becoming Mrs. Lewis: Book Review

Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan is a historical fiction novel that tells the story of Joy Davidman and how she fell in love with and married the great C.S. Lewis.

I don’t love historical fiction in general, but even less when it focuses on specific historical people. It’s so easy for the authors to preach their own beliefs through the characters and put words in their mouths. This definitely happened with this book.

It was odd that this book was in first person. I get that it gives a closer look into her life, but…isn’t it a bit presumptuous to be inside of the head of Joy all the time, sharing all of these thoughts and emotions that the real person likely didn’t have?

I tried looking up Patti Callahan’s beliefs and stance on feminism, but wasn’t able to find much. Her book was published through Thomas Nelson, a major Christian publishing company. Several things that were said in this book were odd and rather un-Christian although the characters are supposed to be devoted Christ-followers.

“From that moment on, the love affair I’d develop would be with my soul and God. He was already part of me. That much was clear. And now this would be where I would go for love. To the God in me.“

Very modern ideas of “the God within” and “finding God through myself” and other junk.

“God is not magician, Joy.”
“Oh, how I could use some magic – it might take all of my life, what remains of it, to surrender fully.”

Also

“Anger, my old and familiar companion, surged. ‘You’re spouting theology and empty words! I read what you wrote about sex. That it’s either in marriage or else total abstinence. But sometimes love changes things or love should change things.‘”

Really??

I don’t know enough about Joy’s actual life to tell if the book was historically accurate. I know that she was a brilliant woman (she graduated high school at fourteen and college at nineteen).

If I’d only read this book and knew nothing else about her, I would have thought that Joy was a stupid, selfish, feminist, empty-minded, sensual woman. The character that Callahan created is extremely unlikeable and it is impossible to think that someone as amazing as C.S. Lewis would fall in love with someone like this character. She comes across as very modern, a very good victim.

Oh poor me, I’m so misunderstood. Everyone looks at the MEN and admires them, but no one ever sees me because I’M A WOMAN. THE INJUSTICE! I love Jack so much but he doesn’t love me, he just wants to be friends. That’s so unfair! Why can’t anyone just love me for me???

The dialogue was HALARIOUS. 😆😂🤣 Here are some of my favorites…

“Jack, you had those children completely in your thrall. They sat motionless, mouths open, eyes unblinking. When children are bored, they fidget around like little worms in a bucket. You captured them in your net of stories.”

Haha! What person uses phrases like “little worms in a bucket” in normal conversation?

“But also they worry, they worry about you, and they don’t know what to do with those emotions.”
“It breaks my heart in more places than my moth-eaten leg. If only we could promise them answered prayers.”

Oh goodness, you’re in the hospital dying and you say that your heart is more broken than your “moth eaten” leg? Likely.

“Must I surrender again and again?” I paused for effect. “And again?”

Why so much useless repetition?

“I feel the same, Jack. Although I’m not writing it, I feel the same.” I paused and touched his arm. “As it’s always been – we use stories to make sense of the world.”

Nobody talks like that. Ugh. I found it both hilarious and annoying. A lot of the conversations were simply info dumping.

A point that the author makes very clear throughout the whole book – all men are evil. Except Jack, of course, he’s amazing. The only good man. But every other man should be put down, locked up, or destroyed.

Again, I don’t know the real Joy’s stance on feminism or her feelings towards men, but this felt like the author trying to push an agenda through a historical person.

It was sad to me that there wasn’t more faith in this novel. C.S. Lewis was such a Godly man and his books on faith have made such a difference in my life. However, this novel spoke little on his or Joy’s faith, aside from mentioning it in passing a few times. It was not a central theme in their lives. Romance had that place.

Overall, I was disappointed in the quality of the writing, the way that historical figures were portrayed, and the very modern beliefs that the author crammed down the reader’s throat. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who is seriously looking to learn about C.S. Lewis or his wife.

CW: mild language, several affairs, alcoholism, verbal abuse, PTSD, death