Rating:  -
In many ways "The Horse and his Boy" is the odd one out in the context of the Narnia series - unlike the other books, this one is set completely in the fantasy world rather than describing the movements of children from this world into that. Although two children are still used as the main protagonists, the entire tone, setting and atmosphere of this book is a little different - here we are simply meant to take this other-world for granted, rather than journey into it from hum-drum life.
Though written and published as the fifth book, chronologically it is third in the series (or if you want to get really technical second-and-a-bit) considering it takes place whilst Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are kings and queens of Narnia - grownup, but before they return as children to their own world. C. S. Lewis once more brings a wonderful fantasy adventure to children's literature, adding in a touch of Christian allegory and teachings, some unique and beloved characters, and a rather controversial satire on Eastern customs and ideology.
Shasta is a young boy who lives with his father Arsheesh in the proud and cruel empire of Calormen. Despite his simple life as a fisherman, he is captivated with the idea of northern countries, even though his father and most of the rest of the country considers it a haunted and cursed place. One day however, a visiting Tarkaan (a Calorman lord) demands hospitality for the night and Shasta learns that he is not in fact Arsheesh's son - he was found by the old fisherman, and his colouring suggests he is from Narnia and the North!
Immensely excited by this news, he soon finds himself discussing the matters with the Tarkaan's own horse - a talking horse named Bree, who is also from Narnia, though captured as a foal and forced to work as a war-horse. Together they plot their escape, and are soon on the road northwards! On the way they must deal with deserts, lions, ominous tombs, approaching armies, the dangerous city of Tashbaan, and two fellow runaways, the Calorman maiden Aravis and the mare Hwin, who are also attempting to reach the freedom of Narnia. Perhaps the most exciting and interesting part of the book is when the two groups are separated in Tashbaan whilst in disguise, forcing both into finding different ways of escaping the city, with the valuable information that they've both learnt.
C. S. Lewis has often been accused of both sexism and racism, and "The Horse and his Boy" contains the strongest evidence for both sides of the argument. On the one hand, the dark-skinned Calormens that sprout long-winded proverbs and ruthlessly attack with curved blades are obvious parodies of the stereotypical Arab world and its inhabitants, whether it is the gluttonous Tisroc, the lustful Rabadash, or the simpering Vizier. Likewise, the character Lasaraleen, an empty-headed, aristocratic ditz is a portrayal of women that Lewis presents frequently in his works.
But both of these examples are somewhat diminished in light of the character Aravis: she is both Calorman and female, yet she is brave, true, intelligent, Amazonian, and improves for the better after her journey. Though she never uses her sword within the course of the story (except to shear the horses' tails), Queen Lucy joins the archers in the battle against Rabadash's troops (who is "as good as a man, or at any rate as good as a boy.") Complication piles upon complication - Corin's comment is obviously detrimental to Lucy's capabilities, but one must keep in mind that it is a young boy making this claim. Sometimes it's best to just accept that there are prickly issues to Lewis's writing and just get on with the story.
One thing that is consistent thoughout the books is Lewis's inclusion of Christian meaning, in this case it deals with the reality that behind every occurrence, whether good or bad, is the will of God. In terms of the story, it means that Aslan appears to the characters several times - often in disguise - to guide and drive on the journey in order for it to reach a successful conclusion. It is a comforting presence throughout, and it's fun to look back over the book once it's read to see events that seemed somewhat random suddenly make a lot more sense in light of this truth.
"The Horse and his Boy" is a great adventure story, and although Shasta's true identity may make some eyes roll, the journey that he must make in order to get there is immensely rewarding. It is definitely the different book in the series, (many who don't like the others find this one to be the best, and visa versa) and the one that you could perhaps get away with not reading without loosing the overall structure and meaning of the entire series. However, despite all this "The Horse and his Boy" is the book that I personally have read the most in the series - not through any particular favouritism toward it, but just as an interesting, familiar, rewarding read.
Rating: -
"The Horse And His Boy" is one of CS Lewis' classic Narnia books, one of the later published but the third if taken chronologically. The tale takes place during the time period just before the end of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," (roughly during the start of "Wardrobe's" last chapter) and is largely independent of the other six Narnia books. All of the Narnia books can be read independently, but "Horse" in particular has little link to the others.
