My son, Grant, was 13 when he first read Lewis' tale, Till We Have Faces...and he promptly declared it to be "the best book I've ever read!" From a child who had already devoured Chesterton, Tolkien, Stevenson, Homer, Austen and Orwell, this was a weighty endorsement. I knew I had to read it. That was 3 years ago!
When I picked it up again last Friday, it marked my third attempt to engage with the story. I've had that experience before...with rather insignificant works such as The Hobbit, Les Miserables, and The Count of Monte Cristo, all of which became favorites of mine once I finally read them! Some books require the right frame of mind before they can be taken in. So...once again, I started at the very beginning (a very good place to start) and this time my imagination was immediately drawn in.
However, I was continually plagued by a distinct and unsettling awareness that there was more going on than I could grasp. I was very unsure how to rightly interpret characters and events. "What does all this really mean?" I feared reaching the end without understanding or resolution.
But then...ah, then!...came Book II! I know. I understand. I get it.
Once again, beyond all reason, Lewis has masterfully crafted a story which knocks a man's heart out by its transmission of profound truth - truth that cannot be sufficiently ascertained through maxims and doctrinal statements, but which pierces, penetrates and permeates the soul.
Really. It's that good.
Though I readily admit that this story defies explanation - it must be experienced - it won't surprise you that I will attempt to articulate a couple of its truths anyway. Trust me when I say that the power of these truths is magnified a hundredfold by reading the story itself, and my remarks are only intended to solidify those truths in my own mind and to move you to "take up and read!"
OK...nevermind! After laboring for several hours, I find I cannot adequately summarize the central truths of this story! So, I'll leave it at this:
In the end, we must have our faces unveiled and be utterly exposed...before ourselves and everyone else. We then see in our own face all the ugliness which we previously thought was around us, in everyone else, and imposed by the often-silent and uncaring Deity. This unmasking brings to light our motives, the failure of our perceived successes, and our self-absorbed misinterpretation of our own and other's lives. Only after we see ourselves rightly and are unmade by what we see, can we be made new and given faces that are beautiful and radiant. From death comes true life...
That is a very weak summary, but the best I can do! READ THE BOOK!! You won't be sorry...promise.
6 comments:
Lori, Jason got this book for Christmas. He LOVED it!
Hey, Donna! I heard him telling Pastor Anderson on Sunday that he had just read it...and liked it! Makes me wonder why HE liked it. Guess I'll have to ask him!
Do you get to read much these days? I would think not as long as you're homeschooling. Hey, thanks for stopping by the blog!
I loved the Tolkien books but faltered when it came to finish reading Les Miserables--I made the comment about midway through the book that if the story goes back one more time I was finished with the book. Needless to say, it went back and I didn't finish it. Part of the problem was remembering what I read because there was too much time between some of the reads. Thanks for letting us know about Lewis' book. Joanie
Yeah, this is one of my favorite books. One of Lewis' too little known works.
"What? Would you like to be Redival? No? Then she is worthy of pity."
Joanie, Les Mis is so worth the effort of slugging through the hard parts! Really! But it's definitely one that you need to read consecutive days. The plot is too complicated to put it down for a while and pick it back up, that's for sure. You can DO IT!!
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