Once you've seen how enchanted children are by the movie version of C.S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," it's hard to take the hubbub about overbearing Christian allegory very seriously. To them, a magical talking lion is just a magical talking lion. The real controversy involves Turkish Delight: does it qualify as a confection worthy of betraying all of your siblings for?
The memorable chapter in the book, in which the disagreeable Edmund makes that terrible trade, gives no clue about the sort of sweet it is -- a bonbon? A taffy? A cake of some sort? -- or how it might taste. You just assume that it is probably really, really good and that one day you'll get your hands on some. Most of us Americans grow up without ever doing so. But now that it is the co-star of a smash-hit movie, it's time to make sure that C.S. Lewis is not trying to pull another fast one.
Chicago Tribune | Turkish Delight: Candy wrapped in an enigma