Perelandra

This book by C.S. Lewis is the second in his Space trilogy (see here for the first - as always with my posts about series I am here going to give a spoiler-free[ish] summary of the plot, reserving my reflections on the characters & themes for the post about the last one).

   We open with the narrator, Lewis (an obvious author self-insert if ever I saw one) recounting his recent visit to his friend Dr. Elwin Ransom, the protagonist. Ransom is mysteriously abducted & then returned & then recounts his travels to Lewis, which is from where we get the prose narrative of the majority of the book. Ransom had been taken to Perelandra (i.e. Venus) by the eldila, where, after a few chapters of frankly gorgeous scenic descriptive passages, he finally meets another humanoid - the 'Green Lady' as she is called. Ransom & the Green Lady have a shared language thanks to Ransom's time on Malacandra [Mars] but little shared in terms of communicable concepts, given the essential innocence of the Lady's world. In no short order though, Professor Weston (as in the antagonist of the first book) lands on Perelandra in his space-ship, and soon learns of the single divine command given to the Lady and the only other sentient inhabitant of this world, whom she calls 'the King', that they are never to spend a night on fixed land.* Weston, whom Ransom almost immediately perceives as to be under devilish control,** spends several chapters whispering poison to the Lady to doubt & thus eventually transcend this command of Maleldil, combated rhetorically (and eventually physically) by Ransom. I don't want to spoil the ending so I will leave off here, about halfway through the book, but let me assure you that when we finally meet 'the King' and realise the metaphysical implications of a world having narrowly escaped its 'Fall' (to use a classical Christian term) the sublimity of the descriptive passages reaches new undreamt-of heights. Truly a great book with much on the nature of innocence, obedience, and sin to provoke deep thought.

   The third book in the trilogy is almost twice as long as this one, but I'm enjoying them so much that I might finish it sooner that expected. In any case, watch this space for my overall ruminations on the trilogy.

* As Perelandra is basically an ocean planet, with the vast majority of its 'land' being free-floating vegetative islands, with the exception of a tiny minority of 'fixed' land that is rooted to the spot.

** The devil, or "The Bent One" as known in trans-solar language, is in these books a real metaphysical entity determined to sway sentient beings away from the will of Maleldil, a.k.a. God. I have to say that Lewis's descriptive depictions of evil as it is in this book is just as horrifying & unsettling as his more beauteous description of the Perelandran landscapes are edifying & inspiring. Why couldn't he have brought this style of prose to Narnia? As imaginative as it may well be, I can't help but affirm that Lewis is letting his imagination find much greater fruit here in his sci-fi for adults than he ever did in his fantasy for children. Which is a shame.