A amizade desses dois gênios sempre me cativou e fui interessante ler em detalhes as suas vidas, mas por uma preferência particular tinha mais interesse em saber mais detalhes de Lewis e Nárnia e não pude deixar de reparar que o livro citou muito pouco a sua principal obra. Para comparação, falou muito de O Senhor dos Anéis.

Must read if you like either man's writings. There are many little Easter eggs in reference to one's reference to the other in their writings.

As a lover of both Tolkein's Lord of the Rings books,and Lewis' Narnia series (as well as his Chrisitan writings)I was interested in their relationship. I knew a little of Tolkein's influence on Lewis' return to Christianity, so this book was really interesting.

Two half-books for the price of one full book

Colin Duriez has managed to write two mediocre biographies of two inherently interesting men, but what this book brings is many of the points of connection between the two. Friendship is the word Duriez uses and in many respects their relationship (at least initially) had all the passion of friendship. But passions cool with age and while C.S. Lewis maintained his energy and combativeness J.R.R. Tolkien deepend as a thinker and fell into academia and family life much more comfortably.

Lewis emerges as a kind of Christopher Hitchens populist with infinite energy devoted to pointing against whichever way the winds are blowing like a weathervane. Tolkien is the more somber thinker, the more sensitive soul who retreats deeper into his own richer world. Perhaps this is why I prefer the writings of Tolkien to the pamphleteering of Lewis.

Duriez attempts to tie Lewis' Protestantism and Tolkien's Catholicism as the inspiration for their fiction but I think he doesn't connect the dots sufficiently well. Lewis' writing remains superficial allegory because his religion remained a mere expression of his tastes and upbringing. Tolkien's writing and world is much more complete because he is used to living in a deep world, not bound by national boundaries but by an underlying conflict between good and evil. This is the reason for Tolkien's near universal popularity. Tolkien sensed this and this is why he cooled the relationship.

This work compares and contrasts the lives of these two authors and illuminates the influence they had on each other, specifically Tolkien's influence on Lewis regarding Christianity and Lewis's influence on Tolkien regarding fantasy. The frame of this biographical work is set up so that each chapter covers the same period in both writer's lives; the reader is able to "observe" how their lives begin separately in Ireland and England; converge in the academic world at Oxford; and separate gradually with the years and life choices each man makes. An insightful look into a friendship which bore literary fruit that continues to impact the world today.

It’s a good book, but I was expecting more about Tolkien-Lewis relationship than the literature influence among them and their peers. Anyhow, it is an essencial books for readers of two of the most important authors of the 20th century.
Don’t forget to read the Appendix B, it is one of the highlights of the book.

I am, of course, a fan of both J.R.R Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. Their books have had a profound effect on me from a young age. I re-visit their books every half a decade or so, and every year make a pilgrimage to the Bird and Baby pub in Oxford to drink a cider in their memory (the pub is really called The Eagle and Child, and Tollers and Jack used to drink there every Tuesday afternoon with a few of the other Inkling chaps*). I even have framed maps of Narnia and Middle Earth hanging on my sitting-room wall.



I have quite a fine collection of books written by or about them, but am always interested in fresh new perspectives. And I like to read a literary biography every month if I can. Writers and their lives interest me.



This is a great introduction to anyone who would like to know more about Tolkien and Lewis, and their long and fruitful friendship. It is not an in-depth biography, and skims over their relationships with their wives which I thought was a shame. But the book is really about the bond between the two men, their shared love of history, myth and fairy tales, and their influence on each other’s writing; in that respect, it’s superb.



Their friendship was not without tension. Tolkien disliked Narnia, and was perturbed by his friend’s soaring literary popularity at a time when he was doggedly working away on The Lord of the Rings, unsure whether he would ever finish it. Without Lewis’s constant encouragement and support, however, it may well have ended up another unfinished manuscript in Tolkien’s bottom drawer. And Tolkien also did not approve of Lewis’s relationship with Joy Davidman, a divorced American-Jewish writer with decided opinions and metastatic cancer (Jack and Joy’s unconventional marriage has inspired a number of plays and films, including Shadowlands with Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger.)



Tolkien & C. S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship is a deftly handled and very readable biography of two great writers, and a brilliant introduction to the Inklings and their work.



(* Tollers was, of course, Tolkien’s nickname. Lewis’s given names were Clive Staples but he re-named himself Jacksie when he was three after his dog of the same name was hit by a car and never answered to anything else for the rest of his life. The Inklings was an informal literary discussion group in Oxford in the ‘30 and ‘40s that centred around Lewis and Tolkien, and also included Roger Lancelyn Green and Charles Williams).

Fabulous! I wasn't sure how I would like this book. It is a bit hard to read if you're used to fantasy books (like me!) because it had a tendency to get "leggy" at some points along the way. Trust me. It's worth those extra steps! I've read one biography on Tolkien before and in December of 2017, we read one that was a biography of Lewis' early life. Neither prepared me for reading this. I learned a lot I didn't already know about those two epic authors and if you like either one of them, please take the time to pick up this book.

Not as much a book on their friendship but how they inspired each other in writing. Still an interesting read!

Este livro é ótimo.
Não são apenas curiosidades sobre a amizade de Tolkien e Lewis, na verdade é um livro muito inspirador, que nos faz repensar tanto o conceito como a beleza e propósito da imaginação - um presente de Deus para o homem.
Recomendo!

An excellent biography of Lewis and Tolkien and their extraordinary friendship. A must read for fans of both authors!

yra vertimas.