Out of the Silent Planet

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It's a hit!

More philosophical than Narnia, more fantasy than the Great Divorce or Screwtape Letters, Out of the Silent Planet is nonetheless a book that chall... (show more)

More philosophical than Narnia, more fantasy than the Great Divorce or Screwtape Letters, Out of the Silent Planet is nonetheless a book that challenges the reader to discover a different, idealized world and think deeply about its implications for our own world. One wonders what this book might have been if Lewis had been more inclined to spend more time on the narrative and character development instead of spending the (few) pages of the novel concerned with ethical and philosophical questions. There's a part of me that feels like it could have been a sweeping and epic critique of our world through the lens of an alternative world. It could have used the deep characterization of Malacandran people as a foil for fallen humanity in a more thorough and nuanced way. But alas, it's not. The book is quite rich and sets up all these contrasts and lenses through which to view our world and our humanity, but I left the novel feeling like there was so much that remained unexplored. A great novel in its own right, but I was disappointed by its limited length and breadth. (show less)

 

 

by Facebook-användare

No, it's a flop!

I generally make a point of reading a book before I watch its movie version. In my experience, no matter how great the movie, it is no match for th... (show more)

I generally make a point of reading a book before I watch its movie version. In my experience, no matter how great the movie, it is no match for the original written story.
Sadly, that was not the case when I read "Into the Silent Planet." It was such a painful read for me that I wished to watch the movie version instead. The catch is, the movie version does not exist (not at least to my knowledge; if anyone knows of one, let me know!)
The storyline goes like this. An Englishman by the name of Ransom is kidnapped by two scientists and taken to the planet Malacandra for human sacrifice. Ransom manages to escape once he gets to the planet, and the rest of the story talks about his encounters with the beings in Malacandra. Add to it 2 parts philosophy, 1 part Christian theology.
One of the reasons why I wished for the movie version is that C.S. Lewis describes Malacandra with such detail and precision that I can only imagine how breath taking it would be to behold the scenery on a large-screen cinema. However, I also found his writing long-winded and often drier than a piece of burnt toast. (And now that I think about it, I don't think I was able to quite get into "Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe" but LOVED the movie version)
I know C.S. Lewis is a beloved writer, but I just can't seem to get into his books. Oh well, to each his own. (show less)

 

 

by Angela Yao Koch

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  It's been so long since I read anything by C.S. Lewis, I wasn't sure what to expect from this. Though I've much more recently seen the latest film adaptations of the first two Narnia books, I don't remember much about reading them, except that I enjoyed them, so it shouldn't be too difficult to restrict my comments to this book and refrain from (always tempting) comparisons with his better-known work. This short book was brought to my attention when my son read it for his 10th grade English c... (show more)

  It's been so long since I read anything by C.S. Lewis, I wasn't sure what to expect from this. Though I've much more recently seen the latest film adaptations of the first two Narnia books, I don't remember much about reading them, except that I enjoyed them, so it shouldn't be too difficult to restrict my comments to this book and refrain from (always tempting) comparisons with his better-known work. This short book was brought to my attention when my son read it for his 10th grade English class, and I probably never would have read it if he didn't recommend it to me, and/or it wasn't already in the house- but I'm glad I finally got around to it.

  This fictional story is told as if it were a factual account of the experiences of an Englishman called Ransom (though it is eventually "revealed" that names have been changed throughout to protect identities). Ransom is forcibly kidnapped, taken aboard a spaceship by two unscrupulous men, to the planet Malacandra. For their own purposes, as Ransom discovers en route, they plan to hand him over to indigenous aliens, for sacrifice. Ransom's mind conjures plenty of horrific alien creatures for the remainder of their interplanetary trip, and he resolves to escape at the first available opportunity. Soon after they arrive on Malacandra, the expected aliens come for him. Ransom, terrified, manages to escape his captors afoot, fleeing into the strange wilderness. He eludes pursuit long enough to overcome his initial fear of the unknown and come to terms with his situation, eventually discovering the true nature of the world on which he's stranded and of the creatures that inhabit it. By contrast, he also comes to some conclusions about our own world, and about humanity.

  Overall, the story is a sort of "manifest destiny" parable, written in 1938. It's actually a surprisingly short book for the scope of story Lewis attempts, and to his credit he does a remarkable job of creating a reasonably realized portrayal of Malacandra. In 1938, with the atom yet un-split, and 30 years before the onset of manned space travel, it was an order of magnitude more plausible that intelligent life might exist on other planets in our solar system, and though this is by now obviously false, it would be a shame if potential readers allowed pesky facts to dissuade them from discovering or enjoying this work of science fiction. Many older science fiction books suffer from this type of outdating, but this one doesn't. The technical details of space travel are largely left out of the narrative to begin with, leaving only the actual conditions on a certain (subsequently visited) solar neighbor to require suspension of readers' disbelief. For me, this required surprisingly little effort.

  I haven't read enough of Lewis's stuff to know for sure, but judging from this book and the spiritual references present throughout the Narnia series, I suspect he displayed a lifelong inclination to bring a touch of the metaphysical to his stories. I think it would also be a shame to discount his work on those grounds. I'm a lifelong atheist, but I find these references indispensable in terms of the stories he's telling. These references aren't necessarily the whole point, but the stories would be considerably diminished in substance and scope without them, as they seem somewhat integral to both plot and theme. I look forward to seeing if the entirely unique (in my experience) metaphysical system present in this story continues in the following two books of the series, known alternately as Lewis's "Space Trilogy" or "Cosmic Trilogy".

  Out of the Silent Planet is an interesting book, well worth reading, and good enough that I intend to get my hands on the following two books. (show less)

   

   

  by Lowell Pelkey on May 13, 2009 at 07:06AM

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  I first read this book seven years ago. While interesting, it failed to move me like Narnia and as a result I never got into the Space Trilogy series. Recently, I read Perelandra and Hideous Strength and decided I should reread this book.

  After 7 years of thinking and reading Lewis and mythology, and catching Lewis's subtle allegories in the other two books, I think I understand this one better. Some of the observations are straightfoward in the book, while others are my own reflections... (show more)

  I first read this book seven years ago. While interesting, it failed to move me like Narnia and as a result I never got into the Space Trilogy series. Recently, I read Perelandra and Hideous Strength and decided I should reread this book.

  After 7 years of thinking and reading Lewis and mythology, and catching Lewis's subtle allegories in the other two books, I think I understand this one better. Some of the observations are straightfoward in the book, while others are my own reflections and speculations.

  *I believe that Malacandran culture is Norse culture. The planet is colder and the Hrossa bear striking similarities to the Norse: if read aloud the Hrossan tendency to put "Hr" in front of words sounds a lot like many Nordic words and names (Hrothgar, anyone?). Secondly,the Sorns note that the Hrossan language is more rough and thus lends more readily to poetry. Again, Nordic bards.

  *Lewis's use of eldils as an allegory of angels is noteworthy. Like Tolkien, Lewis develops an intricate and logically consistent cosmology. His observations on "solid vs. light" has staggering implications for theology and physics.

  *This book is Christian warfare and it cuts to the bone. It is the warfare between ancient vs. modern ways of "knowing" (Weston calls history and classics "trash"). (show less)

   

   

  by Facebook-användare on May 03, 2009 at 10:05PM

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