May Book Report

C.S. Lewis (1977/1938 ) Out of the Silent Planet. MacMillan.

C.S. Lewis purportedly wrote, “To me, re-reading my favorite books is like spending time with my best friends. I’d never be satisfied to limit myself to just one experience each with my favorite people.” (I say “purportedly because I cannot find the source.”) It had been a number of years since I read the Space Trilogy, and decided that it was time for some light reading. I should have chosen differently; Out of the Silent Planet is far from light!

The essential story is that of Professor Ransom, a philologist who is kidnapped by a couple of greedy mad scientists and taken to Malacandra (aka Mars). There he meets three species of Martian, none of which are little green men and all of which have something to teach. The scientists (Weston and Devine) are solely interesting in fame and fortune to be made by their exploration; Ransom was brought along as a sacrifice to the Oyarsa, or ruler of the planet who requested another human to appear before him. Weston and Devine, having malicious minds, assumed that meant sacrifice, but it did not. Ransom first meets the Hrossa, the artists and poets of Malacandra. Ever the philologists, Ransom learns their language and…