The stories had worked on him not through logical argument but by portraying life in such a way that made a longing appeal to Jack’s deepest desires.
Becoming C.S. Lewis p. 263
And that portrayal was “more real than the air we breathe” if I may borrow from Rich Mullins. Not real in the way a materialist would define it, but real underneath it all. It’s what holds it up—what holds all of us up. If materialism is all, all have no foundation on which to stand. Society, customs, mores—it’s all smoke and mirrors. But if the stories are true, we stand on the solid ground of something behind it all, something underneath it all, supporting, giving meaning and purpose—and hope.
Lingering Over Leaves 