Perelandra
C. S. Lewis
Paperback
(The Macmillan Co, March 15, 1973)
Review By A Customer Format:HardcoverPerelandra is quite the most hauntingly beautiful book this reviewer has ever read. From the moment Ransom, the principal character, enters Venus, we are treated to descriptive passages that have the ability to place in your mind an unforgettably beautiful world. Lewis' sweeping prose creates a remarkable vision of an Eden that knows no pain, and the book as a whole leaves the reader with a deep sense of joy and an appreciation of the loveliness of human life. Lewis is quite deliberately retelling the Christian story of temptation, and the theology espoused in the arguments between Ransom and the devil's advocate, Weston, watched with some confusion by Venus' "Eve", show a deep and profound grasp of the methods of evil, and the twisting, roundabout attempts to persuade her to disobey God. Within this story, Lewis disputes and gives an answer to the still prevalent assumptions of much of science fiction - that man must survive at all costs and extend his seed to the ends of the universe. The physical fight with Weston, told around more stunning descriptions of the natural beauty of Venus, suggest that evil is not all-powerful, and Ransom himself recognises the smallness of his actions against the great dance of life, which is the theme of the fast, moving conclusion to the work. Of the three novels that make up this sequence, Perelandra is by far the most thought-provoking, lucid, beautiful and complete. Lewis himself felt that this stand-alone novel was one of his best, and this reviewer encourages anyone who wishes to sample his adult fiction to get this book.