Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis

This book is C.S. Lewis' account of his earliest years and his journey from Christianity to atheism and back again to Christianity.

Just like everything C.S. Lewis has written, there are a multitude of eminently quotable passages in this book. I had numerous "aha!" moments and I experienced again C.S. Lewis' surpassing gift of putting into words just what we all have felt or have thought at one time or another. He has such a way of saying it like it is in the most beautiful and eloquent way. I found a lot to think about in this book.

This wasn't my favorite of his books though. For one thing, it kind of jerked the man himself off the pedestal I had him on (he probably wouldn't mind that at all), what with his descriptions of his forays into the world of sex and the world of mysticism. But the biggest thing I disliked in this book was, as the title suggests, the main conceit--Lewis' idea of JOY. I had trouble visualizing JOY as he described it,and that bothered me some. I eventually found my way to something of an understanding of what I thought he was saying.

According to his account, the sensation of JOY was one he sought all of his youthful life (so far, so good). One expects, therefore, that Lewis' reconversion to Christianity will bring a resurgence of this JOY, a conclusion to his searches. However, it is at this point in his autobiography that the concept of JOY is left in the dust. The dots are not connected. The thought does not feel finished. The reader feels a little deprived. I did not like that.

There were a few other things that I found bothersome: pederasty in his boarding school was one of the biggies. Why does any mother in the British Isles send her sons to boarding school? Lord of the Flies, indeed.

However, this book was still very worth the reading. There was so much to glean. He is always the Christian everyman and what he says reaches everyone. And! I started reading some G.K. Chesterton at Lewis' recommendation and I'm really enjoying that so far. But more about that another time. Even though this wasn't my favorite C.S. Lewis book, it was still a good one. He's one of the best!