A review by thebeardedpoet
The Place of the Lion by Charles Williams

5.0

Admittedly I like strange stories, dream-like and even nightmare-like stories. I am not troubled when the phenomenon which causes all the trouble is inexplicable by rational argument. So this book was right up my alley. Another thing which helped this book is I've recently completed a course in church history which covered the bio and core ideas of Peter Abelard, among others. This book reminded me most of C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy. Since I already know that C.S. Lewis read and admired The Place of the Lion (as did T.S. Eliot), I have no doubt that William's work influenced Lewis's. Both feature powerful beings, strange supernatural manifestations, Christian themes dealt with in concreate events, and characters who are pressed and challenged to uphold heroic ideals. I loved how one of the characters in The Place of Lion went from being my least favorite character to my favorite character because she had an awakening which cleared away her self-centered obsessions. Yes, there were passages which lost me--usually when Alexander was thinking through ideas and abstractions, trying to make sense of what was going on. Despite those moments when I lost the thread, there was just enough love poured into the characters and their plight for me to deeply care. The last three chapters especially moved me as they demonstrated self-sacrifice, the eternal value of friendship, and authentic love. To me this is the kind of book I get the most excited about where fantastic things happen and I actually care about the imaginary people who are struggling.