C. S. Lewis' strength is in writing letters, which is why it should come to no surprise that one of his better known non-children's book is written in an epistemological way. This work is, of course, The Screwtape Letters, which is a collection of letters written by a demon named Screwtape to his dear nephew Wormwood, whose duty it is to corrupt a man, and thus deny him any eternal reward.

Wormwood faces trouble daily as his "patient" begins to sway towards "the Enemy" (that is, God).

Lewis takes one on a spiritual journey through the perspective of two demons wracking their brains, trying to find way to keep people from knowing God.

While an enjoyable work of Christian fiction, it does require some thinking to appreciate, as the letters in the book are solely those written by Screwtape, with no sign (only mention) of Wormwood's. Thus, you must read between the lines to determine what's going on with Wormwood and his patient.

An enjoyable and short work. ( )

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Laughed frequently throughout, and yet it does really make a good point about what the devil's purpose is, and how he goes about it. ( )

Not sure what to make of this to be frank. On the face of it this book seems like a spitefully, petty, little satire thought up by someone who, not content with ramming religion down the throats of children, then wished to attack other Christians he perceived as not doing things the proper way.

If one thing comes out of these parodies, it's that Christianity, and the Christian God, is fairly petty. Be courageous like this, not like that. Think about the matter in this way, not in another way, that's the road to hell. It's interesting how Lewis doesn't really have time to criticise non-believers, it's really only the errors made by those who believe themselves Christian that he's out to poke fun at.

Or perhaps this is a satire on how Christians perceive temptation, in the form of instructive letters from one demon to another. I can't imagine Lewis means to take the piss out of the whole show, he who is such a well known God botherer in his other published work, but I'd rather see it that way than as the 20th century equivalent of Dante putting his enemies in hell, as he gleefully stereotypes everyone he doesn't like (academics, women, the middle class etc.)

Stylistically impressive but morally repugnant.

http://thebookwormslibrary.com/?p=268... ( )

Interesting, but less so than when I read it as a teenager. Reminds me how pride and greed are at the root of most evil - if not all. (Read for book club) ( )