The Screwtape Letters-C S Lewis

By Keith N Fisher

If you are a member of the LDS Church, You’ve heard this book quoted from the pulpit. I wanted to review it on my Dead Authors Society feature because it’s full of insights. Many people respect the author because of his religious writing. Many others don’t realize he’s the same man who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia series.

In the Screwtape letters, Clive Staples Lewis created a world filled with characters who reveal the struggles of being a Christian. It is a series of letters between Screwtape, a master tempter in the employ of the devil, and his nephew, Wormwood, an apprentice tempter.

In the story, Screwtape offers advice to Wormwood, on how to lead his patient, (the man he was assigned to), down to hell. This is a good read, because it’s so true. Many of the examples of the weaker side of human character are right on. That’s why, I suppose, Screwtape is often quoted in church meetings.

C S Lewis died in 1963 and was considered to be one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century. That would explain, at least to me, why The Chronicles of Narnia seemed a little dry and clinical.

Although Lewis has received notoriety for that series, I think his other writings. Like the Screwtape Letters, are what sets him apart. His struggles with faith and religion are evident throughout. Even in the Narnia series.

In my copy, there is a dedication to J R R Tolkien, which I find revealing, because I’ve heard that Lewis and Tolkien were critique partners.

I recommend this book to everyone, but read it slow. If you’re like me, the text will float over your consciousness and major points will be missed. Savor the insights but don’t take it too seriously. In the preface, Lewis warns, The Devil is a liar. Not everything that Screwtape says should be assumed to be true even from his own angle.

Three Subjects

By Keith Fisher

Yes, I thought it was great too. Since everyone else has already talked about the CFI 6-7-8 conference, there’s not much else I can say. I would like to add my thanks, however, and kudos to the staff at CFI for the hard work. About the only way it could’ve been better would be for CFI to send us on an all expenses paid trip :). Life is good and thanks to Eloise Owens for helping me remember there is a bigger wave.

On another subject, I brought my 10-year old daughter to critique group this week. She came to play with the host’s kids, but they had something else come up. My daughter decided to sit in with us, and since we were missing one member, we gave my ten-year old copies of our chapters.

She followed along with us and made comments on the manuscripts. I’m told she caught some things we didn’t see, but she was too shy to talk about it. I asked her how she liked critique. She said she really liked Nichole’s new book.

I’ve got to tell you I’m impressed. First that my daughter has a working knowledge of what makes good writing, and second; Nichole’s new YA fantasy holds her attention. I have told my daughter she can’t see the new Narnia movie until she reads the book first—she chooses not to—which gives you an idea of how good Nichole’s new book is going to be.

What can I say? I’m a proud father, but it occurs to me that our next generation will be wonderful writers. I hope they choose to be.

Now onto the third matter, I’ve been posting entries that I call The Dead Authors Society. This week I was planning to start A tale of Two Cities, but I put it aside because of prior reading commitments. I still haven’t gotten to Frankenstien by Mary Shelly, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is waiting in the wings, and there is still Moby Dick.

I’ve seen summer reading lists posted on other blogs and it occurred to me, I could do the same thing with my old classics. You can read along and we can talk about them. I’m going to compile my list, but for now, look above.

I did want to note, however, that even though much of what he wrote is not politically correct by today’s standards, I admire Mark Twain. In Huckleberry Finn, he dealt with the slavery question at a time when his opinions might have gotten him hanged. He did it through the eyes of young white boy and the message is still poignant today. Even though the language is hard to read sometimes, Huckleberry Finn is a good read.

Good luck in your writing—see you next week.