The Screwtape Letters

What surprised me most in The Screwtape Letters is how well Lewis understood his own work. When asked why he stopped writing the demonic letters, the author explained that they became too easy and trivial. As a writer, Lewis felt it was silly to indulge in the rhetoric of evil, as it became repetitive and lacked new meaning.

Indeed, the beginning of the book is captivating—each letter from Screwtape brings both laughter and serious reflection. However, as the book progresses, it starts to feel repetitive and loses its impact by the end.

If Lewis wrote these letters to ridicule the devil, inspired by figures like Martin Luther and Thomas More, the format of the book itself leads to a final provocation: pure evil is tiresome and boring.

Lastly, I believe that many of the letters can serve as reflections for specific moments in life. For example, Letter X offers great insight into the challenges of having true friendships rather than merely vanity-based social ties, and Letter V presents the possibility of spiritual growth in times of societal terror.