Una Pena en Observacion

Por C. S. Lewis

Esta obra es un lindo y resuelto testamento de cómo hasta un creyente incondicional puede perder el sentido de la vida, y de cómo puede gradualmente orientarse de nuevo
Escrito tras la trágica muerte de su amada esposa como una ma-nera de sobrevivir los “difíciles momentos de la medianoche”, Una Pena en Observación relata los más sinceros pensamientos deC. S. Lewis sobre los temas fundamentales de la vida, la muerte y la fe al sufrir una pérdida. Esta obra contiene sus más íntimas re-flexiones sobre esa etapa de su vida.

• Idioma: Español
• Editorial: HarperCollins
• Fecha de lanzamiento: 29 abr 2014
• ISBN: 9780062347008

C. S. Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis (1898–1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954, when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics in The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and have been transformed into three major motion pictures.

Vista previa del libro

Uno

Nadie me había dicho nunca que la pena se viviese como miedo. Yo no es que esté asustado, pero la sensación es la misma que cuando lo estoy. El mismo mariposeo en el estómago, la misma inquietud, los bostezos. Aguanto y trago saliva.

Otras veces es como si estuviera medio borracho o conmocionado. Hay una especie de manta invisible entre el mundo y yo. Me cuesta mucho trabajo enterarme de lo que me dicen los demás. Tiene tan poco interés. Y sin embargo quiero tener gente a mi alrededor. Me espantan los ratos en que la casa se queda vacía. Lo único que querría es que hablaran ellos unos con otros, que no se dirigieran a mí.

Hay momentos en que, de la forma más inesperada, algo en mi interior pugna por convencerme de que no me afecta mucho, de que no es para tanto, al fin y al cabo. El amor no lo es todo en la vida de un hombre. Yo, antes de conocer a H., era feliz. Era muy rico en lo que la gente llama «recursos». A todo el mundo le pasan estas cosas. Vamos, que no lo estoy llevando tan mal. Le avergüenza a uno prestar oídos a esa voz, pero por unos momentos da la impresión de que está abogando por una causa justa. Luego sobreviene una repentina cuchillada de memoria al rojo vivo y todo ese «sentido común» se desvanece como una hormiga en la boca de un horno.

Y de rechazo cae uno en las lágrimas y en el pathos. Lágrimas sensibleras. Casi prefiero los ratos de agonía, que son por lo menos limpios y decentes. Pero el asqueroso, dulzarrón y pringoso placer de ceder a revolcarse en un baño de autocompasión, eso es algo que me nausea. Y, es más, cuando caigo en ello, me doy cuenta de que me lleva a tergiversar la imagen misma de H. En cuanto le doy alas a este humor, al poco rato la mujer de carne y hueso viene sustituida por una simple muñeca sobre la que lloriqueo. Gracias a Dios, el recuerdo de ella es todavía lo suficientemente fuerte (¿lo seguirá siendo siempre tanto?) como para salir adelante.

Porque H. no era así en absoluto. Su pensamiento era ágil, rápido y musculoso, como un leopardo. Ni la pasión ni la ternura ni el dolor eran capaces de hacerle bajar la guardia. Olfateaba la falsedad y la gazmoñería a la primera vaharada, e inmediatamente se abalanzaba sobre ti y te derribaba antes de que hubieras podido darte cuenta de lo que estaba pasando. ¡Cuántos globos me pinchó! Enseguida aprendí a no darle gato por liebre con mis palabras, excepto cuando lo hacía por el simple gusto –y ésta es otra cuchillada al rojo vivo– de exponerme a que se burlara de mí. Nunca he sido menos estúpido que como amante suyo.

