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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

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  
The narrator does a terrific job bringing this autobiography to life.

I was expecting the book to be more about the shift Lewis made from being an atheist to a Christian (as the subtitle indicates). Sure, this is certainly how the book ends with its closing chapters. Nevertheless, Lewis's conversion and the intellectual and personal experiences that led to this are much food for thought, and helped me to better clarify my own experience with faith and its relationship to life/ academia.

A terrific autobiography

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Loved hearing Lewis’ story. Audio sounded as if it was skipping a lot so felt like I was missing chunks of story. Not good quality. I would try another version. Returning this one.

Great but quality not great

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I enjoyed this even more than I was expecting to. having been a CSL fan since childhood, learning of some of his own childhood experiences have added another dimension to him for me. I am moved and inspired by the struggle, the process of his conversion.
I look forward to reading this again

a personal insight

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Loved it. Highly recommend it. His pursuit of joy, his insight into it, and discovery of its source in God is very compelling and very relatable.

Outstanding. Glorious.

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Intriguing and poignant story, excellently narrated. Recommend for any deeper thinkers and those who appreciate C.S. Lewis's work.

Surprisingly good!

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I really enjoyed this book. The way in which Lewis walks us through the seasons of his life that led to his discovery of faith is very interesting. I recommend this book to anyone who loves C.S Lewis and is interested in knowing more about the man who wrote the stories we've grown up with.

Not an academic review

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I loved every minute the story held me captive the reader perfect for the story

Suprised by Joy suprised by truth

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I may have missed something, but k feel this was more about CS Lewis' abuse in schools and kind of missed where the joy part came in. I was hoping for some string philosophy, but instead got a stream of events regarding childhood abuse.

surprised it want about joy.

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