Till We Have Faces

Rating:
Summary: A literary masterpiece
Review: Till We Have Faces is a magnificently textured work, a tale of self-discovery and epiphany. The central character, Orual, is the ugly and seemingly unlovable daughter of a cruel monarch (her father hits her for sport and calls her 'goblin daughter'). She is loved, however, by a spiritual-emotional triumvirate: Psyche's compassion, the Fox's conscience, Bardia's courage. It's interesting that Lewis retells the Psyche myth from the point of view of the stepsister. Orual's perspective allows the reader to experience and question the things she does on an intimate level. Her journey matches that of many people who feel a sense of inadequacy and spiritual longing. Fox is her tutor and voice of reason, a captured Greek fond of quoting philosophy and giving lip service to the gods. He's the agnostic of Orual's life. Bardia, the captain of the guard, provides Orual with the skills to defend herself, allowing her to go from shrinking violet to warrior queen. Psyche is the true believer. She has seen the gods, but finds that convincing Orual is futile. Orual longs to be with the beautiful, but fears what she will find. Her belief is a forced one, a faith through fear, and therefore she can't see clearly what Psyche sees. It is not until the end of her life that she sees clearly: "I saw well why the gods do not speak to us openly, nor let us answer. Till that word can be dug out of us, why should they hear the babble that we think we mean? How can they meet us face to face till we have faces?" This evokes the words of St. John, "we know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is."

Lewis uses language the way it was meant. He eschews flowery prose; rather he conveys the complexity of emotions in a simple yet not simplistic fashion. He provides profundity and clarity both, not merely one to the exclusion of the other. The mysteries of the spiritual are always seen more deeply and clearly in great works of literature. Till We Have Faces is one of those works.

Rating:
Summary: A Book For All Seasons
Review: If you're looking for a book to keep you company and entertain you on a stormy night, C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces will do quite nicely. If on the other you're looking for a book that will teach and inspire you, Till We Have Faces will do just that. If you're in search of a book that will do both, that's right, you need look no further, Till We have Faces will keep you turning the pages and open your eyes to greater things. C.S. Lewis is a master story teller. This book will send your mind on a journey, taking you to a unknown land, and there spin a story that will make your mouth water with anticipation. Though the story is an adaptation of a Greek myth, and maintains some fantasy, the characters are so real and emotionally intricate that it evokes perfect pathos. The lives of the characters that Lewis portrays causes the reader to evaluate their own life, their own loves, and helps them see a better, purer way to love. It has the power to reach most everyone. There really is nothing static about this book. It can suffice for pure entertainment purposes. The story is compelling, and demands the readers interest as to how the conflict will be resolved. The story telling is vivid and brings the tale to life. And throughout the story Lewis communicates issues of faith and love, that no one can escape, issues that effect everyone. It's practically perfect in every way. I have no qualms whatsoever about suggesting this book to my closest friends and family. To say that it is good reading and thought provoking only scratches the surface of what this book can do. I believe that everyone can enjoy and benefit from reading Lewis' Till We Have Faces, it will bring you into a new and brighter world.

Rating:
Summary: What it means to be human
Review: I read this book in one sitting. It was less important that it was well written, and what was written about, than the character behind it. Orual's character is explained in great detail through her actions and how she analyzes herself for the first part of the book. She tells a fascinating story of a woman who has lost everything and blames the gods. She is ugly and will never be loved; her sister she adores she destroys out of love; the kindest treatment she receives is from those who look at her as a man. The results are a hardened and bitter woman. She has reigned as a great queen but lost her humanity. She has no life or love to look back upon, and all is a cruel joke. She has been wronged horribly. She finishes with a denunciation of the gods. But as Orual starts in with the second part of the book, her entire manner has changed. Other people have become more open to her, offered her new perspectives. Her younger sister she thought despised her was lonely. The man she loved she worked to death because she was blind to his own needs. Although it is not pleasant, she begins to see how selfish and blind she has been. As she sees things differently, her feelings soften. It's amazing to see, mostly because we have all had similar experiences. We see what happens, assume we understand it, and paint for ourselves a story. It is only later that someone or something else opens our eyes (almost literally, when Orual is on top of the mountain) and we feel remorse, shame, or compassion. We are seldom honest with ourselves. She admits at the start of the second book that to leave the story as she first saw it would be to lie. As she re-examines the evidence, she is forced to admit her conclusions were wrong. Fortunately, there is redemption for her, even after all of her shortcomings. The wrongs she has committed against loved ones are righted by the very gods she denounced. We, too, so often discover how narrow and clouded and short our own vision is. C. S. Lewis has managed to explore some of the emotions we all feel and assumptions we all make. In Till We Have Faces, he has revealed clearly part of what makes us human.

