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The Pilgrim’s Regress: An Allegorical Apology for Christianity, Reason, and Romanticism Audiobook
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(3.01) - 2,913 listener ratings
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The first book written by C. S. Lewis after his conversion, The Pilgrim's Regress is, in a sense, a record of Lewis' own search for meaning and spiritual satisfaction that eventually led him to Christianity. It is the story of John and his odyssey to an enchanting island that has created in him an intense longing, a mysterious, sweet desire. John's pursuit of this desire takes him through adventures with such people as Mr. Enlightenment, Media Halfways, Mr. Mammon, Mother Kirk, Mr. Sensible, and Mr. Humanist and through such cities as Thrill and Eschropolis, as well as the Valley of Humiliation. Though the dragons and giants here are different from those in Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, Lewis' allegory performs the same function of enabling the author to say in fable form what would otherwise have demanded a full-length philosophy of religion.
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"If Chronicles is allegory for children, then Regress is allegory for adults. It is not an easy read, but it is amazingly timely even though it was written 75 years ago. It suffers (?) from what all good allegory contains--a difficulty in determining which details comport meaning and which are simply artistic, but if you can find a little help to clear some of it up, it's absolutely worth your time."
— Darin (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“The allegorical characters are not just abstractions. They are, in every instance, people objectively real and subjectively true to the inner meaning. The language throughout is plain, straightforward, and leanly significant. To many it will seem like a fresh wind blowing across acrid waters.”
— New York Times -
“Stands favorable comparison with its great model by John Bunyan.”
— Chicago Tribune -
“Every bit as effective as its predecessor…Eloquent, erudite, and often witty, this tale is superbly narrated by [Simon Vance]. No stranger to the writings of Lewis, [Vance] has a well-modulated voice that easily portrays the numerous characters and gives the narrative sections a steady and consistent tempo.”
— Library Journal
The Pilgrim’s Regress Listener Reviews
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Ansric, 2/12/2023
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" It is an adventure in apologetics and a truly edifying work. masterfully written. love the narration, as well. Well done! "
— Patman, 6/28/2017 -
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Haidy Mikhail, 11/20/2014
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" Similar to Great Divorce in character of storyline. One of my very favorites "
— Chris, 2/19/2014 -
" Very enjoyable and informative although it could occasionally be a little dry and simplistic while other times a little confusing. However if you really dig into it then you will find some wonderful spiritual truths. "
— Scott, 2/18/2014 -
" difficult read, but intriguing. i never thought about "Desire" in that way before. or was taken through so many different philosophical thoughts. that's what i love about Lewis...he gets you to think about things in ways you've never thought before! his point i think was that our souls were made to enjoy/desire something that is not fully given, something we can't quite grasp..hence his defense of christianity, romanticism. "
— Andrea, 2/12/2014 -
" A philosophical journey to salvation by CS Lewis. "
— Kim, 1/31/2014 -
" A very interesting book with some great logic flow. NOT a light read. "
— Jim, 1/25/2014 -
" This is a very meaningful story. I enjoyed it thoroughly and intend to read it again. "
— David, 1/25/2014 -
" This is one of my favorites. I've gone through it four times now. "
— Isaac, 1/22/2014 -
" This is the first book Lewis wrote post-conversion--I believe he was 35. Also interesting, he wrote it in 2 weeks! There's one scene at the end that I have quoted numerous times. "
— Timothy, 1/9/2014 -
" A little tedious through the middle (metaphorically chronicles Lewis' own intellectual and spiritual journey to faith), but the end is amazing. "
— Matthew, 12/28/2013 -
" I read this at least 5 years ago - it warrants another visit I think. I turned down many pages with passages I wanted to remember, so I know it was pretty powerful to me at the time. "
— carmen, 12/14/2013 -
" It is a hard read but if you could trek through some difficult analogies there are gold minds in this book. "
— Zeke, 11/28/2013 -
