Spoiler-Free Review: Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

 

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Synopsis:

    Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the third book in the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. It follows the younger two Pevensie siblings: Lucy and Edmund. The story always starts out in London, England in the 1950s. The characters quickly find a portal that leads into the world of Narnia and they journey off onto another great adventure. In this book, they are accompanied by their cousin, Eustace, and reunite with Prince Caspian (now King Caspian). Together, they all go on a journey to find the Seven Lords of Telmar to save Narnians from a new evil that promises to enslave them. I won’t say more so I don’t spoil it for anyone who wants to read the series. 

    Before diving into my review, please note that it is based on my opinion of the book. As you consider my thoughts, remember that you are allowed to have different feelings about this book. If you haven't read it yet, feel free to pick up a copy and form your own opinion on it.

Note: This is a middle-grade novel and the intended reading audience is young children. As such, I may not be the best person to judge and rate a novel that was created for someone younger than myself in mind.

Content Warning: My review covers mature themes and topics specifically related to sexism, misogyny, and bullying. Please be advised before continuing on.

Review:

    Honestly, I really hoped that I would love this book as much as I had the first two, but I was very disappointed. I had quite a few issues with the way certain characters were portrayed in this book. I felt that the work does not hold up well in the modern-day. The entirety of the book seemed to portray and condone sexist ideals that were commonplace in the 1950s. This really irritated me throughout the book. It actually enraged me so much that I delayed writing this review for a few weeks after finishing the book because I didn't want my overwhelming feelings of anger to cloud or color my review. While I can understand and excuse the behavior in this book to a certain extent give the time period it was written in, it was still no excuse for the behavior. This kind of writing may have been acceptable in the 1950s, but cannot be tolerated in 2020.

    It makes me sad to criticize such a beloved, classic children's series but its important to point out the flaws in this series. Beyond the fact that the entire book seemed to make sexist comments about Lucy, I felt that their cousin Eustace was also unfairly treated. Yes, he was a very unpleasant person throughout this novel and he frustrated me to no end, but I still felt that Reepicheep and Edmund mistreated him. Depriving a person of food or water unnecessarily is wrong and cruel. I get that they often had limited food rations in the book, but the times when they had enough food to go around, they purposefully ensured that Eustace did not get enough to eat simply because they disliked him. There were also several verbal altercations in the story that got pretty heated between the characters. This arguing grew so intense, that at one point Eustace wandered off on his own in an unknown land and risked his life. 

    I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Edmund in this book after previously disliking him so much in the first two books in this series. With the exception of the way he treated Eustace, Edmund actually seemed to show some positive growth and character development unlike some of the other characters in this story. Lucy was pretty insufferable in this book and it made me sad, she was often the one to perpetuate some of the misogynistic ideals portrayed in this book and I didn't like this, as I made clear above. Reepicheep was pretty annoying throughout the book and I didn't feel like his character added too much to the story. King Caspian was also one of the characters I liked better in this book and I saw his mission in this story as a noble one. However, I absolutely despised the fact that when he and the rest of his crew are captured, Caspian is well-treated but takes a long time to save his friends. He gets really distracted for a little bit from his mission and forgets about the fact that his friends are being held hostage in abominable conditions.

    The plot of this story was pretty boring and dull, unlike the first two novels in this series. I might have been able to look over some of the sexism and bullying that happened in this novel if I felt it was entertaining and worthwhile. I'm sad to say that I don't remember much about the plot of the story now because that was just how unmemorable the book really was. The basic premise is that characters all go to find these seven lost Lords of Narnia who Prince Caspian promised he would save and rescue after he became king in the last book. I don't really remember why they were that important, only that they were needed to stop a curse from overtaking Narnia.

    Overall, this book really bothered me with the prevalent sexism and bullying found in this novel. The characters were really irritating for the most part and the plot fell flat. I think part of the reason why I gave it 2 stars instead of one is simply because of how much I enjoyed the second book and how beloved this series is for so many people. It's not a horrible book, but I don't ever want to re-read this one again. After reading this book, I have decided to DNF the rest of the series, at least for now. There are plenty of other books and series that I'm much more excited to read than this one and I didn't feel that this was really worth my time.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Genre: High Fantasy, Middle Grade

Author: C.S. Lewis

Publisher: Geoffrey Bles

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