Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis - REVIEW
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis is, in my opinion, one of the greatest novels ever written. Published in 1956, it is a retelling of the Cupid and Psyche myth from Greek mythology. The original myth had haunted Lewis throughout his life, for he perceived many of the characters’ motivations as being irrational. Lewis set out to correct the flaws in the tale, the end result being this exquisite, emotionally resonant novel.
The story is set in the fictional city-state of Glome, a primitive polis on the margins of Hellenic civilisation. Our narrator is Oruel, the bitter and ugly princess of Glome. A lonely child, Oruel soons gains a companion in the form of a beautiful half-sister named Psyche. Oruel grows incredibly jealous and possessive over her sister, and is loathe to share her with the rest of the world. When Psyche is inevitably taken, Oruel is distraught and blames the gods for their injustice. How could they, who made her so wretched and hateful to all the world, take from her the one piece of beauty she possessed? If they are so powerful, why do they hide away and make men chase after mocking shadows? Why, if they are so good and great, can they treat men with decency and respect? Yes, the gods (or God, rather) are cruel, and they deserve nothing but scorn.
So does Oruel charge heaven with crimes against humankind.
Till We Have Faces is, in some ways, an uncomfortable book. It is uncomfortable because of how honestly it portrays the ugly side of human nature. It was a terrible and wonderful glimpse into how a mind can warp reality without even realising it. Oruel has one of the most well-developed subconscious minds in all of literature, and the great genius of Lewis’ book is that the reader must work as hard as the narrator to uncover the truth. Part of this lies in the beauty of Lewis’ writing. Till We Have Faces is written in a wonderful, Grecian style. The prose is subtle and sparse, with many of the novel’s most salient points hinted at rather than stated outright. This is perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Lewis’ novel, and what catapults it into the upper echelons of literature: how well it evokes the elusive nature of truth, and our shortcomings in trying to find it.
C.S. Lewis considered Till We Have Faces to be his best and most mature work, an evaluation with which I whole-heartedly agree. I was never a fan of the Narnia books, finding Lewis’ barefaced sermonising irritating beyond belief. There is none of that here. Although Till We Have faces is, without a doubt, a Christian novel, one does not need to be a Christian to enjoy it. The themes and questions that arise from this novel are universal ones, and cut right to the heart of what makes us human: what is the nature of grievance? Why must we suffer needlessly? Do love and envy share a common origin? Perhaps the answers to such questions rely just as much on what is not said than what is, and it is for that reason that Till We Have Faces is one of my favourite novels.
Rating – 10/10