Y nadie me habló nunca tampoco de la desidia que inyecta la pena. No siendo en mi trabajo –que ahí la máquina parece correr más aprisa que nunca– aborrezco hacer el menor esfuerzo. No sólo escribir sino incluso leer una carta se me convierte en un exceso. Hasta afeitarme. ¿Qué importa ya que mi mejilla esté áspera o suave? Dicen que un hombre desgraciado necesita distraerse, hacer algo que lo saque de sí mismo. Lo necesitará, en todo caso, como podría echar de menos un hombre aperreadamente cansado una manta más cuando la noche está muy fría; seguro que este hombre preferiría quedarse tumbado dando diente con diente antes que levantarse a buscarla. Es fácil de entender que la gente solitaria se vuelva poco aseada, y acabe siendo sucia y dando asco.

Y, en el entretanto, ¿Dios dónde se ha metido? Éste es uno de los síntomas más inquietantes. Cuando eres feliz, tan feliz que no tienes la sensación de necesitar a Dios para nada, tan feliz que te ves tentado a recibir sus llamadas sobre ti como una interrupción, si acaso recapacitas y te vuelves a Él con gratitud y reconocimiento, entonces te recibirá con los brazos abiertos –o al menos así es como lo vive uno. Pero vete hacia Él cuando tu necesidad es desesperada, cuando cualquier otra ayuda te ha resultado vana, ¿y con qué te encuentras? Con una puerta que te cierran en las narices, con un ruido de cerrojos, un cerrojazo de doble vuelta en el interior. Y después de esto, el silencio. Más vale no insistir, dejarlo. Cuanto más esperes, mayor énfasis adquirirá el silencio. No hay luces en las ventanas. Debe tratarse de una casa vacía. ¿Estuvo habitada alguna vez? Eso parecía en tiempos. Y aquella impresión era tan fuerte como la de ahora. ¿Qué puede significar esto? ¿Por qué es Dios un jefe tan omnipresente en nuestras etapas de prosperidad, y tan ausente como apoyo en las rachas de catástrofe?

He intentado exponerle esta tarde a C. algunas de estas reflexiones. Él me ha recordado que lo mismo, según parece, le ocurrió a Jesucristo. «¿Por qué me has abandonado?» Ya lo sé. ¿Y qué? ¿Se consigue con eso que las

Comentarios para Una Pena en Observacion

[shanaqui_1 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

It's hard to rate something like this book. The text itself acknowledges the truth of the title: it is a single grief observed, not grief in general. Interest in C. S. Lewis and his life, or his point of view on faith, or interest in this book through recent grief of your own, is the best portal into this book.

I haven't lost anyone as near and dear to me as H. to Jack. I lost my grandmother recently, and I recognise some of the feelings he describes -- and oh, how much do I fear feeling them for myself in full force, one day.

He is analytical about his grief, thinking it through in stages, asking questions of God and trying to answer them for himself. Thus, it's not quite as painful to read as it could be. His son's introduction is quite painful, when he speaks of 'Jack' and his pain, so familiarly, so tenderly.

I hate the reviews of this that say it's all mind and no heart. Probably because I'm an analytical, 'cold-hearted' person myself -- I see myself in C. S. Lewis' observed grief -- and yes, I feel pain as much as anyone else, I just address it differently. Everyone grieves in different ways; no two griefs are alike.

Truly cheerful stuff to read on one's birthday.

[jorge · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Me encanta C.S. Lewis! Muy humana su pena y su observación

[bibleblaster · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Yes, our theologies differ, yet I have always greatly respected C.S. Lewis in his willingness to tackle the great questions (not necessarily in search of "answers") and the fearlessness with which he reflects on his own thoughts, actions, and judgments. This keen insight is just one example of many that pop up in this brief and intense reflection on the experience of grief.

...don't we often make this mistake as regards people who are still alive--who are with us in the same room? Talking and acting not to the man himself but to the picture...we've made of him in our own minds? And he has to depart from it pretty widely before we even notice the fact. In real life--that's one way it differs from novels--his words and acts are, if we observe closely, hardly ever quite "in character," that is, in what we call his character. There's always a card in his hand we didn't know about.

[dinahmine · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

A Grief Observed was the first book that I was able to read after my beloved cat of 19 years passed away. I knew that it wouldn't be exactly applicable to my situation, but I was looking for a story of grief from a Christian's point of view.

