Book Review: Surprised by Laughter, the Comic World of C. S. Lewis
Depicting a Joyful God!
Surprised by Laughter, The Comic World of C. S Lewis
By Terry Lindvall, PH.D.
Whether your thoughts go to The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, Till We Have Faces, or Surprised by Joy, fans of C. S. Lewis will enjoy this book by Terry Lindvall, Ph.D.which explores the various aspects of laughter and how Lewis used them in his writing.
I began reading the works of C. S. Lewis when my children were small, sharing the adventures of mythical creatures from the land of Narnia. I read them again to several of our grandchildren. They aren’t simply books for children, however. There is much to be gained on an adult level.
“When we read religious writing (or, what is often worse, writing by a religious person), the last thing we expect to discover is laughter,” begins Lindvall in the Introduction. He continues, “Treating issues of ultimate reality with levity is the habit of the fool, the mocker, the jester, the idiot. . . . Yet an encounter with the writings of Clive Staples Lewis turns that premise on its head.”
Time magazine accused Lewis of heresy in its September 8, 1947, issue, depicting him on its cover alongside a pitchforked, horned, and tailed devil. Lewis’ heresy, it seems, was a dry mixture of whimsy and irony, or simply, merely “Christianity in world gone awry.” Many people are not used to the idea of a laughing God. “He unmakes us with joy!” is a quote I love.
Lewis, like G. K. Chesterton, presents a “happy God.” Lindvall says Lewis was a “flaming atheist who would eventually somersault into the company of Christian saints.”
My favorite chapter was the one on Fun. The author says joy often turns into fun and fun is serious business. I concur. Others chapters concern Joy, The Joke Proper, Satire, and Flippancy, which Lewis warned against.
The final chapter, “The Laughter of Love” caps the book’s depiction of a joyful God.
This 453 page book analyzes in detail the forms of humor employed by C. S. Lewis. It will be a delight to those who love Lewis and have read his various works.
I received this complimentary book as part of the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze program in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Carole Ledbetter, author of Who Am I Now? Growing Through Life’s Changing Seasons
Marty Schoenleber, Jr. Says:
Carole,
Thanks for this review. I had not heard of this one and now I have it on my list. Count me among the crowd looking forward to meeting Lewis and worshiping the Lamb that was slain but lives forever.