Book Review: "Jack's Life"

Douglas Gresham's new book "Jack's Life: The Life Story of C.S. Lewis" was an attempt by the author to paint a more intimate portrait of his adoptive father, "Jack". Gresham has been dissatisfied with many of the biographies on Lewis, mainly because they don't show the "greatness" of the man apart from his intellectual achievements. "Jack is truly the greatest man that I have ever known," insists Gresham and his biography tries to show that side of him.

Weaknesses: The first part of the book is simply bad. There is no way around it. Gresham does an inadequate job, as a biographer, in taking you through the first part of C.S. Lewis' life. He tends to give you unnecessary comments about his own personal feelings on subjects (see my review on Tolkien's biography--the exact opposite was true with his biographer). From his loathing of war to his feelings on father-son relationships--these comments weren't appropriate in that portion of the book. They would, however, become appropriate later on when, as a young boy, Gresham became intimately involved with Lewis. In an attempt to give his "two cents" he actually interrupted the natural flow of the narration. We were constantly reminded that the author was there breathing down our necks.

Strengths: The closer you get to the story of Joy Gresham, the better the book gets. Here, Douglas Gresham shines through. His insights into this love relationship between his mother and Lewis are well worth the read of the book. I especially liked his inclusion of Lewis' views on Love. I never knew that his book "The Four Loves" was actually put into practice and realized with his relationship with Joy. You can see this story in the movie Shadowlands. (the Anthony Hopkins version). This subject of the four loves is brought up in the movie briefly, but this writer gives it a clearer meaning. What amazes me is just how right Lewis was on this subject.

In the book, he points out how the English language is inadequate in defining love. There were different types of love as defined in the Greek language (ie. agape--the love of God, the highest love). The eros love (romantic love) finally happened between Lewis and Joy only after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He realized just how big of a hole she filled for him and when he saw that she was dying, he suddenly knew that he was in love. This was an important point of Gresham's book. Lewis did, indeed, practice loving others and made it an important part of his Christian life. He took an important commandment in the scriptures and applied it. By this fact, Gresham regarded Jack as the "greatest".

I Corinthians 13:13: "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

Three Stars (out of Five)