Meanwhile, in Rivendell . . .

In my early teens, I adopted a reading motto.  C.S. Lewis had said that, "It is a good rule, after you finish a new book, never to allow yourself another new book until you have read an old one in between" — and by golly, if it was good enough for Clive, it was good enough for me.  So, I implemented that practice.  I alternated faithfully between books I'd never read before and books I had  read before.  After finishing a new-to-me book, I'd begin a reread; after I finished a reread, I'd begin another new-to-me.  I followed this "rule" fairly religiously for several years, if I recall correctly, balancing old and new in a straight 1:1 ratio.  (As I was already in the habit of rereading quite a bit on a regular basis, it wasn't that difficult; it simply became a strict formula rather than a flexible inclination.) Now, over time, I've realized how dogmatic that rule is and how silly it is to impose any kind of ironclad restriction upon my leisure r...

Several months ago, a friend asked me if I'd ever thought about which actors I would cast if I was creating a film version of Till We Have Faces .  At the time, I hadn't.  This book would be very tricky to adapt to the screen, in my opinion, and so I'd never really considered it.  But then I was creating a dream cast for a different book, and it got me in the dream-casting mood, and ideas started rolling in. 😉  So, here goes. Redival Hailee Steinfeld Trunia Rafi Gavron The King Brendan Fraser Batta Rebecca Front The Priest James Spader Ansit (Bardia's Wife) Sarah Gadon Bardia Matthias Schoenaerts Lysias (The Fox) Paul Bettany Psyche Ginny Gardner . . . . . Now, as regards the main character herself.  This was difficult because a major part of the plot revolves around Orual's supposed "ugliness," and the different ways people treat her as a result.  I don't really think that anyo...

Each breath I drew let into me new terror, joy, overpowering sweetness. Y'AAALLLLLLL. I maintain that the last 11+ pages of Till We Have Faces are probably the finest literature I've ever read.  Every time, I'm floored by the brilliance and the heartbreaking humanity.  Talk about a powerful depiction of the age-old conflict between God and man.  For this last recap, I don't really want to follow the same format as the previous three weeks.  Instead, I want to talk with you all about your thoughts, on the book as a whole and also on this last part specifically.   It can be a hard book to pinpoint.  Is Ungit real, or is she not?  If she is, in what way is she real?  Is "the god's" relationship with Psyche literal (i.e. sexual)?  Is the religion supposed to mirror the actual way in which God relates to us?  Or is it not?   Personally, I think Lewis's philosophical intentions are tangled up with his retellin...

And if [the gods] can indeed change the past, why do they never do so in mercy? Stuff's getting real now, isn't it? Discussion Questions 1.  When thinking about Psyche as she was before the debacle of the Great Sacrifice, Orual characterizes the time as "when she was still happy, and still mine."  How does this sum up the possessiveness of Orual's love for Psyche?  What does it say about how she views her? 2.  Lewis describes Orual's reaction to the King's potentially fatal illness in this way:   "The largeness of a world in which he was not . . . the clear light of a sky in which that cloud would no longer hang . . . freedom."   Isn't it extraordinary how the author is able to capture and convey the feelings of an abuse survivor so accurately? 3.   In this book, Lewis gives a lot of insight into the realities of life as a soldier.  How much did Lewis's own experience as a WWI veteran influence his writing, both in general ...

I perceived now that there is a love deeper than theirs who seek only the happiness of their beloved. So that took a little longer than expected, didn't it? 😜 Oh, well.  Here I am, better late than never, to recap the past week's reading of Till We Have Faces .  I have less to say at this point, so it'll be briefer than last week's. Discussion Questions 1.  Psyche is described before her "sacrifice" as being painted and costumed beyond recognition.  Do you see any additional Crucifixion parallels in that?  Why might Lewis incorporate any of those sort of parallels into a character who does not seem meant to be a Christ figure? 2.   Bardia claims that "You see [the King] at his worst with women and priests and politic men.  The truth is, he's half afraid of them."   Why would the King be afraid of them?  Does he recognize some strength in them that he knows he does not possess? 3.  Orual feels it is her duty to squelch any...

"The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing . . . " The first week of our Till We Have Faces read-along is completed!  Huzzah!  Great excitement and all that. I think my default format for these recaps will be to give a series of discussion questions for our commenting edification, as well as my own thoughts on some of them.  Then I'll share some of my favorite quotes/passages from the week's assigned reading.  Sound good?  Let's get started. Discussion Questions 1. What do you think of the book's opening line and paragraphs?  Why are they effective?  I think they're terrific because they establish the tone and theme of the story from the first possible moment.  They are bold, simple, and direct; there's a sense of myth intertwined with a painful relevancy.  2. Orual often talks about a "smell of holiness" entering (or contaminating) a space.  How could a character believably recognize holiness in a scen...

Hello, everyone! Just a reminder that the Till We Have Faces read-along is officially starting today!  This week, January 3-10, we'll be reading chapters 1-7 of Part 1.  I'll plan to do my first recap post on the 10th. 😊 Happy reading!

If you're involved in any type of online community (and, if you're reading this, we're going to assume that you are because logic), you've probably noticed a steady influx over the past couple weeks of posts sporting titles/content such as "year in review," "top ten xyz," "goals for [next year]," etc.  In fact, you may feel like you've been clobbered over the head with them. Even I've contributed with my last two posts.  And, to be clear, there's absolutely nothing wrong with having fun looking back over your last twelve months, rehashing your favorite pictures or memories or books.  Nothing at all. But have any of you ever felt oppressed rather than inspired by all the end-of-the-year hullabaloo?  Do any of you ever feel an unpleasant expectation to summarize your time or devote a certain amount of energy or excitement to celebrating the turn of the year (or, as in this case, the turn of the decade)?  Are you someo...

Hello, everyone!  Thank you all so much for your feedback when I brought this up as a possibility a while back.  After a decent amount of consideration, I've decided to host a read-along of C.S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces , to take place from January 3-31, 2020 . We will be taking the book in four segments, reading between five and seven chapters per week.  (They're pretty short chapters, don't worry.)  Here's how I've scheduled it out: January 3-10: Part 1 Chapters 1-7 January 10-17: Part 1 Chapters 8-14 January 17-24: Part 1 Chapters 15-21 January 24-31: Part 2 Chapters 1-4 My plan is to do a recap post each week, sharing some of my own personal highlights as well as a few discussion questions.  Hopefully we can all dialogue in the comments ⎼ or, of course, feel free to create your own posts about the book! This is one of my tip-top favorites of tip-top favorite books, and I'm really excited to experience it with you all.  I hope a l...