Till We Have Faces - Another great C. S. Lewis book that surprised me

Till We Have Faces - C.S. Lewis, Fritz Eichenberg

I was surprised when I was assigned this book for a senior college course because I'd never even heard of this book. Even though I haven't read all of C. S. Lewis' books, I had thought I'd heard about all of them. This seemed to have sprung up out of no where.


Then I started to read it and I was even more surprised. This is an amazing story, blending a well-known myth with a more fleshed out story and more developed characters. The story by itself is intriguing and original; the deeper meaning behind so much of it merely adds to how good this story is. Why did I know about this before? My family, who are huge Lewis fans, didn't even know about it.

If you know the Cupid and Psyche myth, you know basically where this story is going. What is unique is that the story does not focus on either of the main characters, but rather on 'Psyche's' sister, who is not as beautiful as her sister and often overlooked. This is more her story as she sees the story unfold from the sidelines and tries to deal with the emotions her sister and the entire situation cause her.

This is a great book for someone who likes myths but has always wished to read more than the basic outline so many of them take. This is a grown up, fleshed out version of a myth and that alone makes it well worth a read. It also makes you think, which is even better.