Review: The Horse and His Boy

Posted July 8, 2012 by Whitney in Review / 0 Comments

Review: The Horse and His BoyThe Horse and His Boy
by C.S. Lewis
Published by Scholastic
Publication Date 1995
Source: Gift
Genres: Fantasy
Goodreads

The Horse and his Boy is a stirring and dramatic fantasy story that finds a young boy named Shasta on the run from his homeland with the talking horse, Bree. When the pair discover a deadly plot by the Calormen people to conquer the land of Narnia, the race is on to warn the inhabitants of the impending danger and to rescue them all from certain death.


I read The Horse and His Boy a few years ago and remember thinking that this installment did nothing to add to The Chronicle’s storyline.  After rereading it, I realized how wrong I was.  Shasta and his horse Bree travel from Tashbaan to Narnia almost like someone immigrating to the United States in hopes of a better life.  On his way, he meets Aravis and her horse Hwin who tag-along for the ride and meet many other colorful characters along their way.

I finished The Horse and His Boy a month ago and find writing this review to be akin to a student forgetting half of what they learned during summer vacation.  Therefore excuse any lapses.The first time I read this (and this time too) I went in very begrudgingly, how could a story without the children of Narnia be any good?  It was told from a different point of view that’s why.  It was like Disney’s Aladdin, minus Robin Williams as the Genie.  My point being that through the Aravis and Shasta we see how the other half live, and was just as exciting as Lucy stepping through the Wardrobe. In this installment, the Pensive children make cameos which I felt kept the story cohesive, mainly showing Susan as a self-absorbed valley girl, {and later her ass is saved by Shasta}.

Even though, I enjoyed The Horse and His Boy, I almost gave up at the beginning, I thought it was so damn slow, despite the Famous Mr. Ed, but I kept at it and while I don’t think it is one of my favorites I’m glad I stuck with it, the adventures of The Horse and His Boy are an exciting journey through the land of Narnia.

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