Op-Ed

Chronological or Original

An issue of grave importance (well, that might be an exaggeration) has come to the forefront in the past few months. I was first aware of this issue a few years ago, at Christmas. You see, I had asked for a full set of the Chronicles of Narnia. These had been some of my favorite books as a child and I had not ever had a complete set.

I opened the package on Christmas Day and discovered that someone, somewhere had decided to change the order of The Chronicles of Narnia. After pondering the package for a few moments, I realized that they were now in chronological order. The issue of order has come up again in my mind because of the release of the movie we've already been talking about here. It appears the creators of the movie have perhaps decided to go with the original canon.

Why was the order changed? Which is the preferred canon of The Chronicles? I first read them in the original order, so I cannot possibly come to this debate with an objective opinion. Did anyone out there read them in chronological order upon first reading? Has anyone read them both ways? Did you prefer one way over another? Is it simply the way in which you first read them, or does it change?