Cornell, Lewis and a crash

Over at The House of Awkwardness, Paul Cornell writes:

So, we were heading home from Oxford on Tuesday night, on the way back from me addressing the C.S. Lewis Society. They were a lovely bunch, and a number of the university’s Doctor Who Society came along as well, and I managed to vamp around my theme to reasonable effect until I ran out of words and became possibly the only speaker in the Society’s history to confess to not much liking Lewis’ work. Hmm. That ambassadorial career may never come to pass.

Telling a gathered Society that you don't really like the work of their hero?! That's really taking your life into your own hands. He's a brave man!

Most of the rest of the post is a carefully described account of a dangerous head-on collision that occurred on the trip back from Oxford. If this were a thriller novel the crash would have been caused by a vengeful Lewis fanatic driving a stolen garbage truck and ranting against the heretic. But it's real life, so the crash was caused by another driver displaying reckless impatience. And I'm very glad to hear that their Ford Focus crumpled the way it was designed to, letting Cornell and his wife survive reasonably intact.

Planet Narnia

I've been hearing about this book for awhile, but didn't know if it was worth mentioning. Today, however, after coming across yet another favourable reaction I thought I should post about it. It is:

Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis, by Michael Ward. Published by Oxford University Press, in 2008.

Basically, Ward thinks that Lewis' seven Narnia books match up to the seven planets (in the medieval schema) and the symbols associated with them. He argues that Lewis did this on purpose, drawing on his deep knowledge of medieval and Renaissance literature.

At first I thought this was just another highly speculative literary-conspiracy-theory book, but, as I said, it's been getting good reviews - such as this one by Tom Shippey. It sounds like Ward's theory brings out all sorts of interesting details and associations in the Narnia books. And even if the theory is ultimately faulty, it sounds like his book is still a rewarding read.

John Wilson writes:

We can imagine the reaction of the sort of Christians who have gone into a frenzy over Harry Potter. Astrology! But what Ward has discovered is entirely consistent with Lewis' Christian humanism. The imaginative worldview embodied in the medieval lore of the planets speaks to something fundamental in our experience; it is not to be rejected but rather baptized, made harmonious with the underlying Christian vision that governs Narnia.

The Mars Hill Audio Journal has done an hour-long interview with Ward, which is available here.