It is difficult to write a review about “Perelandra”. There is so much that could be said that it is hard to know where to begin. Its story is so rich, the imagery so beautiful, the underlying themes so profound and complex, its theology so full that no summary can do it justice. I would rather simply encourage everyone to read it and let each discover its joys for themselves. But since there is no reason for anyone to merely take my word for it, I will do my best to support my recommendation.Though the characters and names are different, the story of “Perelandra” follows the basic outline of Milton’s “Paradise Lost”. Creatures made in the image of God arise on a world newly made. They live in the joy of sinless obedience until two visitors arrive from outside their world; the first to warn them of impending evil, the second to tempt them to disobey and fall. But whereas Milton’s herald is the immortal angel Gabriel, Lewis re-introduces his reluctant hero from “Out of the Silent Planet”, the very human Dr. Elwin Ransom. There are other differences between Milton’s poem and Lewis’ novel. “Paradise Lost” is set on the Earth during the time of Genesis. Perelandra takes place long after the fall of Adam and Eve on a planet named Perelandra. Milton’s tempter is Satan in the form of a serpent. Lewis’ is the brilliant, but twisted Dr. Weston, the physicist from “Out of the Silent Planet”. But these are superficial and only thinly disguise the many similarities between these two great works of literature. It may be fair to say that just as “Paradise Lost” is a retelling of Genesis, “Perelandra” is a retelling of “Paradise Lost”.Both Milton and Lewis dwell on what it might be like for men and women to live prior to the fall from grace. Such is the genius of both authors that they not only create a convincing image of pre-fallen humanity, they are able to communicate that image to their audience. Their understanding of what we lost in the original fall was so deep, and their longing to return so keen, that unspoiled worlds seem to flow from their pens as smoothly as ink. In one way, though, Lewis was able to do his great predecessor one better. Lewis was not constrained by the nature of Earth as Milton was. Lewis’ Perelandra is a world of many and varied delights, an otherworldly Eden. There are trees, the fruit of which are huge, shimmering, transparent orbs that burst at the lightest touch, bathing the passerby in a thrilling shower. Other trees bear fruits that are achingly beautiful to taste, both savory and sweet. There are fantastic and extraordinary creatures that rival the whimsy of Hieronymus Bosch. Perelandra is easily the most glorious world CS Lewis ever created. Lewis and Milton also focus on the female as the vector of attack. Lewis wisely avoids speculation as to why this should be. There is no indication that the female is somehow inferior to the male. It is simply a matter of fact that in the history of Earth Eve was deceived, not Adam. It stands to reason that the tempter will follow the same plan.The last great similarity between “Perelandra” and “Paradise Lost” I want to mention is the way language is used in the temptation of Eve and her Perelandrian counterpart, Tinidril. Both authors give their tempters brilliant speeches with which to seduce their prey. They are eloquent and persuasive, flattering but not obsequious. Their arguments are successful in making that which is forbidden seem attractive and disobedience seem heroic. The tempters are so eloquent that the reader is nearly moved to agree with them. Which brings me now to two real and remarkable differences between “Paradise Lost” and “Perelandra”. First, unlike Eve, who’s story was carved in history long before Milton lived to set it to verse, Tinidril has a champion in the form of Ransom. He is by her side, fighting constantly against the influence of Weston. It is in their subsequent philosophical battle of words and ideas that Lewis explores a powerful theme. Ransom and Weston fight on uneven ground, with the advantage going to Weston. Ransom has reason and truth on his side, but is constrained by the absolute morals of Christianity and the rules of reason itself not to stray from those ideals. Weston is seductively irrational. He is utterly immoral and can lie in any and every way, twisting and distorting the truth to suit his ends. As the war becomes hopeless, Ransom is faced with a terrible conclusion; reason alone cannot defeat non-reason. A person who is dedicated to being irrational cannot be argued out of their position. There is no example strong enough to persuade them, no beauty in reason sweet enough. In the end, for truth to win over a lie, something extraordinary is necessary. The great example of our own world is the Cross. This is reflected in Perelandra in a surprising way.The second great difference is the end. Ransom is successful in overcoming Weston, and Tinidril overcomes her temptation. She, along with the Tor, the Perelandrian Adam, passes the test that Adam and Eve failed. Together they “step up that step at which [our] parents fell.” Lewis takes the theme of unfallen humanity and extends it beyond what Milton conceived. He contemplates what life might have been like had we not fallen, for ourselves and the rest of creation. What would our stewardship of the world and its creatures have been like? How would our relationship with God and the spiritual realm been different? How would our transition from the physical realm to the Heaven have been different? These questions, and others like them, are asked, and answers are hinted at as the book ends with a verbal fugue that would rival the musical fugues of Bach.“Perelandra” is a work of startling beauty that stings the heart of the reader. It was one of Lewis’ personal favorites (one supposes it still is) and it is easy to see why. In it, there is a glimpse of Paradise that stands equal to the work of Milton and Dante. If there is any justice in the literary world, it will one day take its rightful place in the literary canon by their sides.
