Philip Zaleski

I really wanted to like this. I mean, I’m a huuuuge Tolkien and Lewis fan and have read many of their works repeatedly; I’ve been to Oxford multiple times and visited Williams’ grave (albeit unintentionally haha!) on my first visit and Tolkien’s grave on my most recent; and can geek out with the best of them.

But this book…well, another review reminded me as a reader not to idolize authors, and reading this made me realize I may have done that with Tolkien and Lewis.

I’ve always been a fan of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. When I was younger, I loved The Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters. While I knew little about the other members of the famed mid-twentieth century Oxford-based group, the Inklings, I loved the idea of their gatherings.

I’ve read enough biographies to know that no one is perfect. Even the very good-hearted and sincere make a lot of mistakes, and they often aren’t treated well. In the case of the Inklings, they show more didn’t have the easy, fun-filled lives I imagined drinking beer and tramping through beautiful English landscapes while discussing their ideas for fantasy. Okay, they did do those things, but it turns out it wasn’t easy and was often anything but fun-filled for each of them.

That the members were numerous and in flux and that they excluded women (even those they respected and liked) was surprising. While I enjoyed getting to know each of them, it was like getting to know anyone. I quickly discovered things that disappointed me.

While I liked the young Tolkien, the young C.S. Lewis made me nervous. They seemed to cross psychological paths in late life, with Tolkien becoming more ornery and Lewis more relaxed. Owen Barfield and Charles Williams were complete surprises to me. I found both more interesting individuals than either Tolkien or Lewis.

That Christianity and writing were the glue that tied them all together also surprised me somewhat. I had been under the impression that they were a group of co-workers who liked one another. Living as I do, in the 21st century, it surprised me that religion was so frowned upon in academic circles that far back. And this is why I read: to learn.

Philip and Carol Zaleski certainly did their research. The book itself was long. At times, the detail about all the members’ thoughts and writing was a bit too dense for me. I’m not a language nor literature scholar, and some of the philosophy and theology were over my head. Still, I enjoyed learning more about what went into creating some of my favorite novels. As a result of reading this book, I plan to explore the works of Barfield and Williams. show less

i love Tolkien and thought it might be interesting to read more about his life and maybe his writings. this book was not that. it felt shallow and unsatisfying. it tried to be all things to all of these fellows and ended up being not much to any of them.

perhaps to literary buffs and aspiring English majors/authors this would be heady stuff but, for me, a scholar of such worlds and works as Tolkien created, i found it lifeless and listless. it was so washed out on each one of their lives i show more saw no discernible focus. frankly, i was hoping for a history of the Inklings rather than a side-by-side biography of its members.

maybe i’m not in the right head space? maybe i just don’t understand what the book was attempting? maybe i’m just not sophisticated enough in my literary perception to get it? maybe i’ve shifted my own focus to other kinds of content and style? whatever the case, i put the book down and do not foresee picking it back up. show less

Thei book should be titled "Lewis, Tolkien and Friends", because I would be reasonably sure no-one is going to buy it to read about Owen Barfield and Charles Williams. There's actaully little in it about the Inklings as a group (their first meeting at the Bird & Baby is not even mentioned), its really a dual biography of Lewis and Tolkien, alternating chapters concerning their lives and their developing philosophies. Oddly, though I much prefer LOTR to Narnia, I find Lewis much more show more interesting to read about. That is primarily because Tolkien was boringly bourgeois in his private life, whereas Lewis was charmingly unconventional. To tell the truth I would like to have seen more about Lewis' private life, but this book is very much a discussion of their writing and especially their philosophy. As a non-Christian I found the endless spiritual meandering quite tedious, but it really sparkles when describing the processes that led to their best-known works. I was fascinated to see how Tolkien struggled with the conception of LOTR and the many changes he made to his original script. All in all I enjoyed about half this book, there were a lot of dry patches, but the good bits were fascinated. I would not recommend this to anyone who is not fascinated by Tolkien or Lewis, but if the reader is prepared to work hard to extract the jewels in this book it is a great read. show less