The Horse and His Boy

Once again, a Narnian book that I have difficulty seeing the problems with reading it now as an adult, it is so colored with nostalgia for me. (If you look at some of the other reviews I linked to, you will find some criticisms). This one was always among my favorites, not the least because it has a talking horse as one of the main characters. The story is so different from the other ones featuring the four Pevensie siblings who became kings and queens (it’s in the middle of their reign that this story takes place). I rather liked the somewhat flawed characters trying to discover themselves, learn to get along and support each other, and so on. Lots of character growth. I think the best was Shasta. He grows up in a village, adopted son of a fisherman who treats him little better than a slave. He determines one night to run away, and encounters a talking horse named Bree from Narnia who had been kidnapped as a young foal, and also wants to escape North to freedom. So they begin their journey together, soon taking up with Aravis, a girl from a wealthy household who is fleeing an arranged marriage and her own talking mare Hwin (who has a similar backstory to Bree). The four of them have to travel through a big city without attracting undue attention and cross a desert to reach their goal. Things don’t go according to plan while they’re in the city, they get separated and are both at risk. When they finally reunite in the desert, their journey is now more urgent as Shasta has overheard plans of the enemy to attack Narnia, and now they want to get there in time to warn them. After facing more perils along the way, when they finally do arrive in Narnia, they have to figure out how they fit in there, everything is so different from what they’re used to.

And all along the way there are their personal differences to overcome- Shasta has grown up suspicious of adults and longing for a better life though he doesn’t quite know what that looks like. Aravis and Bree both have degrees of pride, and are not always kind to the others. Hwin usually has good ideas and advice, but is too timid and submissive to make her point forcibly enough to be followed. This all made it a more interesting read to me. The lion Aslan of course plays a large role in the story, comforting sometimes, guiding, chastising, and setting things right in the end. His overbearing presence didn’t bother me so much, and I still found the ending scene where the antagonist was turned into a donkey, very amusing.