid. But I still loved this book as a kid. The evil characters are fascinating, and the good guys lose. I needed that in my life!
Lmaooooo. Oh no! Not sexist & racist. The horror!!!! Lmaoooo
What a shame.. those problems like disguising could have been solved by some other ways. I agree that it shouldn't get a pass, even though it was written a while ago. I think there are more reports of C.S. Lewis' thinking, that it was racist and troublesome. Unfortunately..
If you think that "nylons and lipstick" literally refers to that you didn't get neither why CS Lewis wrote these books or his literary figures