It was good and gave me a lot to think about, you can tell its by the same author as Narnia :D Perfection is not an easy thing to grasp hold of. The very notion of good seems completely unfathomable, much less flawlessness. What might the world have been like before sin? What would it be like to think and live in absolute innocence? tC.S. Lewis takes a stab at these questions and more in his fascinating sequel to “Out of the Silent Planet” and second book in the “Space Trilogy”, with “Perelandra”. tProtagonist Edwin Ransom is back, a little grayer in the beard and wiser in space travel from his last experience as an unwitting voyager to Malacandra years earlier. When the Oyarsa of Malacandra comes with orders that he is to help protect Perelandra (Venus) from the Bent-Oyarsa of Thulcandra (Earth), he willingly agrees. He soon finds himself in the midst of an “oceanic paradise”, a planet entirely of ocean, floating islands, and strange animals; completely without sin. The only two inhabitants of it is a green-skinned woman, Tinidril, Queen and future Mother of all (like our Eve) and her husband, Tor, the King (like our Adam). Though Tinidril, or the Green Lady, features frequently in the story, Tor doesn’t make an appearance until the end. It is Tinidril who comes upon Ransom after he has arrived; a woman completely sinless and pure who talks with Maleldil. They are soon joined by Ransom’s old antagonist, Weston, though a much more demon possessed version. A battle for good and evil soon begins, as Weston, in his new demonic-self, works to convince the woman to disobey Maleldil and stay a night on the ‘fixed lands’, the one thing forbidden. In a race to prevent sin from entering Perelandra, Ransom must deal with resisting temptation and fighting blatant evil with truth.tTo be honest, I found several things quite awkward, especially the fact that no one on Perelandra wears any sort of clothing (including Ransom). The book is incredibly visual, encouraging you to observe and imagine which leaves the visualization of naked people way to noticeable. Though Lewis makes a point of explaining Ransom never even thinks of lusting or seducing his companion, I know I’m not the only one who found it incredibly uncomfortable. tPerelandra is a beautiful planet, but the writing has a tendency to get overly descriptive and tedious, losing you in a mouthful of adjectives. The plot also has a tendency to not go anywhere, dragging scenes out even after they’ve made their point. I also found the Green Lady frequently difficult, flat and lacking in much depth. Her bland innocence, especially during the debates and near the end, loses her initial appeal. tOne thing I did really like was the description of growing older and wiser. While trying to explain to Ransom how she is ‘much older’ today as opposed to yesterday, Tinidril says, “It is very strange to say one is young at the moment one is speaking. But to-morrow I shall be older. And then I shall say I was young today…this looking backwards and forwards along the line and seeing how a day has one appearance as it comes to you, and another when you are in it, and a third when it has gone past. Like the waves…But waves do not always come at an equal distance.” tPublished not long after “A Preface to Paradise Lost”, many critics like to point out the similarity between the famous poem and Perelandra in topics, many themes include the nature of sinless personality, Satan’s dreariness, and the resisting of temptation. It is also fascinating to note that Lewis based Ransom after his great friend J. R.R. Tolkien! tThough this is arguably not one of his best works, few authors can bring as much satisfaction and good sense into a book as C.S. Lewis. Though lacking finesse and frequently tedious, it is a truly fascinating and stunning book. His willingness to approach the ideas and explore Genesis chapter 2 in a whole new way, creates a refreshing and surprising experience. In the end, I have to say I really liked it. It’s a very certain sort of book, the kind of story that makes you think but leaves you much better off in the end because of it. I certainly didn’t agree with everything he said, but I enjoyed reading it and strongly recommend it.
