Till We Have Faces is my favorite book of all time. Ever since I first read it in seventh grade, I have read it at least once every year, and every time I read it I fall more and more in love with everything about it.
Till We Have Faces is the Greek myth of Psyche and Cupid retold in a semi-historical context and narrated by Psyche's sister, Orual. For those of you who don't know the myth, I'll supply a brief summary.
Orual, a princess of Phars, is looked down upon by her abusive father (and the rest of the world in general) because of her supposed ugliness. Her main joy in life is caring for her stepsister, Psyche, and spending time learning from the Fox, a Greek slave. As Psyche grows older, she becomes so beautiful that people start to worship her as a goddess. The priest says that the gods are angered by this and that Psyche must be sacrificed to the Shadowbrute, the god of the mountain, and become his bride (and his meal.) Orual goes to the mountain to find Psyche and secretly bring her home, but Psyche, alone in the wilderness, is convinced that she lives in a grand palace and will not leave her "husband." The events that follow challenge every idea of love you might have had, from the bond between sisters to marriage to the power we love to feel over our own lives.
C. S. Lewis will forever remain my literary role model. Chances are, you'll hear me talking about more of his work later (such as The Screwtape Letters, A Grief Observed, and The Magician's Nephew. Those are some of my absolute favorites!)
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