Rating: 
Summary: I disagree with anyone that says this story has nothing to d
Review: It does give an explanation of why Psyche was prompted to see who her mysterious husband was. The book just needs to be taken in the context it was written. A good read but I was a bit disappointed with the ending. Typical strangeness of C.S. Lewis but too cryptic and drawn out for me.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, fairly light reading
Review: I was given this book as a gift several years ago for Christmas from my sister and brother-in-law, and promptly wrinkled my nose and put it on my bookshelf without really bothering to see what it was about after I saw C.S. Lewis as the author. However, while taking my collegiate Latin class, my instructor mentioned it while we were reading the story of Psyche and Cupid in our text. With his recommendation and now knowing its subject, I decided it would be something I'd like to read.
The book doesn't take long--it's 300 pages, but they go by quickly and it's interesting, so it keeps you turning the pages. Some of the ends of the chapters have that device of young adult literature, the cliffhanger, so even when you vow you're going to stop and go to bed you end up reading further than you intended.
This book is in the grand tradition of "Grendel" or "Wicked"--that is, telling the myth or story from the point of view of the "evil" person in the story (although, as this book was published in the late fifties, it seems it started the tradition rather than continuing it). This makes it incredibly interesting. It is written from the viewpoint of Princess and then Queen Orual, older half sister of Istra, known as Psyche to Orual and their beloved slave, the Fox, a Greek who teaches Orual his native language and looks after her. Psyche's mother dies in childbirth, and Orual and the Fox become her caregivers. However, Psyche is sacrificed to the local goddess, Ungit, and Orual receives an enormous shock when she goes up to the mountain on which Psyche was sacrificed to bury her remains.
I won't say more, as I don't want to give away anything in the book. Every now and then, it seems like something is included and really does not have much to do with the larger story, but this does not take away from the book's entertainment value. While I would not number it in my top ten favorite books or anything like that, I am not regretful of having read it. It raises interesting questions for all of us as we witness Orual's struggle over whether her intentions were as pure as she originally believed, as well as the ever-enduring issuing of questioning God or, in this book, the gods.
This is prime beach reading or rainy day reading. Not only that, but it tricks you into thinking about certain issues by embedding them into a heartbreaking, beautiful story.
Rating: 
Summary: A Different Take on Lewis...
Review: I have a confession to make...I am not a big fan of Lewis. I think as far as intelligent & clear-headed thinking - especially on difficult faith issues - he certainly had a gift. However, I think he makes (made) things too black & white without a real, first-hand understanding of the strength of emotion, disillusionment, and difficult experiences when dealing with faith. This is true at least until the end of his life when was "defeated" in theological debates by a female atheist, he married a divorced woman (something he had earlier condemned), and then he lost his wife tragically. (The movie Shadowlands explores this marriage and its effects on him.)These events rattled Lewis to the core, and for awhile he lost all confidence in his former theological proclaimations (except that God is good). It is my understanding that Lewis wrote "Till We Have Faces" after this huge shake-up in his life. This book represents an understanding he came to after almost all of his faith foundation had been smashed and he had to rebuild it. And, I think, this new level of depth really manifests in this work. While I'm not a fan of Lewis in general, I think this book is absolutely phenomenal. What Lewis has done, as many reviewers have mentioned, is to retell the story of Cupid & Psyche. And he chooses to tell it from the perspective of Psyche's older (and supposedly evil) sister Orual. For the entire first part of the book (labelled Part I), Lewis takes you through a fantastic, confusing, emotional, biting story. Unlike his simplistic themes in the Chronicals of Narnia, Lewis relates a very twisted account of love & jealousy through complex characters, relationships, and landscapes. And as he does so, he allows the reader to become fully sympathetic to Orual and her position...even though she instigates some unfortunate situations. However, while it is tempting with Lewis to draw trite lessons and observations, I encourage you to not do so. I encourage you to let yourself be confused and wonder at the purpose at Part I. For, in Part II he brings it all together very powerfully. Not only does his explain the story, but I think he delivers one of the most disabling blows I've ever read in a novel. I don't want to give away the ending, but Orual's own gasping revelation as she tries to justify her bitterness was simply phenomenal. And, when considering Lewis' likely similar bitterness regarding his short-lived marriage, I feel that this all came directly from his heart. A one-of-a-kind title that I would recommend to anyone willing to grasp with faith and potentially ugly revelations about ourslves.
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