Rating:
Summary: An Inspired Work
Review: Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold is truly an inspired work. C.S. Lewis admits this himself, taking little credit for the masterpiece it is. It all began as he read Eros and Psyche, the original myth. While reading, he felt the inspiration that led to this work, the idea "forced itself upon" him. This idea worked its way into his mind allowing him to capture the beauty and power of the original myth, while intertwining the deeper theme of love.

Till We Have Faces illustrates the contrast between a divine, unconditional love, and the frail thing we too often consider to be love. Three princesses live in the kingdom of Glome: Orual, Redival, and Pysche. C.S. Lewis stylistically portrays each daughter with varying degrees of love. Redival has a self-centered attitude that gives her the need to feel loved by others. Orual, is slightly less self-centered, needing others to feel her love and to be loved by them in return. Pysche has a true, divine love for others with little thought for herself. Throughout the piece, C.S. Lewis shows us the strengths and trials that each face, and their relative outcomes.

Redival changes drastically through the work. As it begins, she is young and beautiful, but also self-centered. She seeks the attention and love of others, but doesn't receive it from her father or sisters, finding it only from young men. Throughout the play, there is a progression, until the end where she has lost her beautiful figure and become a respectable woman. She learns not to focus as much on herself; allow her love to develop towards others.

Orual's love is a jealous love. She shows love to others for the purpose of feeling it in return. What she believes is love, in many instances is jealousy. The contrast between the jealous love of Orual and Pysche's pure love is obvious to the reader throughout the work, yet hidden to Orual. She even goes to the extreme of threatening to kill Pysche, all in the name of her supposed love. She doesn't realize that what she supposes to be love is mere jealousy. It isn't until she is able to see things from another point of view, as an observer of what she has done, that she begins to realize the frailty and weakness of her love.

Pysche begins in the work as a beautiful young girl that takes little thought of herself. She struggles to be of service to others, desiring to help them out. But in return for her devotion and pure love for everyone, they turn against her. Their jealousy of her beauty and kindness, lead them to sacrifice her, rejoicing in her imminent death. This contrast and inconsistency in what we call love is beautifully displayed. It's difficult for us to recognize our weaknesses, especially when it comes to love. C.S. Lewis allows us to do just what Orual did, to look at life from an objective point of view, to take a step away from our narrow vision and see life from a new perspective. As we do so, it helps us understand how we can improve and develop a pure, true love the type of love that Psyche demonstrates.

Few books have left me pondering so deeply; Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold is one of them. Just like Orual, I found how superficial my love for others truly is. Through his inspired piece, C.S. Lewis has given us objective means to measure our love, giving us an understanding of how we can improve the lives of others and our own through this pure love.

