Is Narnia fantasy, or make believe?

[Rexenm]

I think that some books are more spiritual than others, and that lets in a level of imagination. Some thing surrounds a story and effects it in different ways. A remake for example, is not tired out, just new. It is a bit of a lateral thinking for me, but do humans act on instinct or belief alone, or do they act on impasse? Who would ask what the point of that was, and why would they change?

 

[pmmg]

I don't think the way humans act is a 'this or that' type of thing. The reasons behind the why are sometimes complex and sometimes not. And can be one way one time and another at a different time. They may be mostly consistent, but every now and then, it will make no sense.

I am somewhat introspective. I find I often ask what was the point of something, and if something should change me. I am not alone in that.

So why should I care if Narnia is Fantasy or Make Believe?

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Missed this when it was more active, but I'm going to reply, anyway, because that's how I roll.

In basic terms, Narnia is classic Portal Fantasy, regardless of the intended age of the reader - and to be honest, once our work goes into print we lose control and the readers now have the ball. I tell people all the time that just because some of our POV characters are teens doesn't make our series YA.

Not by a long shot.

I see the OP is referring to 'make believe' as another genre, I guess? The closest I can come up with is Magical Realism, which is possible to use in a Fantasy world, but is better utilized as Literary. But maybe they'll return and tell us what they meant.

 

[Rexenm]

There is also the dream and the fantasy. Narnia had Cair Paravel, and a lot of the things in Horse and his Boy predate that in literal terms, but not figuratively.