First and foremost, C.S. Lewis is among my favorite writers and after this read, his status remains untouched. However, Surprised by Joy surprised me with disappointment.
I've read about 4 books by Lewis, mostly Christian apologetics. In this area, his genius is unmatched, save G.K. Chesterton. He has a deep understanding of Christianity and his theology has become very popular even with Christians who don't think much. When I read his books, I am astounded by the beauty in how he phrases things I've thought all along, but have never been able to articulate.
This memoir of a work, though, had its shortcomings. Going into it, I thought he would talk a little about his childhood and a lot about his falling away from his Christian upbringing and then regrasping his faith. It was almost exactly the other way around. The anecdotes from growing up in school and dreaming of Narnia were, unsurprisedly, beautifully written, but, let's face it, beautiful writing doesn't inherently breed interesting stuff. With about 40 pages to go, he finally touched on his relapse into atheism and how joy overtook him (his description of joy was amazing!) and brought him back to Christianity.
But that was not good enough. I think he should have spent more time on this critical part in his life and less on the part that we all experience. On the other hand, Lewis was by all accounts a modest man who didn't feel at home when attention surrounded him. Thus, writing a book on himself would not have been the easiest.
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