Till we have faces

by CS Lewis

Just when I thought I’d had Lewis all figured out.

It’s kind of surprising how a Christian writer can re-tell a classic pagan myth (Cupid and Psyche) and still have it be so… pagan.

In some stories, the “twist” or irony is that you have this really ugly or socially despised character who is the one who is the most selfless and loving… not so here… our heroine Orual seems a little bit like one of the ghosts in the Great Divorce; (except her time and place is not modern England but pre-Christian Europe.) She thinks of her feelings and actions toward her young sister Psyche as virtuous and righteous, but she has a lot to learn about that simple but endlessly complex concept known as Love.

The tone and setting of this book feel really different from typical Lewis; but according to his usual skill he leads the reader into deep, surprising intellectual territory along a deceptively simple story “path.”

I would recommend it – note I’d rate this PG-13 for sensuality and some disturbing “images” !