Over time, I’ve learn any variety of biographies of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, together with one or two joint biographies. However I’ve by no means come throughout one fairly like John Hendrix’s not too long ago launched The Mythmakers, a graphic novel that includes superbly drawn and colourful photographs into the story, together with a lion and a wizard who information us by way of that well-known friendship.
Hendrix retains his graphic twin biography (a extra correct time period, while you get proper right down to it, than “graphic novel”) tightly centered on the 2 males’s friendship and their work. His lion and wizard journey by way of the biographical details that many people are accustomed to, however they actually dwell on why Tolkien and Lewis wrote what they wrote, how they inspired and helped one another, and the similarities and variations of their approaches to writing.
It’s nice to see a brand new model of this story being informed to younger readers (although I consider loads of adults will take pleasure in it too).
All through their lives and careers, Hendrix reveals, each Tolkien and Lewis wrote so as to meet the wants of the second—for escape from harsh realities, for extra of the sorts of tales they liked, and only for expression of their beliefs, pursuits, and passions. It was their shared ardour for fable that drew them collectively within the first place, and, whereas the friendship helped draw Lewis to the Christian religion—Tolkien served him as “a information to get again house,” Hendrix writes—it additionally sparked new creativity in Tolkien.
“We write myths,” Tolkien tells Lewis, “as a result of our hearts have been written by a mythmaker.”
The e-book delves so deeply into the thrill of this private {and professional} friendship, that it’s exhausting to observe the strains and misunderstandings that examined it in later years. (A poignant picture of Tolkien watching Lewis and Charles Williams stroll off down the road collectively lingers within the reminiscence, as an illustration.) However the e-book is trustworthy about all of it, each the highs and the lows, the disagreements and the honest efforts at reconciliation, till the top, when Hendrix dares to think about one remaining heat dialog that places all misunderstanding to relaxation eventually.
The Mythmakers is a graphic novel directed particularly at youthful folks—Amazon means that the goal age vary is 10 to 14. I’m not fairly certain whether or not I agree. The pleasant photographs and the interesting characters, particularly the wizard and lion, are match for that age vary. However the writing is sort of subtle, and, within the descriptions of World Battle I, generally just a little disturbing (e.g., Lewis’s sergeant was “vaporized in a twig of muddy mist”). As is so usually true, it’s in all probability greatest to determine this stuff on a case-by-case foundation. Some 10-year-olds may in all probability deal with all of it simply superb; others would possibly do higher to attend till they’re just a little older.
However in any case, it’s nice to see a brand new model of this story being informed to younger readers (although I consider loads of adults will take pleasure in it too). It’s particularly good to see a author trusting them to understand a few of the complicated religious themes, mythological motifs, and theological arguments which might be a elementary a part of the story, and likewise writing realistically for them in regards to the fractures that may pressure a friendship.
Lots of the latest technology of Narnia and Lord of the Rings followers are certainly prepared to begin studying extra in regards to the minds behind the books. The Mythmakers is a superb strategy to introduce them.
This evaluation was initially printed on Pricey, Unusual Issues! on September 29, 2024. Republished right here with the writer’s permission.
