Scan barcode
maddly_peculiar's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
marisa_egg's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Yeah this one lost me a bit. I think the meaning of the story blew right past my head as I was struggling with the sentence structure. Also I found the events that played out to be incredibly boring… I understood the struggles our main character went through with love, but really didn’t see much of a resolution on her part.
“To love, and to lose what we love are equally things appointed for our nature. If we cannot bear the second well, that evil is ours.”
“To love, and to lose what we love are equally things appointed for our nature. If we cannot bear the second well, that evil is ours.”
makalakm's review against another edition
4.0
Of the books by C.S. Lewis that I have read, this is my favorite.
jmd862000's review against another edition
4.0
A faceless void, beheld by all
Walking in a world, to self enthralled
Where love abounds, hate is enflamed
And true hope secured, the end of our shame
It's impossible to read rightly, unless you know
That love which shines brightly, radiant glow
We see through a glass darkly, and thus in part
But we will see starkly, with true face and heart
Reader's Note: Pair this book (either before or after) with The Four Loves, which Lewis published a few years later. These two books complement each other very well as Till We Have Faces is effectively a fictional illustration of so many themes expounded in The Four Loves.
It's been a couple weeks since I finished this book, and I'm still trying to process what to make of it. It was an engaging enough story that kept me interested throughout, although I felt it dragged on at times in the middle. However, as I finished and pondered it was clear that the middle was important towards the whole. It helped that I had read an introductory essay first to give me my bearings as I proceeded through the book.
Honestly, I feel that it will take another reading to digest some of the deeper themes at work here and fully appreciate what Lewis is doing. Several elements resonated:
- The four loves: as mentioned, the characters in this work so profoundly draw out the beauty and the perversions of the various types of natural and divine love.
- Suffering and Job - while not a parallel work, I definitely caught hints of Job's troubles and his charges against God, especially when it came to Orual's airing of her true complaints.
- Self-deception - Lewis captured beautifully the way that we so easily deceive ourselves and justify our actions after the fact.
Some of my initial reticence with the book was its lack of a clearly discernable Christian framework. Although certainly you catch glimpses of a Christian view of reality with the god on the mountain, the story never quite leaves its pagan form. Once I realized my mistake of trying to read this as Christian allegory, rather than what it is - a retelling of a pagan myth to portray reality as understood by a Christian mind but still in the form and from the perspective of a pre-Christian myth - then I could begin to appreciate some of the subtle and overt imagery throughout. Lewis is not trying to write a fictional gospel tract, but tell a good story, and if in that telling he awakens something in the reader's soul that sends him seeking after, or going into deeper worship of, the true God, then it will have accomplished a good end.
See my full review...
Walking in a world, to self enthralled
Where love abounds, hate is enflamed
And true hope secured, the end of our shame
It's impossible to read rightly, unless you know
That love which shines brightly, radiant glow
We see through a glass darkly, and thus in part
But we will see starkly, with true face and heart
Reader's Note: Pair this book (either before or after) with The Four Loves, which Lewis published a few years later. These two books complement each other very well as Till We Have Faces is effectively a fictional illustration of so many themes expounded in The Four Loves.
It's been a couple weeks since I finished this book, and I'm still trying to process what to make of it. It was an engaging enough story that kept me interested throughout, although I felt it dragged on at times in the middle. However, as I finished and pondered it was clear that the middle was important towards the whole. It helped that I had read an introductory essay first to give me my bearings as I proceeded through the book.
Honestly, I feel that it will take another reading to digest some of the deeper themes at work here and fully appreciate what Lewis is doing. Several elements resonated:
- The four loves: as mentioned, the characters in this work so profoundly draw out the beauty and the perversions of the various types of natural and divine love.
- Suffering and Job - while not a parallel work, I definitely caught hints of Job's troubles and his charges against God, especially when it came to Orual's airing of her true complaints.
- Self-deception - Lewis captured beautifully the way that we so easily deceive ourselves and justify our actions after the fact.
Some of my initial reticence with the book was its lack of a clearly discernable Christian framework. Although certainly you catch glimpses of a Christian view of reality with the god on the mountain, the story never quite leaves its pagan form. Once I realized my mistake of trying to read this as Christian allegory, rather than what it is - a retelling of a pagan myth to portray reality as understood by a Christian mind but still in the form and from the perspective of a pre-Christian myth - then I could begin to appreciate some of the subtle and overt imagery throughout. Lewis is not trying to write a fictional gospel tract, but tell a good story, and if in that telling he awakens something in the reader's soul that sends him seeking after, or going into deeper worship of, the true God, then it will have accomplished a good end.
See my full review...
yenayang's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
wheresmyalimenty's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
salutemviv's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
every time i read something cs lewis has written, im slapped in the face with his utter literary genius and incredible gift for metaphors and imagery. there’s so much depth, so many layers to his reworking of this greek myth that i can’t even begin to comprehend.
i find it mysterious and beautiful how many biblical undertones and parallels he wrote into this story. towards the end it grew more and more complicated and multifaceted (of many faces?) but i believe any confusion is more due to my own shallow understanding than to any fault of his. if anything it gives me more opportunity to meditate on and research his thoughts and intentions which i will gladly pursue.
not to mention, though it was slightly slow at times, the story itself was intriguing and captured my attention. orual as a character was fascinating and getting to explore all the corners of her mind and soul was a pleasant and thought provoking experience.
still sitting on a solid rating, as i process everything i just read… my only hesitancy to give it a 5 stars is my own lack of understanding and true comprehension of some aspects. my brain is still working at connecting all the dots and the seemingly open threads that he left.
i find it mysterious and beautiful how many biblical undertones and parallels he wrote into this story. towards the end it grew more and more complicated and multifaceted (of many faces?) but i believe any confusion is more due to my own shallow understanding than to any fault of his. if anything it gives me more opportunity to meditate on and research his thoughts and intentions which i will gladly pursue.
not to mention, though it was slightly slow at times, the story itself was intriguing and captured my attention. orual as a character was fascinating and getting to explore all the corners of her mind and soul was a pleasant and thought provoking experience.
still sitting on a solid rating, as i process everything i just read… my only hesitancy to give it a 5 stars is my own lack of understanding and true comprehension of some aspects. my brain is still working at connecting all the dots and the seemingly open threads that he left.
jennifer_gamble's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
5.0
A philosophical exploration of love, devotion, obsession and hatred.
noodleoodle_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Disgusting and beautiful