" An allegorical tale of the life of Lewis; a bit obscure in parts, but interesting nonetheless. It's one of those books you can read over and over again, and still learn something new about yourself each time. "
— Ashley, 11/18/2013 -
" admittedly I read this book a long time ago, but if you think you know c.s. Lewis and you haven't read this book then think again. "
— Charlie, 10/17/2013 -
" I am so glad that Lewis didn't write too many allegories... I think that the meaning behind the story is too close to Lewis' experience and, therefore, obscure. "
— Dave, 6/29/2013 -
" This didn't impress me all that much. It certainly wasn't one of Lewis' best novels . . . at least, not on my list. There were some interesting moments, but for the most part, I felt like I had to drag myself through this. "
— Amy, 5/6/2013 -
" I think I might have to go back and read "The Pilgrim's Progress" to ensure that I get the most out of C.S. Lewis' story. "
— Tjbrowne, 2/24/2013 -
" Very good. But when is Lewis not? "
— Josh, 1/14/2013 -
" CS Lewis wrote this fairly early on, and it shows. His prose isn't as developed, and the allegory is heavy-handed at times. "
— Teresa, 6/17/2012 -
" I found myself in this book a lot; Lewis has a way of expressing the human experience that hits home. "
— Brian, 5/15/2012 -
" I don't know why this isn't a more popular CS Lewis book. I really enjoyed reading it. Sure I'll try to a reread soon. "
— Michael, 1/29/2012 -
" Well written, hard to follow, great allegorical work describing ones journey to the Christian faith. "
— David, 12/5/2011 -
" A lot of it went over my head, but I enjoyed reading it. "
— Paul, 12/2/2011 -
" Intellectual allegory that's profoundly instructive despite Lewis's early political incorrectness and clunky prose. "
— Andrew, 9/7/2011 -
" Quite obviously C.S. Lewis' first published work. All the allegorical concepts get kind of confusing after a while. "
— Briana, 9/2/2011 -
" "John set out towards the island." "
— Brett, 5/26/2011 -
" I enjoy reading C.S. Lewis. His books invite me to ponder things of Faith and God. Many different characters in this book. He is a fascinating author. "
— Kathy, 5/25/2011 -
" Lewis himself calls this book obscure, but my heart resonates with his description of the desire that drives the protagonist. "
— Denise, 5/19/2011 -
" Very enjoyable and informative although it could occasionally be a little dry and simplistic while other times a little confusing. However if you really dig into it then you will find some wonderful spiritual truths. "
— Scott, 5/10/2011 -
" CS Lewis wrote this fairly early on, and it shows. His prose isn't as developed, and the allegory is heavy-handed at times. "
— Teresa, 5/3/2011 -
" This is a very meaningful story. I enjoyed it thoroughly and intend to read it again. "
— David, 1/12/2011 -
" This book is an exellent allegory. I really liked and understood it. There are all sort of characters that the protaganist meets, like Mr. Enlightenment, Reason, Mr. Vertue, Mr. Sensability and so forth. <br/>It is really very good! "
— Deborah, 11/16/2010 -
" Okay - I really did try this time to get through the book. Somehow C.S. Lewis's early spiritual journey through various philosophies just doesn't speak to me. "
— Annetter, 7/14/2010 -
" It is a hard read but if you could trek through some difficult analogies there are gold minds in this book. "
— Zeke, 6/28/2010 -
" <br/>"This hunger is better than any other fullness; this poverty better than all other wealth." <br/> "
— Janice, 6/1/2010 -
" I've always heard that this is a crazy one. It turned out to be Surprised by Joy (Lewis' autobiography and a quote from Wordsworth) done in Saturday-morning cartoon fashion. One would probably do well to read Surprised by Joy first, but heck, I liked it. "
— Jed, 5/11/2010
About C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis (1898–1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably the most influential Christian writer of his day. He was a fellow and tutor in English literature at Oxford University until 1954, when he was unanimously elected to the chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. His major contributions to literary criticism, children’s literature, fantasy literature, and popular theology brought him international renown and acclaim. Lewis wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include the Chronicles of Narnia, Out of the Silent Planet, The Four Loves, The Screwtape Letters, and Mere Christianity.
About Simon Vance
Simon Vance (a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is an award-winning actor and narrator. He has earned more than fifty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration thirteen times. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London. He is also an actor who has appeared on both stage and television.