Rating:
Summary: A Myth Excellently Retold
Review: Masterfully written, by a man who knew how to write and keep the attention of his readers. This myth retold, created by C.S. Lewis, has both the sensitivity and power to give the reader a true sense of all that's taking place in the story, pulling them into the plot and giving them both an internal, and external view of all that goes on. In the beginning, a woman begins her story of growth, renewal, worship, confusion, and eventual success in finding whom she, and those around her truly are. The setting is a barbarous land, where the people worship various gods, and offer sacrifices to them, devoting their lives and themselves to images and ideas they truly don't understand. But, Lewis is able to put a twist into the tale, helping it to come around in such a way that many of the more endearing qualities and characteristics favored by the Christian world are brought into play by the various characters. Orual, a princess, and the teller of the tale stands at center stage, guiding us through the thickening plot as we journey into a different land and time. With a masterful hand Lewis uses his descriptive language, and the very actions of the people around Orual to help give the reader and understanding of who she is and at what age she is, so they can then gain an understanding of what it is that is truly going in the tale. Small details, used in unison with general understandings help bring vivid images to the mind of the reader, showing them all that is taking place. One of my favorite things about the tale is the very manner Lewis uses his words to bring out emotion in his characters. All of us have experienced the same ranges of emotion he depicts in Orual, her beautiful sister Psyche, her tyrannous father, and all the rest. Precision of word and use of language help to paint a clear picture of Orual as she grows, gaining experience in all the aspects of life she will need as she later becomes the Queen and ruler of her kingdom. We are told of beggars and peasants coming to the gates of the castle, begging for the princess Psyche to come out and touch them, believing she is a goddess and can heal them of their sicknesses because of her unimaginable beauty; the human offering that must be made to the god of the grey mountain to end the drought that has plagued the land; and the powerful god who falls in love with the beautiful Psyche, building for her a heavenly mansion that her loving sister cannot see. Of the greatest qualities of the tale is its ability to help the reader see how confusing the thoughts and feelings of man can be, and how easy it is for anyone to avoid the truths in their lives as they pad the pain they have felt with excuses and scapegoats. We are shown the very deepest of thoughts and feelings come into play through the decisions and actions of those in the tale, and we are also shown the truth that compels those thoughts and feelings. Till We Have Faces is a literary accomplishment, written by a man who has had many. The power of the tale he tells, and the deep perspectives he shares about the very essence of who we are is very much worth the time invested to read it.

Rating:
Summary: contrasts between beautiful & unattractive
Review: The book "Till we have faces" is a retold myth by C. S. Lewis. The original myth was found in one of the few still known Latin novels, the Metamorphoses of Lucius Apuleius Platonicus, who lived around 125 A.D. The story talks about two princesses, one unattractive and the other one beautiful. The older one, who is also the unattractive one, was named Orual. She wrote the story in her older age, because then she did not have any fear anymore. It is written from her point of view. In the beginning of her story she explains, in her own words, the reason of writing the story down: "I will accuse the gods, especially the god who lives on the Grey Mountain. I will tell all he has done to me from the very beginning, as if I were making my complaint of him before a judge." (page 3; Chapter 1) The story begins with Orual getting a new sister named Istra or Psyche who was the beautiful princess. Her mom, Orual's stepmother, died while giving birth. The king, and father of the sisters, was very angry of having another girl instead of finally having a son. Because of that Orual raised and loved Psyche like her own child. They both had a wonderful and loving relationship. One day a fever came to their city. It was Psyche who nursed the Fox, their teacher. After his recovery, Batta -- their nanny-- spread the story of "how the beautiful princess could cure the fever by her touch; soon, that her touch was the only thing that could cure it." (page 30; Chapter 3) Psyche went out and tried to touch sick people to make them believe she could save them. Unfortunately, many people were not healed and suddenly a brute was also seen coming down from the Mountain. Because of these events the people said that Psyche was the source, "the accursed one". The belief was that things like that could only be cured with a human sacrifice. That sacrifice had to be special. Ungit, the God, did not only want just any human, but rather the most perfect human. The people's choice fell on Psyche. She was sacrificed and so Orual lost her beloved sister. When Orual went to the place of the sacrifice, thinking that she would find at least a few body parts of Psyche she found her near alive and well. She could not see what Psyche saw. She was shocked about the rule Psyche had to live by; every night after dark her husband came and spend the night with her, but she was not allowed to see him. Orual, who thought that was strange, convinced her sister to light the oil lamp and to look at him while he was sleeping. As she did what she was told a drop of hot oil woke him up. He got very angry with her and punished her and made her suffer. Since then Orual had to live with her knowledge of being guilty for her sister's sufferings. She would always hear Psyche's wining voice wherever she went. Whatever she tried her life changed dramatically. For me from this point of the book on it got more interesting. The rest of the book helps us to understand why the book is called "Till we have faces" . . . even the most unattractive person could look really beautiful. Reading the book one has many opportunities to think about certain points and views in one's life.

