Perelandra

You know how when you just finish reading the last page of a really good book, and you put it down, stare into nothing (or everything, whichever you want to call it), and you find yourself so in awe and wonder that you're helpless to do anything because you're just so overcome by emotion? Well, that was me a moment ago. I am currently reading C.S. Lewis' space trilogy, and I just completed the second book, Perelandra. It's been said numerous times before but I'll gladly say it again: C.S. Lewis certainly has a way with words. His ability to create new worlds, people and feelings and make them all so real and complete, is just incredible. Indeed, I wish I had a fraction of the intelligence and imaginative abilities that Lewis had, just so I could accurately describe all of my thoughts right now!

The book made me feel both joyous and very sad. Joyous, mainly because of the ending, which describes the "Great Dance." This Dance is what will come after the end of the worlds - which is actually the Beginning, not at all the end - and how fantastically beautiful it will be. Even with all of the incredible descriptions that Lewis gives of it, he still stresses the fact that it will be more glorious than we could ever imagine.

Yes, the book made me sad, also. This is because of the way Lewis describes the planet Perelandra. This planet is perfect, beautiful, and free from sin... very similar to what the Garden of Eden might have been like before the Fall of Man. Dr. Ransom (the main character), when he finds a small lie coming out of his mouth, immediately discovers the air, atmosphere, or whatever it is, forcing himself to correct the lie he uttered. There are no such things as deceit and lies in this world.

Another interesting thing is how pleasure is depicted in Perelandra. There were certain experiences and foods that gave Ransom far more pleasure than anything he had ever found or tasted on Earth, and yet: he discovered that he had zero desire to over-indulge or have more of the pleasureful substance than he needed.

To clarify, what makes me sad is the thought of the world we missed out on because of the Fall - and all of the beauty, majesty, purity and innocence of it. In the book, the "Green Lady," after it was suggested to her that she might disobey Malildil (God), replied with something like, "Why would I even think of disobeying Malildil? It gives me the greatest pleasure of all just to do his bidding. I would never want to do anything to the contrary of His Will." Imagine a world where no one did anything except that of His Will... it would solve all of our problems!

All in all, it was a fantastic read, and I can't wait to delve into the third book of this trilogy. Perelandra helped me to come to a greater understanding of the Fall of Man and how it may have come about - other than the facts we know from the Book of Genesis and from what the Church teaches.

I definitely recommend anyone who loves CS Lewis, sci-fi or philosophical fiction to read this trilogy! Not to mention any of his other books, as well. Reading the Chronicles of Narnia was one of the best parts of my childhood :)