Wednesday, July 2, 2014

The Screwtape Letters ~ C. S. Lewis


The Screwtape Letters... what kind of name is that? I went to the library with my kids, they have a summer program, that if you read so many books, you get freezies, and ice cream, and book bags, so my kids, are reading like crazy.  "MOM, we need to go to the library" I love it!!! Might just make book lovers out of them yet.  Our library here, is HUGE... two stories, and more books than I've seen in one place since college.  I venture upstairs... this is where the "grown-up" books are.  LOL the Christian and theology section is first, YEA, I didn't have to venture far, after climbing the stairs.  I picked up a few books, and I honestly don't know why I brought this one home.  Other than it had an uber strange title.  Screwtape?!? what is that? what kind of name is it.  

Well I must saw, I was shocked, floored, and left really glad that I brought this one home.  The whole concept this book is written on/in is totally unique, and something I would have never considered had I not read this story.  The book consists of one sided correspondence between a high level demon and his nephew, a lower, newer demon.  The correspondence includes advice, examples and suggestions on how the nephew (Wormwood) should approach his "patient".  And covers things from our friends, our propensity for fads and phases, our insecurities, our tendency to be two faced or more.  It's a very enlightening book, fun to read, and eye opening in many way.  

I recommend this book, wholeheartedly!!!  A MUST READ. 


On the back of the cover:
A timeless classic on "Hell's latest novelties and Heaven's unanswerable answer."

A masterpiece of satire, this classic has entertained and enlightened readers the world over with its sly and ironic portrayal of human life and foibles from the vantage point of Screwtape, a highly placed assistant to "Our Father Below."  At once wildly comic, deadly serious, and strikingly original, C. S. Lewis gives us the correspondence of the worldlywise old devil to his nephew Wormwood, a novice demon in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man.  The Screwtape Letters is the most engaging account of temptation - triumph over it - ever written.  

Praise for C. S. Lewis:

"I read Lewis for comfort and pleasure many years ago, and a glace into the books revives my old admiration."  ~~John Updike

"If wit and wisdom, style and scholarship are requisites to passage through the pearly gates, Mr. Lewis will be among the angels."  ~~The New Yorker

Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably the most influential Christian writer of his day.  He was a Fellow and Tutor in English literature at Oxford University until 1954 when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement.  His major contributions in literary criticism, children's literature, fantasy literature, and popular theology brought him international renown and acclaim.  He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year.  His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include The Chronicles of Narnia, Out of the Silent Planet, The Four Loves, The Screwtape Letters, and Mere Christianity. 



No comments:

Post a Comment