Some sections of the memoir worked very well for me, while others (particularly Chapter 2, when C.S. Lewis has lost his faith) do not. I found Chapter 3, where a great healing is taking place, to be the most helpful as I also learn how to heal. The evolution of Lewis' grief is what I think most people will find useful in this book, as it may give other readers hope that we will come out of the depths eventually.

The honesty of this memoir impresses me. It shows such bravery for this Christian man to display his loss of faith so openly to the reader. If nothing else, A Grief Observed showed me quite clearly that I did not lose my faith during the time of my own grieving. That did give me a significant amount of comfort.

The version that I read has a lovely and honest introduction by Madeline L'Engle.

[bibliophageoncoffee · Calificación: 2 de 5 estrellas]

Too intellectual to be of any real use or comfort. Might be better to read it when you aren't actively grieving.

[bookworm12_1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

C.S. Lewis wrote this after the death of his beloved wife. Their time together was short, but it was all the more poignant because their connection was so intense. He was left wishing for all the years they might have had together. He is so honest about his pain making him question his faith.

“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.”

“Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything.”

[matthewgray-1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

not dogmatic, but still written by a man of faith, who is honestly sharing his struggles in grief. By the author's own admission, not all that is said in these pages is fully reliable, his thoughts are many and varied and confused at times. But this helps to understand the confusion and what grief can be like. And he is of course lucid in his style, and insightful, which helps greatly. A good book to have for reflection, and pastoral understanding, although not necessarily for comfort to those going through grief.

[belgrade18 · Calificación: 1 de 5 estrellas]

Wow, I never realized how pompous and narcissistic C. S. Lewis and his crowd were, including his wife and son; they created a huge rhetorical apparatus about how cultured and elite they were. The marriage sounds like it was mostly for show (though I'm sure they were friends), and therefore the bereavement paean seemed over-wrought and tiresome. Not recommended if you want to hear a real experience with death and dying.

[judyg54 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

This was a brief look into the journal Lewis wrote in when he lost his wife, Joy, after 4 intensely happy years together. In this book he freely confesses "his doubts, his rage, and his awareness of human frailty". He is very open and honest about his feelings and his thoughts towards others and his God during this time.

The second half of this book is an "Afterword" by Chad Walsh. This part of the book was very interesting because it gave me a look at C.S. Lewis' life and work before the death of his wife. I am glad I took the time to read more about this man and the love and grief he expresses after losing someone he dearly loved.

[jphamilton-1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

I've been an atheist all my 64 years, but I recently lost my wife of many years to cancer. Having that in common with Lewis, got me between the covers of this slim book. Being able to relate so strongly to someone that I'd never enjoyed before, was an interesting experience. His raw writings on his loss and grief were very similar to my own journal writings of late. I felt closer to his angry words about a cruel god, than his return to his faith at the book's end, but we're all different when it comes to whatever faith we may have. I'm glad to have read his words. The drive to read the words of someone else who has suffered a similar pain is a strong force.

[meandmybooks-1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

As Madeleine L'Engle says in her introduction, “each experience of grief is unique,” and Lewis was a quirky sort of fellow. His grieving for his wife, so dearly cherished during their far-too-brief marriage, is explored through the format of passionate journal entries. As with others of his works, I find that our thoughts on the issue of theodicy – the problem of pain and a benevolent, all-powerful God – aren't quite the same. Still, his experience of the progression of loss and pain, of struggle to reconcile belief and emotion, of fear of the loss of memories, etc., have elements which much surely be nearly universal, and his honesty is comforting.

[leandrod-2 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

A punch in the stomach.

[readandfindout · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Excellent excellent excellent. The afterword was alright, but Lewis' actual text was phenomenal. This is actually the journals that he wrote after the death of his wife Joy. Seeing him feeling and then examining his grief, and the implications it had on his faith, was so intriguing.

[homeschoolmimzi · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

Started this book and was expecting it to be somewhat comforting. .. haven't found it to be so yet, but I'm not even half way through. It's not a long book though.