The tale is a classic "young person escapes a bad life" story, and in the end becomes a classic "downtrodden young person saves the day" and a "young person of meager background is" - well, that would be giving something away. Time-tested clichés of the genre, to be sure, but not clichés in a bad way. In Lewis' tale, this is a Good Thing. Because it works.
The story concerns Shasta, a young boy, and a talking horse, Bree, who flee their evil masters in an attempt to reach the free land of Narnia to the north. In their flight they meet up with Aravis, a young girl also fleeing with a talking horse, Hwin. They adventure their way through the country of Calormen, a thinly-veiled substitute for the Middle Eastern countries of the real world.
Like the best of children's literature, the pacing is brisk and the obstacles to be overcome are introduced quickly and almost without pause.
As in all the Narnia books, we are introduced to Aslan. This time Aslan's role initially seems minor, but is revealed to have retroactively been a major role. It is among the worst uses of the lion in the series. Much of what the lions tells Shasta feel dreadfully like the famous poem "Footsteps," in which Jesus explains to a walker looking at his life traced in footsteps on the beach that those moments when there were but one set of footsteps, not two for the walker and Jesus, were moments when Jesus carried the walker through life, not the walker walking through his troubles alone. In "Horse," it slaps the reader from the story. Worse still is the fact that the entire meeting with Aslan is written in a gratingly worshipful tone that is horribly jarring; it does the story a great disservice. The scene, however, is mercifully short.
Because "The Horse and His Boy" is a side adventure in Narnia more than anything else, it does not have as strong a connection, and therefore sentimental tug, as the rest of the books. Still, heavy-handed Aslan scene aside, "Horse" is a delightfully simple adventure about young people escaping a bad situation. Escapism is almost never a bad thing, especially for younger people who prefer to read over playing video games, and Lewis does it very well. Most readers will thoroughly enjoy this, even if it isn't essential Narnia.
Rating: -
The Horse and His Boy
C.S. Lewis
C. Cho
P.5
This book is about a young boy named Shasta and a horse from Narnia named Bree. Shasta and Bree have one thing in common, they both want feedom! Shasta mannages to escape from his master, Arsheesh. Bree and Shasta encounter many adventurous perils on the way to Narnia. Some people in a kingdom even mistake young Shasta as a prince. Shasta has his moments of fame and luxury until the real prince arrives...
I enjoyed reading this book because of the great relationship Bree had with Shasta. I also had fun reading this book because when I read about all the mysterious animals such as the lions, I wanted to read more about it. It was fun reading about the part when Shasta was mistaken as Prince Corin. Here is a quote from the book that I enjoyed,"Shasta had so enjoyed his dinner and all the things Tumnus had been telling him that when he was left alone, his thoughts took a different turn. I couldn't believe that they couldn't tell the difference. There were many exciting parts in the book but to me, these were my favorite parts.
As much as I enjoyed this book, I did have some parts that I did not feel was very exciting. When Shasta and Bree met Aravis there was a lot of talking involved. I enjoy stories with diolouge but I dont enjoy it if there is eight full pages of it. Another reason why I disliked this book is because they talked in a different way that we Americans do. Arsheesh was a character in this story that I didn't like."My price is seventy."
My favorite part of this book was when the people of Tashban mistook Shasta as Price Corin. This chapter made me feel happy for Shasta because he got food and rest that he deserved. I did not like it when Aravis showed up. She was the daughter of a high nobleman and she was a little stuck up to me. Although Aravis was not my favorite character, I still enjoyed this book.
Rating:  -
I thought this was definitely one of the best books in the Narnia series. Unlike all of the other books, this one could stand alone as an independent story. This book does not follow the same order of the other chronicles and would probably fit somewhere between The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. It includes some of the main characters from the other books such as Susan and Edmund but it is based on a boy named Shasta, a girl named Aravis, and their horses Bree and Hwin. It tells of how a boy comes to find his true identity while making friends and saving Archenland in the process. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for adventure, heroism, surprise, and fun.
Rating: -
The Horse and His Boy is a novel of true friendship and courage. It is a book about a young boy named Shasta who escapes the town where he was raised with a magical talking horse named Bree. Along with a girl named Aravis and her horse named Hwin, they travel and fight battles. Since I don't want to give away the surprise ending, you'll have to read it yourself and enjoy it.
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