Till We Have Faces

I read a lot but there isn't a lot I read more than once. "Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold" is one of a handful of books I've read more than once. I picked it up again this week and was again reminded of what a powerful piece of work it is. C.S. Lewis retells the story of Cupid and Psyche as only he can.

Here are some quotes from it...the beauty of the story is I can't ruin it by sharing quotes or things written in it because the journey, not the end, is the point of the book...

"And the voice I read it in was strange to my ears. There was given to me a certainty that this, at last, was my real voice."

"The complaint was the answer. To have heard myself making it was to be answered. Lightly men talk of saying what they mean. Often when he was teaching me to write in Greek the Fox would say, "Child, to say the very thing you really mean, the whole of it, nothing more or less or other than what you really mean; that's the whole art and joy of words." A glib saying. When the time comes to you at which you will be forced at last to utter the speech which has lain at the center of your soul for years..."

"I ended my first book with the words no answer. I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice? Only words, words; to be led out to battle against other words. Long did I hate you, long did I fear you. I might..."

C.S. Lewis weaves throughout the story the power of love in its purest and love in its most destructive forms, the ways we hurt those we love because of our own fears and insecurities, the sacrifices we make for the sake of love, finding your true voice, beauty and feminity, strength, and power...it sears your heart and mind. And my own words can hardly do this story justice.

There is SO much to ponder, to let my mind roll around and even a couple of days later this story sits with me waiting to be deeply understood. Few authors are as masterful in the art of enlivening my imagination and quickening my heart to God like C.S. Lewis.

If you couldn't tell, I'm a fan and highly recommend this book...
Read the original story by Hennessy