[medievalgirl-1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Good book, apart from the preface by Madelaine L'Engle which was nonsense and detracted in some ways from the work.

[jenniferrobb · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

I've read this book now two or three times, sometimes finding new kernels of information and other times reminders of lessons learned in the past.

[judithrs · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

A Grief Observed. C. S. Lewis. 1961. This searing account of Lewis’ grief after the death of his wife is heartfelt like that of Julian Barnes in Levels of Life. The difference seems like Lewis may have scribbled his pain in a journal and later decided to publish it whereas Barnes may have written his pain for publication. The other difference is Lewis is a believer and Barns is not. Both books put in to words what I have felt. I am not sure that these books can be appreciated fully unless the reader has lived with the pain of losing a love.

[angelomarcos · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

I have been a huge admirer of CS Lewis for a very long time, and I also read a lot of Christian literature, apologetics, theology, and so on, which often reference CS Lewis and specifically this book. Even after all that though, this book was still absolutely not what I expected.

I read the entire book in one sitting (which isn’t the achievement that it may sound as the book is very short), and found it to be a very raw account of CS Lewis' grief. There were actually some parts of it where I almost felt I shouldn’t be reading it at all - as if I had opened a door, found a man wracked with grief and railing against God, and just stood there watching him for a while.

It was very interesting to see the change in him between the first and last chapters, but I was left feeling that the book was incomplete. I know that it isn’t supposed to be a 'story' with a beginning, middle and end, but I had hoped that there would be a kind of redemption - a rebuttal of his earlier arguments against God, an acknowledgement that there is a 'light at the end of the tunnel'. This was touched upon, but not with the same force that the original arguments were made earlier on in the book.

I would definitely recommend this book, but with a note of caution - this book is, very much as the title states, an observation of another person's grief. This may be helpful to some who have been recently bereaved, but might be quite distressing to others. If a person is already in a fragile state, they may not quite be ready to walk with CS Lewis in his grief too.

[imaginationzombie · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

I'd recommend to anyone going through the grieving process due to death or extreme illness. He hits the very heart of grief and love.

[tjsjohanna_1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Probably the best thing about this slim book is the raw honesty of Mr. Lewis' emotions and his thoughts. Without fear, he expresses his greatest fears and the most painful things about his loss of his wife. For anyone grieving, there is relief in the thought that we are not alone - that here is someone who knows all those hurtful thoughts and emotions and claims them and is able to move through them. There's hope in that.

[nmele_4 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

This short book, written in the first flush of grief by Lewis, packs quite a punch as he describes, no, records his grief and anger at the loss of his wife. I read it while reading Julian Barnes "Levels of Life", another author's attempt to write out his grief at losing his beloved. One author a Christian, the other an atheist, both books are illuminating, honest and powerful. I believe Barnes has more in common with Lewis than he might think.

[pdebolt_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

In this slender volume, C.S. Lewis shares his personal experience with grief following the death of his wife. This is a grief that has him questioning his belief in God and exposing the raw, painful, angry emotions that accompany his grieving process. There are many ways to grieve, but one thing is certain - it has to be faced, and Lewis has done just that in this book. The harsh reality that everyone who lives will die means that we must all face grief at some time if we haven't already done so. His experiences with grief are not unique, but he is to be applauded for sharing his palpable pain in a way that may help others who suffer a loss of such magnitude.

[lisamaria_c · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

This slender book--only 76 pages in four chapters--is both raw and powerful. I do understand why one reviewer spoke of feeling distaste that something so personal was published. I think that's its strength though. Yes, I almost wanted to look away. I've felt conflicted at times about Lewis' work. I admire him as a writer, but disagree strongly with many aspects of his worldview. For one, I'm no believer in any aspect of the supernatural, am no Christian, and Christianity defines him and his works. But I think particularly because I've read so much by Lewis, I can't help but see him as a sort of friend. And not even knowing he died before I was born keeps me from flinching from the pain on the page.

