Art by Vidad
Perelandra by C. S. Lewis
Perelandra is the second book in Lewis' science fiction trilogy, and it takes place mostly on the planet Venus. It was written during World War II, prior to the discovery that Venus is actually not a very nice place to live or even visit, and therefore, Lewis still had free rein to envision it as a world of water, small floating islands, and only two small areas of “fixed” land, all covered with a protective layer of cloud.
Other than the invention of a whole planet, with weather, animals, plants, and people, the science in Perelandra is minimal, and mostly not explained. There is a space ship, but it is only briefly visible in the distance. It is the same ship described in more detail in the first book of the series, Out of the Silent Planet, and it meets its final end at the beginning of this story, when it deposits the evil Dr. Weston onto Venus.
~brb said that Perelandra is not mentioned as often as Out of the Silent Planet in discussions or lists of scifi literature, and the lack of much science, or at least space stuff, may be one of the reasons. The reviews quoted on the back of the dust jacket on my copy refer to it as a fantasy. I agree with that description, since the story is very much like Narnia for adults.
Dr. Elwin Ransom, a philologist, is transported to Venus from Earth by the eldila and finds there are two newly created humans there, a man and a woman, living in a beautiful paradise. Dr. Weston arrives at about the same time and begins to try to convince the woman to disobey Maleldil's command not to stay overnight on the fixed land. This is the story of Adam and Eve and the apple all over again, and Ransom is doing his best to prevent the same ending.
There are some interesting details to discover while reading Perelandra. Lewis paints a vivid picture of everyday life in England during WWII, along with many references to Christian interests, beliefs, and arguments prevalent at the time. He also brings in parts of his own life as a Cambridge professor of medieval and Renaissance literature and a friend of J. R. R. Tolkien.
The most striking thing about this book, however, is the amount and depth of the theology it contains. And not just plain theology, but beautifully poetical theology in prose format. The story and its surroundings are beautiful and poetical – after all, it is placed in paradise – but the theology is expressed so beautifully it takes your breath away.
Perelandra is a classic in many ways. If you haven't read it yet, you have a treasure awaiting you.
Havah by Tosca Lee
If you ever wondered what it was like for Eve before and after the apple event, this is your book. It begins when she first opens her eyes and ends when she closes them for the last time, about a thousand years later.
Lee does a great job at portraying innocence living in paradise. Even the words used to tell the story are beautiful. Poetry in prose format. Everything is in harmony with the two humans, wolves and bears are their companions, communicating without speaking, even plants are friendlier than we know them to be, and you can run barefoot at top speed without hurting your feet.
The interesting thing about this story is that Eve's reactions and her interpretations of events are a little different than you may have thought they would be from what you were taught in Sunday school. For example, when God promised that Adam and Eve's seed would crush the head of the serpent, Eve understood that to mean her first son would vanquish the serpent and let them back into the garden, where everything would be the same as it was before. That belief had a profound effect on her relationship with Adam and with Kayin, her first son.
Havah is not only very enjoyable, but it will make you think.
Arisia is a programmer/analyst for a manufacturer of concrete accessories and pipeline protection from rocks and bears. She lives in St. Louis on the Mississippi River bluff and still hasn't sold her house.
Posts
