542 - C. S. Lewis: Spinner of Tales & Patches of Godlight: The Pattern of Thought of C S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis: Spinner of Tales
By Evan K. Gibson
Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1980. 284 pp. $9.95.

Patches of Godlight:
The Pattern of Thought of C S. Lewis
By Robert Houston Smith
Athens, Georgia, University of Georgia, 1981. 275 pp. $18.00.

These two sympathetic and knowledgeable critics provide very different critical approaches. The first summarizes and analyzes Lewis' stories in an elementary manner useful to the lay reader seeking an introduction to and an overview of Lewis' fiction.

The second provides a sophisticated and scholarly analysis of Lewis' philosophy of religion, relating it to a wide range of theological and philosophical thought. Both clergy and lay scholars will enjoy this valuable study of his poetry, polemics, fiction, and scholarship.

Though written for different audiences, both are excellent--critical, sensible, and sympathetic.

Nancy M. Tischler
Pennsylvania State University
Middletown, Pa.