Rating:
Summary: just read it
Review: Till We Have Faces is definitely a book I would recommend reading. One of the reasons it captured me was because C.S. Lewis, who is a man, was able to portray the life of a woman so perfectly. In this novel, we are pulled through the thoughts and events of a woman who is raised to believe that she is ugly--ugly enough to hide her face behind a veil for nearly all of her life. Through everything she endures; her father being a deadbeat king, her youngest sister adored and worshipped as a godess by many, and her own ugliness, she finds strength through her love for the people around her. She is a heroine. She is smart, she is powerful, and she can fight with a sword. She takes over her father's kingdom and makes it ten times better than he could have made it. If she had been gorgeous, we would find ourselves drowning in yet another boring novel where the beautiful maiden is swept into la-la land by a handsome god. Of course she is not perfect. It is her love that drives her to make a decision that will send her sister, who she has raised like her own child, on a painful journey. But she is sent on a journey of her own. She must find what truly lies beneath her veil and overcome the painful belief that she is the horrible person she makes herself out to be.

I think this novel is making a comment on faith, as well as showing how beauty is found within, not without. If you look into the story carefully, you can find subtle hints of C.S. Lewis's view on faith and Christianity through the characters of the Fox who is always questioning the gods, and the the house of Ungit, which is wrapped up in mystery and "holiness" to the people around it.

Another thing that is remarkable about this story is that it has unexpected turns. C.S. Lewis has taken an ordinary myth and transformed it into a fascinating story. You will be absorbed by the emotions that it brings out in you.

Rating:
Summary: A very thought-provoking read
Review: I had read many C. S. Lewis books before this one, so I was expecting it to be a pretty good book. I was surprised, though, with how much his writing style had changed from his other books. I felt like I wasn't reading a book at all, but rather was being told the story. It was more of a tale, than a novel.

The difference for me between a good book and a nice story is what happens after you put the book down. After reading a nice story, we immediately go about other business. A good book will make you think all the way through it, and even after you've put it down. A good book will help you discover things about yourself that you didn't know, or hadn't realized. That is what Till We Have Faces did for me. I found as I was reading, that I had acted in the past more like Orual than I wanted to. I struggled with her character because it was such an accurate reflection of the way that I had seen things. I have changed since then, but it was amazing how C. S. Lewis was able to portray a character that was so well-thought out and so accurate.

The book is neither easy reading, nor hard reading. It is somewhere in between. At first glance, the book seems like it would be as easy to read as a child's book, but with all of the description, imagery, thoughts, feelings, and emotion that Lewis put into it, you can't help but slow down. There is so much more going on than the story alone would denote. There is the conflict with Orual and others, the conflict between Orual and herself, and finally- and you only get this in good books-the conflict between Orual and the reader. I don't often find myself making vocal comments to fictional characters, but I did several times during the course of the book. With every little nuance of character that Lewis puts in this novel, you'll want to do yourself a favor and allow time for reflection.

Maybe the greatest part about this book-and this can be said of all great literary works-is that every time you are going to get something different out of it. It addresses so many topics that you could probably spend a whole college course just identifying and talking about what each one says. You might barely scratch the surface even then. This time I was focused on Orual's jealousy at losing what she felt was her rightful possession, the next time it may not be.

The approach that Lewis decided to take with the story was an interesting one. In the original myth of Psyche and Cupid, Psyche's sisters (Orual and Redival) see their sister's happiness and the life that she lives, and they want to destroy it all because they don't want her to be better than them. It is simply a matter of pride. Lewis takes a different route, though. In Till We Have Faces, Redival isn't even really part of the story and Orual's jealousy of Psyche's happiness is not motivated by hate, but by love. Orual raised Psyche almost as her own daughter and loved her with all her heart. But, she can't stand the idea of Psyche being loving anyone but herself. Throughout almost the entire book, Orual justifies her selfishness by placing herself as the victim. This was an interesting choice by Lewis because we, as humans, often do the same. Orual is so convinced that anything good for her is good for Psyche, that she practically destroys all happiness that Psyche has. Selfish motivations blind her into believing that she is doing Psyche a favor by destroying her marriage to the god on the Grey mountain. Orual uses every kind of manipulative technique throughout the book to get what she wants. She not only destroys Psyche's life, but everyone who surrounds her, including herself. Orual commits the biggest sin when she lies to herself, telling herself that she's doing all of this for her sister, that her sister could be making the biggest mistake of her life, and that Psyche's happiness is foolish. Orual is dripping with the "if only she could see things the way I do, the right way" attitude. It makes me sick, but mostly because as I stated above, it hits so close to home. Any book that can bring emotions out of you as strongly as it did to me is either a literary masterpiece or a piece of trash. I promise you that this book is the former, and not the latter.

