Like many of you, I am sure, the term “Inklings” brings a smile to my face. It was the name of a group of men who met regularly in a pub near Oxford, but the outstanding thing about this group is that among its members were C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.
My admiration of Lewis is well known and I love anything by or about the man. So naturally when I saw a book with the title INKLINGS by author Melanie M. Jeschke, I bought it, hoping that it would be about this great literary group. It was, but in a round about way.
The story opens on November, 26, 1963 in Oxford, England. David MacKenzie has spent the day at a poorly attended funeral. He thought that since C. S. Lewis was so well known that more of his friends and family would have been there. The thing that did impress him was the lit candle on top of the coffin that stayed lit even as the funeral procession moved out to the cemetery.
David decides at that point to be more like Lewis, to dedicate his life to God. As part of this decision, he starts a new group of Inklings. Their purpose will be to discuss the ideas that the original group had written about and live a Godlike life. The only problem is his girlfriend, Charlotte. Charlotte does not believe that there is a God and does not want this religion thing to change their relationship.
Enter Kate Hughes, a student from America, and what follows is a fairly typical love story. Kate and David not only have to struggle to remain chaste as their love grows, but Charlotte is not willing to let David go.
The story was a little trite and even awkward at times, but I was so fascinated by the details about Lewis that were worked into the story, I kept reading. I think that I was secretly looking for mistakes that Jeschke made about his life. The author did take some small liberties which she points out in her notes at the beginning of the book.
Still, if you like well researched books involving a great person, especially one as many-faceted as Lewis was, this is a worthwhile, fast read.
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