I don’t know why I enjoyed this one more than the previous Narnia books, when really it has some of the more unpleasant characters. I mean, the two main kids who are sent on a quest to save a missing prince argue and bicker pretty much the whole time, and their mentor/guide Puddleglum, while taking good care of them and giving sound advice, has a negative way of talking about everything (like Eeyore). Maybe it was just refreshing, after how good and positive the Pevensie kids always seemed (for the most part), or maybe it just felt more interesting because I didn’t remember this one as well as the others, so a new discovery. Especially the parts underground. I had forgotten most of that, although many scenes seemed to jump alive with familiarity once I reached them.
It starts in England like the other stories, with Jill (a new character) and Eustace at a miserable boarding school. They’re not really friends, but found themselves both getting chased by bullies out behind the school. They run up a hill through a doorway in a wall, which suddenly opens into Narnia. Not really quite Narnia, they seem to be in Aslan’s country at first, but have a tussle on top of a cliff (because Jill is showing off when she realizes that Eustace is scared of heights) whereupon Eustace falls off, but is saved by Aslan who blows him to Narnia. Jill is then given instructions for their quest- to find and rescue the missing Prince Rillian (son of Caspian, who is now an old man). She’s given four signs to follow, that will help them on their way- and Jill is supposed to recite these regularly, so she doesn’t forget them. But she fails to do that. Their first failure actually occurs because when Jill meets up with Eustace and tells him about Aslan’s instructions, he doesn’t really listen to her, so they miss their chance to follow the first sign. Later they mess up following the guidelines because of squabbling, or not paying attention, or being tempted by something else in their path. When the very last one arises, they are finally working together and astute enough to immediately recognize it, but then are in a bind because then they had promised not to do something the sign said to.
It’s these kind of tricky things that come up making the story so interesting. Jill and Eustace travel across the land, through many hardships, with their solemn guide from the marshes. He was so different from other Narnian creatures I think I found his character so fascinating as a child. They get taken in by giants who act welcoming but really mean them harm (recognizing this before the characters do causes some very tense moments for the reader), escape just in time only to wind up in underground tunnels and caves full of mystery. All controlled by a Witch who has her followers (plus the prince) under an enchantment. She tries to distort their sense of reality, but they manage to see through it just in time and overcome her at the end. Rilian is restored to his rightful place (though not without some grief) and the children are returned home, having through numerous trials completed their mission and hopefully learned some lessons along the way. At the very least, they seem to be actual friends now. For me the ending, with everything set to rights and helpful people welcoming and supporting them again, was much less captivating to read than all the previous chapters with their struggle and inabilities to see clearly. I read the last chapter rather quickly, just to have it over with and move on to the next book.