But I also admire his willingness to expose that pain. And this is a book not just about pain, about loss--but about love. About his love for his lost wife, who obviously greatly enriched his life, and yes, in the end his love for God that Lewis tries so hard to find again in the face of feeling shut out when he needs God most. He talks about his faith being like this rope that seemed strong and secure when it only needed to bind a box, but doesn't seem so secure when he was using it to hang above an abyss. I think there's something so very brave, nay heroic, in spending a long career as a Christian apologist and then be willing to bare not just your pain, but your doubt. And because Lewis is a superb writer, there were so many lines here that resonated--particularly the line, "Sorrow, however, turns out to be not a state, but a process."

[rolyat-2 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

to be able to see inside someone's head and read their thoughts as an event is unfolding is incredibly interesting. c.s. lewis write about his grief over the loss of his wife to illness, while he goes thru it. enlightening, truthful, and emotional. WOW!

[davegregg_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

This is one of the most remarkable books I've ever known. It is, in my experience, the best work of short nonfiction in Christian literary history. Regardless, it is certainly one of the most poignant. I feel inadequate to explain further, but being so brief a book, I see no reason why you shouldn't read it.For those of you who struggle with completing nonfiction, I will tell you that you likely will have no such problem with "A Grief Observed". It's emotionally, psychologically, philosophically, and theologically compelling, applicable to personal experience, and fascinating down to each and every vivid sentence. I for one make it my intent, with delight, to read it many times again.

[phebj · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

I first heard of this book on the “What are We Reading: Religion” thread on LT. It describes Lewis’ journey through grief after the death of his wife (“H”) from cancer. He writes very honestly of his anguish and loneliness and how surprisingly little consolation he finds in other people or his religion in the first days after H’s death.

"It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong and sound as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn’t you then first discover how much you really trusted it? . . . I thought I trusted the rope until it mattered to me whether it would bear me. Now it matters, and I find I didn’t."

Lewis’ initial goal in writing this book was to describe the “state” of sorrow but he discovers that it’s more of a process and by the end of the book, while he is still on his journey, he’s made alot of progress and, when he turns “to God, my mind no longer meets that locked door.”

I haven’t experienced the kind of grief that Lewis describes nor am I religious so I was surprised to like this book as much as I did. I think it was a combination of how good a writer Lewis is and how honest he was about what he was going through that attracted me the most. In comparison to how detailed Lewis is about his initial grief, I was somewhat disappointed that it wasn’t clearer how he was finally able to move on to a better place. As he says, “there was no sudden, striking and emotional transition. Like the warming of a room or the coming of daylight. When you first notice them they have already been going on for some time.”

[maggief927 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

I have listened to this book several times on CD since the death of my husband. So far it comes the closest to describing what I find to be indescribable, the grief felt when one loses their soul mate and the inability to put the loss into perspective for those on the outside. I recommend this for anyone who has lost someone close or to someone who is trying to understand someone elses grief.

[hamburgerclan · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

A Grief Observed is the journal C. S. Lewis kept after losing his wife, Joy, to cancer. In it he pours out his feelings, as his faith is battered by the storms of grief. I felt a bit awkward reading it, kind of like I was standing around, gawking at a car accident. On one hand, you want to see what's happening, but on the other you don't want to intrude on another's misfortune and sorrow. Of course, reading a published book is hardly an intrusion on anyone. The book was an interesting way to consider my own beliefs without having to personally suffer the loss of my wife.
--J.

[wvlibrarydude · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

A great travel through Lewis' suffering of loss and grief. It really helped me face some of the issues I'm going through right now with dad's death.

Not a normal book with any clear sense or structure. Just random thoughts and notes. Real gems come through every so many pages. It really gives a sense of the emotional and intellectual struggles of someone grieving.

[skokie_1 · Calificación: 2 de 5 estrellas]

I know this is a classic per se, but I didn't like the book. It was hard to get into the book for me, and I found Lewis' writings distant. The book is about how C.S. Lewis deals with the tragedy of his wife's death; however, the forward lets you know that his wife had a terminal illness when he married her. I would've rather read Lewis' thoughts on that matter instead.