Lenten Lands: My Childhood With Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis

See Larger Image	Manufacturer: MacMillan Publishing Company Written By: Douglas H. Gresham Average Customer Rating:


Binding: Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number: 929.20973 EAN: 9780025455702 ISBN: 0025455702 Label: MacMillan Publishing Company Manufacturer: MacMillan Publishing Company Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 225 Publication Date: 1988-08 Publisher: MacMillan Publishing Company Studio: MacMillan Publishing Company
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Editorial Reviews: A stepson's intimate portrait of C.S. Lewis. Douglas Gresham recollects his childhood and adolescent years in C.S. Lewis's household. An engaging memoir with an album of 20 family photographs.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Land of Imagination Comment: This book adds to any C.S. Lewis collection. Anyone trying to undertsand better Lewis' life and works will gain some value from this book, but in addition, the book adds value to understanding Joy Davidman, herself a remarkable person and Doug himself. One reviewer is somemwhat upset about the book because the author writes mostly about himself, yes, it is subtitled "My Childhood...". Doug Gresham is remarkably candid about himself (he directs most criticism at himself, well and the Millers). He is also very forgiving towards his father, which I found instructive for all of us. His insights into Lewis' chairity (both in time and money) and Christian heart are an addition to what a Lewis admirer might already know, but it helps add to the Lewis icon. I do wish he had a wrote more on his brother, but it may be he is keeping in with his brother's wishes (it is well known that David has avoided the Lewis/Davidman limelight). This is a good book, at a great price, and it is a quick, nicely paced read. Customer Rating: Summary: A Search for Truth Comment: Gresham's Lenten Lands provides a private picture into live with C. S. Lewis. I envy Douglas for having the privilege of living with Lewis as together they traveled the "Lenten Lands!" I'm impressed with the amount of time that passed before Douglas finally internalized the both the Truth and the truths taught and role modeled by his step-father. But isn't that true of so many of us today, searching for Truth, but always testing that it's real! Customer Rating: Summary: so-so Comment: If, as one reviewer states, you are an ardent fan of C.S. Lewis, you will want to read this book. The opposite is true, too. If you are not particularly interested in C. S. Lewis, this is a forgettable book, not very interesting. I am not particularly interested in C.S. Lewis, I'm not going to see "Narnia," I never read the Narnia books as a kid. I wanted to read this because I saw "Shadowlands" and wanted to know what happened to the little boy after his mother died. What stands out the most is Gresham's writing style: rather like that of the people who send anecdotes to Reader's Digest. It's clear enough, rather rambling, rather predictable imagery, lots of repetition. Not very interesting. I didn't even finish reading it. So, my recommendation, if you're not a fan of C. S. Lewis, is to skip this book, and watch "Shadlowlands" when it comes on television again - it is beautiful and stands on its own. Customer Rating: Summary: Must read for authentic admirer of C.S.Lewis Comment: This is one of those books I think any authentic admirer of C.S.Lewis should read because Douglas H. Gresham writes so empathetically as well as objectively of his Mother Joy and his step father 'Jack' Lewis. Seeing these two people thru his eyes from childhood to young adulthood is fascinating. Be it the feel of his Mothers embrace that made him feel safe, to how mature his view was of his father who had problems with alcohol. Where some people would have been harsh or mean in how they saw such a parent Douglas was able to see beyond the issue of alcohol to something deeper. Reading of his first impressions of C. S. Lewis and his brother Warnie again shows reality vs visions one has in their heads of things and people not yet seen. From the cigarette stained teeth to the evening visits to the local pub, Douglas bring a sense of humanness to the great author. And his descriptions of the places he/they lived are so real one feels as if they are a fly on the wall. The thing that makes me appreciate Douglas so much is how the lessons he saw and was taught have taken root in his life . He now lives in Ireland and is active in walk the community helping women with unwanted pregnancies. So the nasty comment by reviewer Kona (Emerald City) 'The problem with this book is that Douglas Gresham did nothing in his own life to warrant an autobiography' makes me wonder just how much of the book did they actually read, since having taken the priceless lessons that the great C.S.Lewis wrote and taught and putting them to day to day use, makes Douglas well worthy of being an author. The title is after all 'Lenten Lands: My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis'. Customer Rating: Summary: Douglas' Memories Comment: In the preface Greshman makes it clear that the book is his story about his life. No doubt the publisher thought it necessary to throw "My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis" on the cover because this is the reason why we care about Douglas Greshman. Most of the book is about his early life and there is much on his mother Joy and Lewis. I found the parts that had nothing to do with Joy and Lewis to be enjoyable too. Gresham is a very good writer and you get a feel for what it was like to grow up in England in the 1950's. Only the last few chapters deal with his life after the death of Lewis. But in some ways, this is an important part of the Lewis story. Why you ask? Because we see how little Gresham, Lewis' stepson, benefited from being his stepson. Greshman was dirt poor and barely getting by. What happened to Lewis' money? Why were Lewis' two stepsons not in his will? Whatever one thinks about the book overall, it is an essential piece of C.S. Lewis history. Greshman saw Lewis up close and personal. He gives insights that few others can. Even if he did not live with Lewis all the time (he was at boarding school), he still lived with Lewis some of the time, and this is more than most. His memories are invaluable. More Reviews