Comparing two fictional locations to uncover a world of meaning
Early Influence
When I was young, I spent a lot of time listening to C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia on CD; it was a full audio production, which may explain why it slipped my mind when I was writing about audiobooks two months ago. My main recollection is that I would spend sick days making my way through the series – I was always getting strep throat, in addition to many days when social anxiety was utterly crippling me – but it may have also been a go-to on rainy weekend or summer days.
I daresay that Narnia might be the single most significant story in shaping my love for speculative fiction from an early age. Yet, I don't think I could accurately describe the plot of five or six of the seven books – I remember Aslan's sacrifice and the battle, but no clue what the confrontation with Jadis looked like in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The exception might be The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which evokes many of my favourite aspects of SFF – but I want to keep it shorter today, so I'll mark that as something to discuss another time.
'The Wood Between Worlds’ by CallaAndAI
Dive In
It is to The Magician's Nephew (narratively the first book in the series, but the sixth published) that I attribute my endless fascination with entering and exploring other worlds. Two British children stumble into a kind of multiversal hub in the form of a vast, sleepy forest scattered with pools that will take them to different worlds. Already incredible. But then the first world they enter – "Charn" – is on the verge of death, and they set loose the evil that caused its ruin. As soon as I was old enough for those descriptions to make sense to me, I was stuck to them like Edmund to Turkish delight.
The dead city of Charn, by ElectricalBee
Sadly Lewis' focus on the 'Wood Between the Worlds' ends there, besides allowing the group to reach the just-forming Narnia in the same book. The Last Battle brings up the possibility of using the Wood to allow seven adults and former protagonists to return to Narnia, but on their way they get hit by a train and sent straight to heaven. (Man, nothing in speculative fiction can hold a candle to the disturbing light of Christianity sometimes.)
I had pretty much forgotten about the Wood, until a few years ago when I read a book that tries to present a more grown-up version of Narnia.
The Neitherlands - generated with AI
I've discussed The Magicians and its protagonist here before, but skirted around the mechanics of its plot. Author Lev Grossman actually echoes many details of the original, substituting magic buttons for Lewis' magic rings. Decades after the children originally travel between worlds, our protagonists find one of the buttons and begin to explore.
The button takes them to a vast, dark and grey world. Quentin, Alice and Penny emerge from a cold fountain into an empty courtyard surrounded by strange buildings, but with roads which lead to infinite more courtyards which only vary in their architecture and whether their fountains are open or closed. Grossman is great at subverting the wonder of such a moment though, and the scene is all about Quentin's rage at Alice and Penny.
More than anything, the Neitherlands (The Magicians' name for its hub world) reminded me at first glance of The House in Piranesi or of the internet's fascination with endlessly liminal spaces. It took an additional nudge to help me remember, make the connection and grin for an hour afterward.
Quentin spots a sapling poking up through the paving stones of a courtyard. That's it – barely significant to him, beyond a reminder of entropy. But as a subtle nod to the reader, I think it's genius. Even though Grossman has made clear that he has no particular explanation in mind, it invites the reader to make connections and find meaning. (As I write that it sounds a little hollow, but I still love it.)
'The Wood Between the Worlds' by Kecky
The Connection
Grossman's commentary supports the idea that the Neitherlands are The Wood Between the Worlds, in some form. Just as pavement and buildings have been imposed upon the grass and trees, intricate and unique fountains have been built atop the Wood's pools. In Narnia the pools dry and are overgrown with the death of a world; here the fountain seems to simply remain locked, an abstract monument to a dead reality.
(I had also interpreted that the fountains were more difficult to enter than the pools, suggesting a level of fear and desire for control over how and when travel between worlds occurs. But it's possible there are just a lot of dead worlds, or that Narnia also required specific rings for specific worlds. Hit me with any thoughts!)
Themes already emerge: the natural cycle of life and death in the Wood vs. the desire of humanity (or perhaps other conscious beings) to be remembered beyond their finite existence. The sapling poking through – and the growing devastation throughout Grossman's trilogy – is a reminder of entropy, that nature will eventually reclaim all. Each paving stone might as well feature Shelley's wonderful poem.
Penny eventually finds his way into the buildings of the Neitherlands, and finds that they are libraries containing all the knowledge of the multiverse, from vast magic to the histories of individual lives. This additional level of detail reminds me of 'Pitcher Plant', which I discussed a couple weeks ago. Ultimately, it seems that even these libraries will be reclaimed by the Wood.
So, who paved paradise? My interpretation – again mirroring my understanding of Piranesi – is that it is a reflection of our subconscious as a society. Our desire for longevity – and perhaps the same desire across many worlds – has shaped the meta-structure of our existence. But I don't necessarily have an answer for the Neitherlands' rapid descent into chaos over the course of the series, beyond that aspect perhaps only being true for Quentin.
Emerging from the Pool
TL;DR: I loved a subtle nod in a book and wanted to write about it.
Yet I think it's worth discussing, for how the meta commentary by Grossman adds layers of meaning to an already fascinating world (or two).
Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear any thoughts about this connection or any similar authorial nods that it might remind you of!
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