Livre d'Or

And fwiw, some of the bits now I can see are direct allegories to something, I appreciated at the time -- lots of people are annoyed by Eustace turning into a dragon, but even though the exact mechanics aren't explained, I found it hit all the right emotional notes for a story -- Eustace is dragoned because he's selfish and short-sighted, and freed because he's helpful and bold.

But many others, I didn't know what they were about, but I remember not grokking them at the time, either because they didn't hang together with the plot given, or because they relied on theology I've still not picked up. Like Aslan's sacrifice, his actual death and resurrection were really moving. But I didn't understand the trade at all -- surely LOTS of people were traitors, including Tumnus, why does this all happen for Edmund? Who made this rule that traitors belong to the witch? Since most of it (the rule about traitors, the fact that suddenly it matters to Edmund but not the other people killed, the deep magic, the deeper magic) are all made up on the spot, it doesn't feel like Aslan is actually giving anything up, rather, he's just announcing "the plot randomly says this happens next".