The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is (according to C.S.Lewis’ recommended reading order) the fifth book in the Chronicles of
Narnia series. It features Edmund and Lucy from the 2nd and 4th books in that sequence, along with a new child from our earth. The opening line of this book, which introduces the new character, is wonderful: ”There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.” All of the books in the Narnia series have a moral message, and usually involve at least one of the
children having to learn an important lesson along the way to becoming a lot nicer - from that opening line you will guess which one it is in this book!
At the very start of the book, the three children are sucked into a picture and into Narnia - only this time they’re all at sea (literally). Thankfully, Prince Caspian (whose claim to the throne they aided in the previous book) is nearby, and rescues them. Among his accomplices is the fearless mouse Reepicheep, who takes an instant (and mutual) dislike to Eustace. They’re off on a voyage, though the motives and objectives of the different characters aboard are not entirely harmonious; Prince Caspian is intent on fulfilling a vow, while the uncompromisingly heroic Reepicheep is looking for the greatest adventure of all. There is also rumour that Aslan lives in the lands at the easternmost edge of the great sea, but no-one has ever been there to find out – at least, no-one has come back to tell the tale… (There is also the small matter of potentially falling off the edge of the planet to be considered…) Naturally, it’s not long before they find themselves in a sticky situation… the first of many, in
fact.
The sea air seems to have revitalised Lewis’ writing, which I thought below-par in Prince Caspian - it’s vibrant, engaging and full of wit - perhaps even better than in A Horse and his Boy. Though I didn’t spot too much symbolism in the first part of the book, from about halfway through the book onwards there were several passages (basically all of those involving Aslan) which were extremely rich in meaning if you read between the lines. The real beauty of these passages is that a child would understand their basic meaning (or at least start to think along the right lines), while an adult can pull out a deeper meaning in almost every sentence. In fact, I feel that if you read it every couple of years from age 10 to 22, you would probably understand it in a completely different way each time. Unfortunately the passages I’m referring to are too intrinsic to the plot for me to explain them in any detail here, so you’ll just have to read it for yourself..
Along the way Eustace starts keeping a diary, and in his own inimitable way explains how awful everyone’s being to him, though in reality they’re all doing their best to be patient with him. The diary sections are wonderfully funny, and in fact humour in fact plays a larger part in this than perhaps any of the previous four books, though again a lot of the subtler ironies will be lost on children. This is however a book that younger ones can wholeheartedly enjoy, with the added bonus that they get a few valuable life lessons thrown into the bargain without them really realising it. Both adults and children will enjoy the Dufflepuds, who appear in chapter eleven and are possibly the most stupid creatures ever devised in literature (and are hilarious as a result). Like many other sections of the book these creatures seem to me to represent a particular type of person (particularly in regard to their attitude to religion, presumably), and I suppose there are some similarities here with another of Lewis’ works, A Pilgrim’s Regress. Such themes are always kept in the background however and reading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader never reads like you’re being preached at.
Lewis still makes use of the same literary devices as in the previous books - i.e. occasionally talking directly to the reader and comparing things in Narnia withthings in our world - but the effect of this is complimentary to the text rather than jarring, as I found it to be in Prince Caspian.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the longest of the Narnia books, and certainly the one I’ve enjoyed most so far. Half-way through reading it I perhaps very slightly preferred The Horse and His Boy, but Dawn Treader just got better and better as I read. Though it perhaps has the most complicated plot I prefer to think of it as a set of consecutive mini-plots, since the events in each chapter are pretty much complete in themselves (though obviously there is also a central theme running through the book).
Whatever your age, I think that if you’ve read and enjoyed any of the previous Narnia books, you’ll enjoy this one even more. If like me you found The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian rather too oriented towards young children to enjoy personally, you won’t have the same problem with this book. Very highly recommended.