I was given this book by my uncle and aunt when they were getting rid of a large number of their old books. As an avid fan of the Narnia books I thought that it might be an interesting look at C.S. Lewis' life, but I was somewhat disappointed.
It is a biography of his life, but rather than focusing on his literary work (which is what I had been hoping for) the focus is almost entirely on his spirituality. It explores his disillusionment with Christianity as a young man, his period of atheism, and culminates with his return to Christianity. It is certainly not an objective view of his life, and his return to Christianity is shown as a great triumph. The books he wrote during this period are given only passing mentions in favour of focusing on his spirituality.
I found the beginning of the book to be the most interesting, as it explores Lewis' childhood and his fascination with reading and mythology. However, I become somewhat skeptical of the details that were included, since they often talked about the thoughts and feelings of Lewis as a very young boy. The book was written after Lewis' death and drew on other works of his and on his correspondence from later life, and so I am somewhat curious as to whether or not many of these memories were not either invented outright or at least greatly embellished by Arnott.
Regardless, it was an interesting read, and at 123 pages it wouldn't be a waste of time to skim through it.
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