I can't say I was pleased with the whole book, though. It is broken up into two parts. The first takes up about 9/10 of the book, and the second only 1/10. In the second part, Orual pretty much redeems herself for all the evil and sinful deeds she's done throughout the previous 250 pages. To me, this ending was completely unsatisfactory. It turns Orual into a hero, sets everything right. I didn't buy it for too reasons. One, it was way too easy. Orual's penance in no way made up for the horrible things she'd done. And two, it was a little to abstract for me. It didn't match the first section of the book, but was all dreams and visions. The second part let me down. I would have liked an ending based a little more in reality. I just couldn't relate to the second part.

The second part notwithstanding, it was a great book. A good investment of time for anyone I would say. It's not perfect, but it doesn't pretend to be. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a very thought-provoking good book. But don't take my word for it, read it yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Till we have faces, a most excellent book
Review: I was assigned to read this book for an intensive wrinting course at brigham young university. Needless to say i wasn't very excited about the assignment. It seemed like high school all over again, and besides, i was still trying to finish "King Lear" by shakespeare. and i'm still struggling to finish it. But anyways, "Till we have faces" was a great book. I'm sure you don't want me to ruin the book for you, but i'll tell you that it was a great story, taken from the greek myth about psyche and cupid (if you haven't read the greek myth, you're still okay, and you won't get lost in the story). But the novel is about two sisters (they have a third, but she isn't important). One of the sisters is really ugly, and the other is beautiful. the town has a plague, and the beautiful daughter is to be the sacrifice for the plague to go away. so they decided to sacrifice her. Lots of things happen after that regarding the beautiful sister (psyche) and the ugly sister (orual). Orual eventually becomes the queen of the land and she's a good queen, does lots of wonderful things, but eventually she decides to write down her life story when she's very old. so she does. but eventually Lewis has to end the book (maybe he was tired) so orual dies, and the story's over. If you want to know the details of the book, you're just gonna have to read it yourself, because i don't want to ruin it by telling to much, because i'm afraid i already have, although i hope i haven't really. So that's the book, buy it, read it, and ENJOY IT. Have fun, it's not as long as it seems, the time goes by really fast when you read it, so don't lose track of the world around you, or you'll end up late for work or something.

Rating:
Summary: New Twist on the Old Cupid/Psyche Myth
Review: Till We Have Faces puts a new twist on the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche. C. S. Lewis spices it up with making Psyche's castle invisible to the sister, changing the setting and the characters and adding characters. Lewis places the story in a fantastical land that believes in their own goddess named Ungit (the Greek Aphrodite). As in the original the king has three daughters, of which the youngest is the most beautiful. Her name is Istra, but her older sister Orual calls her Psyche because of the stories she has heard of the Greek myth. I really enjoyed how Lewis unfolds the whole story and how he tells it from Orual's perspective. It really seems to come more realistic from her viewpoint. Orual reacts to things in much the same way as the rest of us, whereas Psyche seems almost god-like from the beginning. I really delighted in the religious allusions that Lewis always manages to include in his writings. The similarities between Jesus Christ and Psyche are amazing. Everything that she did and went through could compared to His life in some way or another. Orual's growth of understanding and knowledge progressed throughout the story, which helped me relate to her a lot more. As I go through life I learn from the experiences and come to understand that although I don't understand everything that is going on, there is a purpose for it. Other of Lewis' new ideas such as making the castle invisible helped me to understand how hard it would have been to believe that Psyche was married to a god. If I saw it, I don't think it would be as hard to fathom as if I didn't. That kind of alludes the basis of faith. Seeing is not always believing. Lewis has an amazing ability to write and is able to get his message across very well. His twist on the old Greek myth brings in the more modern thoughts of Christianity.