I so want cheese

That's probably the main thing I took from this book. A huge desire to have some really, really good cheese. There is a cheesemongers in Bath and I plan to visit it soon.

I have read the whole book, because I prefer my books in one sitting. But I will try not to spoil anything for you guys.

Talk about creating sympathy for the characters. I did truly feel sorry for Kit even though he seems to have created his own trouble. Lucy, I wasn't expecting as she isn't on the back cover blurb, but i'm glad to have all those dairy maids and their eccentricities. Actually no one really seems all that normal in this story. Maybe Lucy...sort of.

Abbey is alright. A little dreamy, but we'll see.

My favorite characters are definitely Fee and Corrie. Good ole Irish men with a knack of premonitions and love of cheese. I so want to apprentice under them.

My quote for this section:

"Know that you don't end up here unless you've got a bun in the oven and no bastard to help you cook it," said Jack.

Hilarious.

That's all I got. Tag, who's next?

Blessed Are the Cheesemakers...the intro

Since I have listened to this book before on audio book (mostly as parts of it were seriously messed up so I didn't catch everything) I will try to weigh in with things pertinent to the current chapters and not hint at things to come. I realize that after these first chapters you all may be going, "umm, where are we going and how is this all related?" but I promise it does all come together. One thing I realized as I read these chapters is that I appreciate the ways that Lynch keeps us intrigued by her small twists that keep us on our toes and keep the book from becoming too formulaic and predictable...for example in the first chapter we don't realize that "Abbey" is actually a photo and not a person standing in the end until the end. Another example is the realization that Fee and the other girls believe Lucy must be pregnant even though she doesn't think she is...is she really? The characters are all quite interesting to me as well. Corri and Fee are such an adorable old pair, Abbey just interests me and makes me want to know where her life is going and Lucy and the other girls just make me go, "What?!" I am excited to reread and see everything unfold and to hear what everyone else thinks about this story.

Kings, Queens and a Prince

Before I talk about Prince Caspian, I guess I should say a little about the first book, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. I don't know how anyone can not love this book, this story. It is such a beautiful picture of imagination, redemption, courage, adventure and childhood joy. I love Aslan in such a way that even as an adult I can almost imagine he is real, and in a sense he is. Lewis's depiction of the Great Lion as a messianic figure may be nothing new, but it is especially poignant. As a child it was easier for me to understand the love and sacrifice of Christ as seen by the literary character of Aslan. In short, I think even to this day I understand Christ best when I see or read about Aslan....the longing his character describes in me in well, indescribable. Certainly if I ever wished a fictional character to be real, it is Aslan.

On to Prince Caspian. Architypically this is the story of a boy coming of age, but of course it really is so much more. For some reason no matter how many times i read this book (or listen to it) I have no trouble easily remembering the first half to two-thirds of the story as well as the very end, but somewhere in there near the middle to end things get a little fuzzy. I have no idea why. I find the beginning of Prince Caspian very sad in a way. Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy suddenly find themselves drawn back into Narnia, something they must have been longing for since they left. When they arrive, however, they aren't even sure if they are in Narnia any more. The woods have grown up, the peninsula has turned into an island, the orchard gone wild and their beloved Cair Paravel has turned into ruins. Their friends are gone and they didn't even return as the mighty kings and Queens 9at at least the age) that they had left Narnia. As a child I was certainly disturbed by all this, as an adult I find it very poignant.

Prince Caspian himself as a boy I find a bit uninteresting, but I think he improves upon age. I think the Hollywood producers must have found him a bit dull myself seeing as how he is going to be depicted in the upcoming movie. I do like the other characters that surround him, Trumpkin, Truffle Hunter ( great name!) and Dr. Cornelius. I think though, that I'm looking forward to getting past all of the introductory information and moving on to the heart of story. I'm so familiar with the story that the intro stuff gets repetitive.

To begin at the beginning

I guess I'll be first. I didn't reread The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe or see it (don't actually have the film), but I'm pretty sure I know it well enough for any discussion.

But the first five chapters of Prince Caspian were great. I'd forgotten just how much I do like these books. In fact I read all the way through chapter eight because I was enjoying myself so much. But I will stick to 1-5.

I like the grab into Narnia at the train station. That scene is so very vivid in my mind from when I first read it. I've watched the trailer of the film and it looks just right. :)

I like the whole story within a story. I wonder if they'll do that for the movie. You almost forget that Trumpkin is telling the story of Prince Caspian once you're into it.

Something I noticed (the effects of this program no doubt) is that older children's books don't focus as much on internal struggle and character development as modern books do. There is no confusing the characters or anything, but there very little in depth character study. It's not a complaint, because these books are great, just an observation.

Does anyone think black dwarves vs. red dwarves is a little stereotypical? Maybe it wasn't then, but I find my racial awareness being offended by that.

I'm enjoying myself, Chris, thanks!