The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis

Uncle Screwtape is a wise, experienced demon who writes letters to his nephew Wormwood, a junior tempter. Each chapter is one complete letter from Screwtape to Wormwood, and each letter advises Wormwood on how to keep his assigned human (“the patient”) far away from God (“The Enemy”).

Early in the book, the patient converts to Christianity, so Screwtape teaches Wormwood how to develop a watered-down, lukewarm Christianity using prayer, church, familial relations, war, and marriage.

Because Lewis writes with some older vocabulary and addresses deep topics, this book is best for age 15 and older, though some young teens may enjoy it as a read-aloud.

Reading Level: 15+
Read Aloud Age: 13+

Many of our children met Lewis through The Chronicles of Narnia, and this book allows them to continue to learn and grow spiritually under the tutelage of a beloved author. Lewis guides readers to look at their own sin and motives from a new perspective, which can lead to convicting realizations.

Keep in mind that this book was written for adults. As such, it addresses lust, sex, drunkenness, and smoking. It also includes variations of the word damned though not as frequently as in some of Lewis’s other works.

A few statements in this book did stray from what we know to be biblically true about the Devil, demons, and the afterlife. For example, Lewis suggests that Satan defied God not only because Satan was prideful, but also because God planned to make humans as “amphibians—half spirit and half animal” (Chapter 8). Additionally, Screwtape refers to humans as food, even going so far as to say that the really evil people taste better than those who live moral lives. In fact, in the addendum “Screwtape Proposes A Toast,” Screwtape says that these moral patients may end up in limbo, not heaven or hell.

Despite these theological errors, I recommend this book because it leads readers to consider how sin can keep Christians from living an abundant life on earth.

This review is written by Good Book Mom contributor, Kathryn. To learn more about Kathryn, click HERE.

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