Remember a few weeks ago when I told you how I got to be this age without reading any of Lewis's works? That leaves me in a bit of a quandary about how to write this review. Surely nearly everyone out there already knows the premise and most have read the book. But this is supposed to be a review, so I guess I should treat it as one.
This is, in my own made-up term, fictionalized theology—maybe one of the only examples out there. Some describe it as a novel but novelette might be more accurate if the word applies at all. Screwtape is a Senior Demon who is mentoring his nephew Wormwood, a recent graduate of Demon College. Wormwood has been assigned a young Englishman whose soul he is to gain for Satan. World War II is about to begin and this young man has just discovered religion and fallen in love, both of which, Screwtape says, make him ripe for picking by a demon, even a young inexperienced one. Reading his justification for that statement is a real eye-opener, a sort of "If you think you stand, take heed lest you fall."
The whole book is made up of letters from Screwtape, both giving instructions and taking Wormwood to task when he fails. Since you never read Wormwood's letters you surmise from Screwtape's exactly what his nephew has done. It is full of theology, philosophy, and general observations about society, marriage, the church, and war. You must always be aware of the "opposites" in the discussion. God is the Enemy, Satan is Our Father Below, and success means the loss of the young man's soul. It will make you think deeply about things like temptation, and how some things that look good can actually work in Satan's favor. If it puts you on your toes in that regard, then Mr. Lewis has probably accomplished what he set out to do.
My copy includes "Screwtape Proposes a Toast," a commentary on American education. It is not as successful an effort, in my opinion, but maybe that is because I am an American.
My copy is about 60 years old and we found it in a used book store. You should have no trouble at all finding it somewhere if you are one like me who is late arriving to the party.
Dene Ward
This is, in my own made-up term, fictionalized theology—maybe one of the only examples out there. Some describe it as a novel but novelette might be more accurate if the word applies at all. Screwtape is a Senior Demon who is mentoring his nephew Wormwood, a recent graduate of Demon College. Wormwood has been assigned a young Englishman whose soul he is to gain for Satan. World War II is about to begin and this young man has just discovered religion and fallen in love, both of which, Screwtape says, make him ripe for picking by a demon, even a young inexperienced one. Reading his justification for that statement is a real eye-opener, a sort of "If you think you stand, take heed lest you fall."
The whole book is made up of letters from Screwtape, both giving instructions and taking Wormwood to task when he fails. Since you never read Wormwood's letters you surmise from Screwtape's exactly what his nephew has done. It is full of theology, philosophy, and general observations about society, marriage, the church, and war. You must always be aware of the "opposites" in the discussion. God is the Enemy, Satan is Our Father Below, and success means the loss of the young man's soul. It will make you think deeply about things like temptation, and how some things that look good can actually work in Satan's favor. If it puts you on your toes in that regard, then Mr. Lewis has probably accomplished what he set out to do.
My copy includes "Screwtape Proposes a Toast," a commentary on American education. It is not as successful an effort, in my opinion, but maybe that is because I am an American.
My copy is about 60 years old and we found it in a used book store. You should have no trouble at all finding it somewhere if you are one like me who is late arriving to the party.
Dene Ward
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