Title: Till We Have Faces (A Myth Retold)
Author: C.S. Lewis
Three years ago a friend gave me an old marked up copy of this book imploring me to read it. I was never a huge fan of C.S. Lewis so it was easy to put off its reading until recently, when I finally decided to get it out of the way.&nbsp; I was pleasantly surprised. In the beginning it reads like many other &ldquo;old tales,&rdquo; but as the narrator, Orual, continued, I realized it is something more. The book is a reworking of the Cupid and Psyche myth of Greek mythology, set in a small barbaric country. The narrator reveals herself to be very different from the princess characters seen in other novels of this time. Referred to by her father as &ldquo;Curd face,&rdquo; she is a character who must handle being dealt &ldquo;the face of a goblin&rdquo; and her virginity in a house with two beautiful sisters, an abusive father, and no mother. However, these are petty matters in light of the rest of the plot.&nbsp; Essentially this book is a complaint against the gods, an accusation for a court made by a mortal to challenge deity. It is about love, the love of an outwardly asexual woman for her sister-child, her love for the people that surround her, which never seems to satisfy them.&nbsp; Orual is a jealous, self-centered and stubborn character in amounts appropriate to her barbarian pedigree but she is also noble in her own way and single minded with such devotion that it is hard to tell if she is an obsessive glutton for the love she wants or completely selfless.&nbsp; Is to love something to devour it?This is a book that is not for all readers.&nbsp; Of the three people I know who have read this book two loved it and say it is far better than any of the Narnia books and the other said it was tedious and he could not even complete it. (But he also said he rarely enjoys a book where the leading character is female, if I may discredit him.)&nbsp; In the latter half, the book does become somewhat philosophical and spiritual, following along as Orual fights an battle to decide if she is god or will declare war on the gods. In the end, I would recommend this book to people who feel they are not limited to modern fiction and want more than just an easy no-think read. You do not have to be C.S. Lewis follower to enjoy this book, in fact even if you are slightly frightened of Lewis you may still enjoy this read and find it provoking. Many Christians overlook this book because of its roots in mythology while many adult secular readers wouldn&rsquo;t even pick it up after seeing who wrote it, so it has become a hidden treasure. Till We Have Faces explores what it is to be human, and it is a profound and thought provoking book. -Erin