Book Review – Bandersnatch – C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings by Diana Glyer

The Inklings – A Tell-All Book

Bandersnatch – C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings by Diana Glyer

Synopsis:

C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and the other members of the Inklings met each week to read and discuss each other’s work-in-progress, offering both encouragement and blistering critique. How did these conversations shape the books they were writing? How does creative collaboration enhance individual talent? And what can we learn from their example?Beautifully illustrated by James A. Owen, Bandersnatch offers an inside look at the Inklings of Oxford—and a seat at their table at The Eagle and Child pub. It shows how encouragement and criticism made all the difference in The Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Narnia, and dozens of other books written by the members of this literary circle. You’ll learn what made these writers tick and more: inspired by their example, you’ll discover how collaboration can help your own creative process and lead to genius breakthroughs in whatever work you do. (Taken from Amazon page)

Review

Bandersnatch – C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings by Diana Glyer is a phenomenal book for those interested in Lewis, Tolkien, the Inklings group, or writing in general. This is more than just a collection of recollections of the group. What this book does is establishes the atmosphere of the Inklings group and what each member brought to the table. Then it brings forward how the group made each individual a better writer. It then offers an all-encompassing take on how a group like this is healthy for authors and writers and even how to start one yourself.

The author has written a fuller take on the Inklings but this version really is where you want to start. It provides exactly what you want to hear about Lewis and Tolkien from their writings to their personality. However, you also learn about their other works and where they got their ideas, and how much everything about them all changed and the Inklings were instrumental in that development. You learn about others in the group and the social proclivities of the overall meetings that took place.

Halfway through, if you’re a fan of writing and maybe even how to implement the group typesetting within a church Bible study or youth meet up or anything like the Inklings this is where you get that bug. And the final chapter, the author seems to anticipate that and offers some helpful advice from her study on what to do.

This really was an interesting read and I pulled a good number of quotes from it. It will be on my recommended recommendation lists for young folks who ask about books on writing. I highly suggest those who are interested pick it up.

Final Grade

A+