Return of the Pilgrim

This is the story of the pilgrim John and his odyssey to an enchanted 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. Illustration, Half-and-Half, Mr. Mammon, Mr. Sensible, and Mr. Humanist, and through such places as the Valley of Humiliation.

Though the dragons and giants here are distinct from those in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Lewis’s allegory serves the same function of allowing the author to say simply and by way of fantasy what otherwise would have demanded a full-blown philosophy of religion.

Lewis’s allegory remains an ingenious satire of cultural fads, a vivid account of spiritual perils, and an illuminating story for generations of old and new pilgrims.