Reviews tagging 'Death'

Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

5 reviews

seforaflorian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

kierasreadingjournal's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse

Moderate: Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Grief

Minor: War

peperopoi's review against another edition

emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Lovely examination of what it means to love someone through the lens of a controversial Greek myth. Lewis' portrayal of women, their intellect, and their struggles in this novel is great, especially given his record. It seems this is due to the influence of his future wife, Joy Davidman, before he realized that he was in love with her which adds another layer of depth to the many already present within the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Sexism

Moderate: Death, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Rape and Sexual violence

Regarding sexual violence and rape: these themes are not explicitly discussed, but the ambiguity of the relationship between the characters that represent Psyche and Cupid implies that there may be an unhealthy, dangerous dynamic present.

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

adventurous relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

It could be slow at times and difficult to get into. But as always though I love Lewis’ writing and marked a few passages!

The story is more from the perspective of Psyche’s sister, Orual, which I was a bit disappointed by since it’s said to be a story of Psyche and Cupid. I didn’t know much about the myth before this did a great job of telling both the myth and the story from Orual’s POV.

I’d like to read more retellings of this myth because it’s so interesting and this didn’t quite provide what I was looking for. It was a good novel but I’d love to read the myth from Psyche and/or Cupid’s perspective as well!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Misogyny

Moderate: Death, Slavery, and Grief

Minor: Body shaming

chrisljm's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I’m not sure if I would’ve liked this book more if I hadn't already known the story of Psyche and Eros, because I can be more forgiving of a sister seeking to destroy Psyche’s happiness out of envy rather than one who ruined it due to ego. One, who weaponized the love Psyche had for her so that she could get what she wanted, because she claimed to know best. It was also frustrating seeing Orual take no responsibility for all the decisions and actions she made, instead placing blame on the gods and a lack of agency. She was incapable of looking beyond herself at all. “There’s one part love in your heart, and five parts anger, and seven parts pride.” 

I really only liked the last chapter of the book, seeing Orual realize all her visions were the tasks Psyche had to complete, and the phrase “you also are Psyche” being understood. As much as I didn’t care for the other parts of the novel, I loved how the hardships assigned to Psyche were ultimately split between her and Orual: for while Psyche were to complete the tasks, Orual bore all the anguish. This part alone deserves so much praise.

But the funniest part of the book was when Psyche pulled a Tai Fraiser and basically said “why am I even listening to you. you’re a virgin who can’t drive” to her sister. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail