Choice 评论
Christopher's book serves as a worthy entrance to the life and work of C.S. Lewis. It opens with a brief biography of Lewis and then moves on to an analysis of the book-length prose works (though some of the essays and poems are discussed in passing). Each of the middle eight chapters is centered on a principal genre-such as autobiography, criticism, apologetics, or romance-and the divisions are both sensible and useful. Though brief, the end bibliography of secondary works is carefully selected and well annotated (as expected from one of the coauthors of C.S. Lewis: An Annotated Checklist, CH, Dec '74). Acknowledging Lewis's bias against biographical criticism, Christopher nonetheless considers many passages in the works that have biographical interest, thus allowing for some discussion of the Inklings. Yet his primary interest is to treat the books ``strictly as literature.'' Ultimately, Christopher argues that, when his best work is judged on literary merit alone, Lewis is ``the equal of the major authors of his period.'' The volume is not an exhaustive criticism of Lewis's life and work, but an introduction to it. On this level, Christopher has produced a well-done, authentic service. Appropriate for college, community college, and secondary school libraries.-F.P. Riga, Canisius College