Surprised by Joy cover art

Surprised by Joy

C. S. Lewis Signature Classic

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Surprised by Joy

By: C. S. Lewis
Narrated by: Peter Noble
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About this listen

For many years an atheist, C. S. Lewis vividly describes the spiritual quest that convinced him of the truth and reality of Christianity, in his famous autobiography.

“In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God … perhaps the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.” Thus Lewis describes memorably the crisis of his conversion.

‘Surprised by Joy’ reveals both that crisis and its momentous conclusion that would determine the shape of Lewis’s entire life.

©1955 C. S. Lewis Pte Ltd (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers Art & Literature Authors European Literary History & Criticism World Literature Viking

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Critic reviews

"He is admirably equipped to write spiritual autobiography for the plain man, for his outstanding gift is clarity. You can take it at two levels, as straight autobiography, or as a kind of spiritual thriller, a detective's probing of clue and motive that led up to his return to the Christianity he had lost in childhood." (Isabel Quigley, Sunday Times)
All stars
Most relevant  
Couldn't agree more.

Excellent autobiography.

CS Lewis and Peter Noble did a great job.

An important Christian book and a joyful surprise in itself.

"They've spoiled Whipsnade since then"

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I enjoyed every bit of it! The performance of Peter Noble brought Lewis' words to life

An excellent performance of a legendary work

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While Peter Noble's narration is calm and possesses sufficient gravitas, the story, or rather recollection of thought process is a gem. I especially recommend chapters 13-4 for an useful insight, or a reminder of a few metaphysical facts about introspection and its subject.

unsurprisingly good, surprisingly philosophical

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Great narrator, love CS Lewis! A really insightful book into his conversion to Christianity. Would recommend.

An insightful book into the conversion of CS Lewis

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lewis' knowledge and intellect shines through the words. a personal journey and historical document in one.

good insight on a journey of discovery.

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impossible to put down, captivating, illuminating. i want to listen to it over again straight away.

Beautiful

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CS Lewis loves God with his mind. I like that he shares it with me. Beautiful narration.

Excellent

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It is a long book but was must enjoyable.
The story is full of ups and downs.
Having not read any of C S Lewis before I am keen to read some more of his books

Enjoyed it very much

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C.S. Lewis's Surprised by Joy is interesting from two perspectives: first, that it is the closest Lewis came to writing a conventional autobiography; second, that it recounts the process that led to Lewis becoming a Christian, and so is an invaluable aid to his philosophical and theological writings. Sometimes these two perspectives seem to be jostling for position: the earlier portion of the book deals with Lewis's childhood in great detail (including a painful account of his schooldays), while the more formal autobiography peters out in the book's second half. The spiritual theme is always present, but less so in the book's first part (for example, we learn less than might be expected about Lewis's teenage shift to atheism). Perhaps the reason for this is the connecting thread: Lewis's concept of 'joy'. 'Joy' is an Augustinian longing that manifests itself first in creative fantasy, then in the Nordic myths before finally finding its true aim. Perhaps for this reason, the book comes to an abrupt halt once the pursuit of 'joy' brings Lewis back to the Christian faith. While Surprised by Joy may be somewhat unusual in form, it is no less valuable for anyone interested in C.S. Lewis. Peter Noble narrates ably, and manages passages of French with skill. His performance would have benefited from consultation with an Irish person, however, as his pronunciation of (admittedly difficult) Irish names – Cú Chulainn, Donegal – is confusingly wide of the mark.

Essential – autobiography/spiritual classic

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Now that I come to write this review i find i can't remember how i found this book or why I decided to read it. I am glad that I did and I will again. At times it was a little difficult, not the writing but following a description of a time and class i know nothing about. The quotes in german,french,Latin and Greek although lost on me, didn't really spoil the story. I feel the narrator a perfect choice, his voice and tone are suitable to the era, also his emotion in the reading at times made me feel i was listening to an old radio broadcast of c.s. Lewis himself. A book I'll keep in my library to listen again and again to find the parts i missed this time.

Joy ful surprise

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