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This is the autobiographical account written by C.S. Lewis, focusing on his early life, and specifically his journey through unbelief and eventually to belief. It does, however, seem to stray to seemingly irrelevant anecdotal narratives most of the time. This does not prove to be distracting or undesirable, though, and I found it all extremely interesting.

My only criticism of the book is that Lewis refers to and quotes numerous literary and mythological characters throughout the course of the book, in such a way that he apparently assumes the reader knows everything about the characters being referred to or quoted. Lewis is probably one of the most well-read people who ever lived, but not all of us have spent our entire lives reading all the books he'd read. I think it would have been nice if he had described the characters and situations being mentioned, so that I didn't feel like such an idiot so much of the time.

However, his writing is so incredibly spectacular that I couldn't help but envy his literary eloquence. He truly is one of the greatest authors ever, even though his most famous works are about animals who talk. And even though he was a Christian. :p

As an atheist I respect Lewis' views on religion far more than those of most Christians I know or have read. Not only because he has been an atheist, but also because I trust that his belief is more reasonable than the faith of most believers.

I say "trust", because this book didn't provide as much insight into his conversion as I had hoped. It seemed to me that his actual conversion had more to do with his fondness for mythology than anything else, though I understand this to be incorrect.

I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about him as a person, and I love his humor and insights into his own personality and the psychology of different aspects of his life. He was truly a great man, along with being an amazing writer. ( )

Surprised by joy--impatient as the wind. Lewis tells of his early life. His father came from Welshmen, true Welshmen who were sentimental, passionate, and rhetorical, easily moved to anger and to tenderness; men who laughed and cried a great deal and who had not much of the talent for happiness. The Hamilton's (his mother's people) were a cooler race. Their minds were critical and ironic and they had the talent for happiness in a high degree--went straight to it as experienced travelers go for the best seat in the train.
You must have a heart of stone not to read on. ( )

Despite having one of the worst covers I've seen in a while, this short account of C.S. Lewis' religious life, culminating in his conversion to Christianity, was worthwhile and enjoyable, though perhaps not as edifying on the topic of religious conversion as I had hoped.

Too much of the book is focused on unrelated descriptions and stories which, though the story might be anemic without them, tend to draw away rather than complement the book's central concern. A more serious criticism of the book is that "Joy", which figures so prominently in the book's title, is underanalyzed and underdeveloped so that for Lewis to end on a note about Joy lacks the impact it might have otherwise had. Furthermore, I found that in general the episodes explicitly related to Lewis' religious conversion which punctuated the story were likewise too underdeveloped, the details too sketchy, the experiences too understated. Perhaps that is an inevitable fact when discussing the "mystery" of how such conversion takes place. Perhaps if, as Lewis says, he had been contemplating and reflecting enough to give more specific accounts of such experiences, the experiences themselves would have been thwarted and dulled precisely by such introspection.

In any case, the quality of Lewis' prose is practically beyond compare, and whatever the subject matter or disagreements I may have with him, his writing is always a pleasure to read.

A key quotation: "What I learned from the Idealists (and still most strongly hold) is this maxim: it is more important that Heaven should exist than that any of us should ever reach it." ( )

Far from being the typical "spiritual journey" book, C.S. Lewis captures, with his customary wit, the essence of his early life through adolescence which helped to shape his faith.

The preface is rather self-effacing, but not without some merit. Toward the end of the book his thoughts seem a bit more stream-of-consciousness and the transition from "a boy's life" to "concerned theologian" is not quite smooth, from a reader's perspective.

However, overall this is a very worthy read for anyone interested in C.S. Lewis or journeys in and out of atheism/agnosticism. ( )

I am ashamed to say that it took me so long to rinally read this classic. Now, after having read it, I can testify that I was completely captivated by Lewis' journey to Christianity. It is always surprising when we realize that our joy is to be found in God, and that all the "joy" we've experience prior to salvation in Christ was not really joy at all, but rather lesser ideas of pleasure and happiness. ( )

C.S. Lewis talks about his early life.

Those looking for a "Christian testamony" will be somewhat disappointed. But Lewis, as usual, cuts deeper than most people are prepared to go. This is the story of his conversion to theism, and how JOY, an inconsistent and haunting companion, became a part of his life. ( )

The discussion of his early life is interesting, but I didn't find Lewis's reasoning all that compelling. I can see how he moved from a belief in the Absolute into Theism, but it almost seemed that he became a Christian only since it was the latest thing, an argument that (1) applies better to Islam, and (2) is a sort of a sin that he argues against in at least two other books. ( )

Who would've thought that so much self-talk could be so interesting? But Lewis uses his autobiography to analyze all the shades of intuitive thought that led to his conversion. Particularly relevant are his descriptions of "joy", an aesthetic experience which he eventually identifies as his longing for God. Though Lewis later acknowledged the importance of obedience, he was not the sort who would've been converted by it. This is conversion as seen through the eyes of a romantic.

His thoughts on the schools of his boyhood era are also interesting. ( )

As much as C.S. Lewis hems and haws in his preface about how suffocatingly subjective and uninteresting this book will be to many readers, there are few books in Lewis' corpus that I have gleaned more joy and help from. Lewis takes us on a tour through his adventures in joy, that peculiar longing for something that is itself more enjoyable than the thing longed for, this desire that he found ultimately only has its fulfillment in Christ, as joy is merely a longing for the heavenly. He brilliantly analyzes his earlier life, exposing his childhood follies and rejoicing in his youthful literary loves; several times I found myself laughing out loud about similar mistakes and mishaps I had fallen into. He scatters his typically brilliant social commentary and theological insight throughout the work, and a chapter never goes by without gaining a preciously helpful understanding of some important topic. This book is easily among the top three autobiographies I have ever read.

"I have tried so to write the first chapter that those who can't bear such a story will see at once what they are in for and close the book with the least waste of time." Go ahead and read that first chapter. You won't want to stop. ( )

Subtitled: The shape of my early life. I compromised on the rating of this book, because I find the authors style distracting; however the message is worth a score of "five." ( )

In this book Lewis tells of his search for joy, a spiritual journey that led him from the Christianity of his early youth into atheism and then back to Christianity. ( )