goodThis was an unusual book, to say the least; while the characters are fictional, it is not so much a narrative but a series of essays on human nature, as a demon called Screwtape writes a series of letters to his nephew, who is trying to corrupt a human character.
The book is essentially a satire, and the letters are likely to raise a few smiles, as the demons try to tempt the character away from his religious values (as described in what Screwtape discusses); while it sounds subversive, the whole conceit of “humanity from the point of view of a demon” is actually quite interesting, and it made me think about the amount of distractions and temptations that can occur in real life.
The book is quite wordy, and the version I had also included the short story, Screwtape Proposes a Toast, which is also a similar discussion on the nature of evil. The book is quite wordy at times, and might not be to all tastes, but is a good book for anyone who is religious – and very different from the Narnia series.
Next book: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
