The Voyage of The Dawn Treader - CS Lewis

Published in an omnibus edition with the full Chronicles of Narnia series: "The Magician's Nephew"; "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe"; "The Horse and His Boy"; "Prince Caspian"; "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"; "The Silver Chair"; "The Last Battle", by Harper Collins Publishers: Hammersmith, London, 2010. Originally published 1952.

Out of the three books adapted into movies by Walden Media, Voyage of the Dawn Treader as a book is the most different from its film adaptation. It does hit the majority of the same beats, but the movie combines various parts of the adventure, streamlines some elements (as movies must do when adapting a book) and makes a few subtle changes to certain elements (the appearance of Aslan as a lamb is removed, for example). Elise and I enjoyed debating which parts we preferred from the  book or movie. Overall, I think I prefer the book, especially the opening sentence, which is one of my favourite first sentences in fiction: "There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." (page 425). 

In terms of plot, Voyage tells of Lucy, Edmund, and their cousin Eustace being caught up in the exploring and vaguely-rescue-mission voyage of their friend, King Caspian, searching for the seven missing lords who disappeared during the reign of his predecessor. Reepicheep, the mouse-knight makes a welcome return, and is as gung-ho as ever, at one point leaping overboard to attempt battle with a mer-king. The development of Eustace's character is another important arc, though is largely shuffled to one side of the plot following his encounter with Aslan - something that happens much earlier than in the movie.

Once again, it is worth remembering that the books, unlike the films, are very definitely aimed at children, and so some of the darker or more intense moments portrayed in the film are wrapped up quicker and easier in the book, when they feature at all. Taking that into account, Voyage is another fun adventure, once again with many elements that can be looked at through an allegorical or even theological lens.

And it has a lot more plot and interest than the "lesser" work that precedes it in the series.

 Completed with Elise, 10 May 2020.

(Elise Books)

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