What do You think about Perelandra (2005)?
So great! Lewis' thought screams from the pages of this book, as it does from "Out of the Silent Planet" (As of this writing, I have yet to read "That Hideous Strength," but it's next.) Just for the allegorically and dialogically _nonfiction value_ of this book alone (that is, nonfiction content in the form of symbolism and commentary by the narrator or conversation between fictional characters), it is an exceedingly worthy read!--UPDATE February 15, 2012--I really want to read this particular book in the trilogy again. Lewis' allegorical way of showing how a person might obtain the "knowledge of good and evil" without "eating of the fruit of the tree" (i.e. via disobedience) is fascinating and can affect other areas of theology with its insights into concepts like innocence, moral perfection, temptation, deceit, as well as, of course, good and evil.
—David Gregg
Originally posted at FanLit.Perelandra is the second volume of C.S. Lewis’s SPACE TRILOGY and I liked it even better than Out of the Silent Planet, its predecessor. Cambridge professor Dr. Elwin Ransom is back on Earth and has told his friend Lewis about the adventures he had on the planet Mars and the supernatural beings he met there. When Ransom explains that there’s an epic battle between good and evil, that the planet Venus is about to play an important part, and that he’s been called to Venus to do some unknown task, Lewis begins to worry about his friend. Yet he decides to help him get to Venus anyway, so Ransom goes and eventually returns to tell his tale, which Lewis has transcribed for us.Venus is gorgeous — a lush conglomerate of archipelagos where the land floats on top of the water, so that walking on it is like walking on a waterbed. The sky is full of stunning colors that Ransom has never seen before; exotic trees delight the eye and yield delicious fruit. Other than the strange but friendly animals, Ransom seems to be alone in this world — until he sees a beautiful naked woman waving from a neighboring island. When he finally meets her, he discovers that evil lurks in this seemingly perfect world.If you were able to ignore the Christian allegory in Out of the Silent Planet, you won’t be able to do so in Perelandra — it’s a parallel version of humanity’s awakening in the Garden of Eden and Eve’s temptation to sin. Evil is trying to gain a foothold and Ransom suddenly realizes what it would mean to bring “the knowledge of good and evil” into a sinless paradise. Ransom discovers that the Biblical admonition to resist temptation may be a spiritual truth on Earth, but at this time on Venus it’s a real physical battle and he has been sent to fight it, both with words and fists.C.S. Lewis, a lover of words and mythology, writes beautifully about the alien paradise of Venus and the possibility that what is myth in one world might be truth in another. He also has much to say about good and evil, sin and obedience, madness and sanity, loneliness and companionship, science and the supernatural, predestination and free will, the nature of God and man, and humanity’s purpose in the universe. Some readers will accuse Lewis of preachiness, I’m sure, and that’s something that usually annoys me, but though Ransom’s introspections go on a little too long, I found it impossible to resist the beauty, logic, and concision of his philosophizing.I listened to Geoffrey Howard narrate Blackstone Audio’s version of Perelandra which is just under 8 hours long. Mr. Howard narrates rather than performs the story, which I think is suitable. I’ll certainly be listening to him read the concluding volume: That Hideous Strength.
—Kat Hooper
This is my second time reading this book. This was much more difficult to get through than the previous book of this series, Out of the Silent Planet. Some very long segments where the reader feels like they are suffering through the prolonged struggles with the main protagonist. A number of unbelievable moments where the magnatude of Ransom's struggle is downright terrifying. A bit wordier than the previous book and was easy to put down in that it didn't urge the reader on; but difficult to pick up where left off at times because of perhaps unnecessarily complex and lengthy descriptions.
—Mandygallagher
