Happy Friday! It’s time for another First Line Friday linkup, hosted by Hoarding Books. Today I’m featuring Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan.
“From the very beginning it was the Great Lion who brought us together.”
Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan
I have to admit, that first line did draw me in with the Narnia reference đ
The Basics
Title: Becoming Mrs. Lewis
Author: Patti Callahan
Genre: Christian Historical Fiction/Biography
My Rating: 3/5 Stars
From the Back Cover: When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewisâknown as Jackâshe was looking for spiritual answers, not love. Love, after all, wasnât holding together her crumbling marriage. Everything about New Yorker Joy seemed ill-matched for an Oxford don and the beloved writer of Narnia, yet their minds bonded over their letters. Embarking on the adventure of her life, Joy traveled from America to England and back again, facing heartbreak and poverty, discovering friendship and faith, and against all odds, finding a love that even the threat of death couldnât destroy. Â
In this masterful exploration of one of the greatest love stories of modern times, we meet a brilliant writer, a fiercely independent mother, and a passionate woman who changed the life of this respected author and inspired books that still enchant us and change us. Joy lived at a time when women werenât meant to have a voiceâand yet her love for Jack gave them both voices they didnât know they had.Â
At once a fascinating historical novel and a glimpse into a writerâs life, Becoming Mrs. Lewis is above all a love storyâa love of literature and ideas and a love between a husband and wife that, in the end, was not impossible at all.
My Thoughts
One of my goals for 2020 is to read more of C.S. Lewisâ books. Before this year, I had only ever read The Chronicles of Narnia! So while I’ve been reading Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and The Great Divorce, I thought it would be interesting to learn a little more about Lewis’ life.
Iâve heard a lot of great things about this book, and I really wanted to like it, but I have mixed feelings about it. For one thing, with a fictionalized biography like this, itâs hard to know how much is true and how much is the authorâs imagination. That makes it hard to know if the parts I didn’t enjoy as much, like Joy’s feelings for Jack while she was still married, were historically accurate or not. There were other parts of the story I did enjoy, such as the vivid descriptions of Oxford, the snippets of Joy’s writings throughout, and learning about her influence on Lewis’ writing of some of his well-known books.
The story also felt a little long; it does cover a long period of time, but dragged on for me in places. It got better towards the end, and seeing how Jack and Joy’s marriage eventually came to be was one of my favorite parts, even if it was a little bittersweet. Overall, this was an interesting, enjoyable story that I think fans of C.S. Lewis will appreciate.
Now it’s your turn! Please share the first line of the book you’re reading in the comments below. Don’t forget to head to Hoarding Books to see what first lines other bloggers are sharing, or to share your own!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Happy Friday! My first line is from “The Heart of a Hero” by Susan May Warren:
“In the daylight, Jake Silver wasn’t the devil.”
Thatâs such a great book! đ Have a great weekend!
Sorry you didn’t enjoy this one more, that line grabbed my attention for sure. I haven’t read Chronicles of Narnia so the reference went over my head, haha. Happy Friday!
Happy Friday!
I’ve been really wanting to read this one, but have mixed feelings about doing so because of some of the same parts you mentioned not enjoying.
My first line on my blog this week comes from All’s Fair in Love and Cupcakes by Betsy St. Amant:
“There was more to life than vanilla buttercream.”
Hope you have a lovely weekend!
I know a lot of people really loved it… it just wasnât my favorite đ Thatâs such a fun first line and title! Have a great weekend!
I’ve heard such good things about this book!
Happy Friday!
Today on my blog I’m sharing the first line from The King’s Mercy by Lori Benton: https://christianfictiongirl.blog/2020/06/05/first-line-friday-139/.
I’m currently on chapter 16 so I will share the first line from there.
“The Joanna’s loss was a blow to Severn’s economy, that of her crew a sorrow, but Captain Kelly’s death struck deepest.”
I hope you have a great weekend filled with relaxing reading time! đâ¤ď¸đ
Thanks for sharing! Happy reading! đ
My first line is from STORIES THAT BIND US by Susie Finkbeiner
My Norman had never understood why I liked to hang laundry on the line when I had a perfectly good dryer inside.
I just finished reading that one! It is a great first line đ Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Happy Friday!!
Today on my blog I shared the first line from Misty Beller’s Love’s Mountain Quest. “The woman stood in the wind, skirts billowing, hair flying, as though the gusts swept away all her inhibitions.” I just finished it and it was really good!
https://www.musingsofasassybookishmama.com/2020/06/first-line-fridays-loves-mountain-quest.html
Have a wonderful weekend!
Thatâs a beautiful first line! Thanks for sharing! đ
I too wondered how much was fiction and how much wasn’t. Today, I’m sharing the first line from The House at the End of the Moor by Michelle Griep: “Death prowled the cellblock like a dark animal seeking prey — especially the weakest.”
https://moments-of-beauty.blogspot.com/2020/06/first-line-fridays-house-at-end-of-moor.html
Wow, what a way to start a story!! Thanks for sharing đ
I’ve seen this book around a lot and contemplated reading it, but haven’t gotten there yet. I hope you have a great weekend!
Happy Friday!
Today on my blog I shared the first line from The Comparison Girl by Shannon Popkin but I’m currently reading The Way of Love by Tracie Peterson so I’ll share the first line from my current chapter (5) here: “Mrs. Weaver joined the boardinghouse residents for breakfast the next morning.” Hope you have a great weekend!