Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life

C.S. Lewis

This is Lewis’s spiritual autobiography. It is, you might say, a story of his life. He...more

This is Lewis’s spiritual autobiography. It is, you might say, a story of his life. He details his early education, his adolescent skepticism of Christianity, and his slow progress (though in another book his called it “regress”) into theism and finally into Christianity proper. For anyone wishing to better understand Lewis’s fiction and especially his apologetics, this in an invaluable resource. I’m not sure how interesting it would be to someone not otherwise interested in Lewis, though. (Are we ever interested in someone ONLY for his or her autobiography?) This is not a work of apologetics by any means. As an autobiography, it is an interesting look at the failure of modern skepticism to respond adequately to the deepest needs and intuitions of human beings, and Lewis’s invariably readable prose makes the going pretty easy.    hide

I like this book because it's honest. With clarity and poignance, C.S. Lewis relates his struggle...more

I like this book because it's honest. With clarity and poignance, C.S. Lewis relates his struggle with God and his reluctance to finally live for Him. "In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms." This book taught me a lot about God's search for us. Often we carelessly toss around such phrases as "man's quest for God," but in reality it is He who has been calling us all along.   hide

I read this a long time ago and found it a bit dreary at the time. I was an adolescent trying to do...more

I read this a long time ago and found it a bit dreary at the time. I was an adolescent trying to do the right thing by my fundamentalist christian parents and pastor. The basic idea is that you read it and use Lewis as a role model, accept his journey as your own. I tried to do that and failed. I do feel sorry for him, sinking into the status quo of his time, faith and comfort in the big daddy. He is one of the great story tellers of all time, how much more he could have achieved if he had pursued a real alternative.   hide

Right off the bat, I didn't like this, I found it incredibly dreary and dull. Don't get me wrong, I...more

Right off the bat, I didn't like this, I found it incredibly dreary and dull. Don't get me wrong, I like CS Lewis, I just didn't like this. My main motivation for getting through the drudgery is so that I can get started on The Great Divorce. Personally I feel there are better Lewisian works out there that are more worthy of your time and effort. But don't let me stop you, this book appeals to certain types, just not me   hide

In the first chapter, Lewis states that the reader shouldn't continue the book if he doesn't care...more

In the first chapter, Lewis states that the reader shouldn't continue the book if he doesn't care for the first chapter that is being read. Well, I didn't take that advice and continued to force myself through the book. I didn't care for the book, but at least Lewis was honest with the reader.   hide