The Screwtape Letters

This set of three audio CDs by author and scholar C.S. Lewis is read by English comedian John Cleese. This full-length version runs over 4 hours, including bonus track “Screwtape Proposes a Toast”. Imported from the U.K., the set comes in a deluxe triple case with great artwork and will play in any ordinary CD player.

The work became popular when published in The Guardian newspaper during World War II. Screwtape, an older successful devil in hell, responds to the naive letters of his nephew Wormwood, just graduated from a devil-based university. Now in the human world, Screwtape points Wormwood in the direction of his first “patient”with instructions to distract him from heavenly things. Wormwood’s task is to cast doubt into his victim’s soul, rendering him vulnerble to temptation and ultimately leading to self-damnation. It sounds easy, but proves to be a complex process that can take years (and many letters) to do.

In the early 1970s, the letters were recorded by John Cleese, popular member of “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” television show (i.e., Minstry of Funny Walks). Cleese is an accomplished intellectual, holding a Master’s degree from Cambridge University, adding his own unmistakable style of realism to the correspondence. Making this his own personal project and classic work, Cleese’s infusion of personality, character and intelligence into Lewis’ Screwtape produces an addictive listening experience. As funny as it is disturbing, Cleese is downright uncomfortable to listen to at times. But while you may turn him off, you will sneak back a few hours later to continue listening to the entracing conversations, supplying a rare chance to hear the devil’s own thoughts into the complex social politics of good and evil. Many people ponder if they might have a similar Screwtape in their own life.