Reading Laura Miller'sThe Magician's Book (Little, Brown) is like revisiting the enchanting realm of Narnia on the arm of a local. Not a badger, centaur, or fervent Christian, but an intimate acquaintance of the author, C. S. Lewis, who, Miller reveals, is as different from our previous perceptions of him as Cair Paravel is unlike any place in our world.

Miller confesses that—like many of us who read The Chronicles of Narnia as children in a state of awe akin to ecstasy—the revelation of the not-too-subtle Christian subtext wounded her. Yet she concerns herself little with Lewis's faith. Her quest charts the divine magic of the imagination, why and how the books of our youth mold our souls. Miller has created a rare and beautiful beast: a book with the head of a critique, the body of a biography, and the heart of a memoir. By recapturing Narnia, she redeems our passion and allows readers to re-discover the wonder of first love. That's some trick.