Great book--meant to be read again and again

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	• Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold C.S. Lewis Harcourt Brace & Company, 1980 - 324 pages average customer review:based on 189 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Excellent Story Telling

I bought this book on recommendation from a friend and I could not agree with her positive opinions more. The story was engaging and exciting. I found myself identifying with the characters while at the same time wondering at their actions and words. Also, I found that while most books have unsatisfactory endings, this book has one of the best last paragraphs I've ever read.

A story of Leadership Relevant to Us Today

The main character, Queen Orual, in C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces has a bit of an image problem. She was very ugly as a youth and the ghastly response her face evokes from others causes her to wear a veil in front of them. Physical beauty is almost always an invaluable asset for a leader to possess. It helps enhance their image and how others perceive them. Lewis explores the effect of appearance as well as other different aspects of image in this remarkable book.

On the surface, this is a sophisticated retelling of the Cupid and Psyche myth (my favorite one, actually) from the point of view of one of the jealous sisters. We get to learn much, much more about Psyche, her family and the culture into which she was born. We are presented with an in-depth exploration of a pagan, pre-Christian, barbarian tribe on the fringe of Western Civilization and how they come to be influenced by the blossoming and dominant Greek culture and philosophy. Lewis uses iconic characters to display the great, cultural shift from a barbaric, pagan worldview into the civilized Greek philosophy. So sophisticated is Lewis' narrative that you can also anticipate how the worldview will shift from Greek philosophy into Christian philosophy, which is itself a further refinement of Aristotle and Plato.

The way the story is constructed, told in first person by a Queen reflecting on formative moments in her life, likely had an influence on one of our favorite authors, Gene Wolfe. The character of Orual and the way she tells her story seem to be a precursor to Severian (c.f., The Book of the New Sun) and perhaps even Silk (c.f., The Book of the Long Sun). Near the end of the book, a pagan priest finishes up the tale for her, just like Horn chronicled the Patera Caldé. We also notice a broader picture of the events occurring around the characters, although they may not realize the importance of them at the time. Names also are translated into their literal Greek meanings such as the character Lysias who is always referred to as The Fox. We see this type of thing often in Wolfe.

All comparative analysis aside, the book's greatest achievement is demonstrating how image helps a leader motivate people and maintain order. Perception, rather than reality, can make or break a leader. Controlling how others perceive you is one of the main jobs of someone in a leadership role. Like the works of Machiavelli or Robert Greene, this book highlights the reasons why it is important for a ruler to appear a certain way and to always maintain control over emotions while in front of others.   For example, a leader must never appear weak or foolish. The rabble wants a strong leader, not a buddy. When times get tough, and they always do, the rabble will turn to the leader. If the leader is weak, they will turn ON him. If he is strong, they will trust him, even if he is brutal as long as the brutality is does not push them into rebellion.

We get to know two main political leaders, each displaying a different level of "image" control. First, we meet a Warrior King, who--although valorous on the battlefield--is cowardly, blustering and tyrannical. He is politically backward and does not tend to his image at all. As a result, he spends a great deal of time and energy stamping out insurrections and fighting pointless, pyrrhic skirmishes with neighboring kingdoms. After his much celebrated death, his daughter, Orual takes over. She is very focused on image, even taking the drastic step of hiding her ugly appearance behind a veil. Not only does this mask her foul looks, it actually creates an aura of mystique around her, enhancing her image. Below the superficial, though, Orual is brave, diplomatic, wise and merciful.   Before you get too worried, dear reader, take heart. This isn't feminist "women good, men bad" stuff. It is highly unlikely that an Inkling would espouse such beliefs.

Underlying the image control of each leader is their unique leadership style. The King relies too heavily on his oppressive power and blustery personality to sustain his reign. He neglects nearly all other aspects of his kingdom and does not build a very good infrastructure to counter the bad times. The Queen, however, always tries to appear calm, majestic and wise. She never loses her composure in front of her subjects.   She instinctively understands how this will undermine her credibility.   As a result, her people trust her and she motivates them to new levels of achievement. She also has an eye on the future and invests time into her kingdom rewarding and recruiting talented artisans, craftsmen, builders and scholars. It is initially an expensive venture, but ultimately her investment pays off. Her backwater, barbaric kingdom flourishes and becomes a rich and mighty center of culture. Her "command and control" father ruled with an iron hand and would have never invested money on builders when he could conquer and enslave a smaller, neighboring kingdom.

A very good example of the contrasts between these two managerial approaches is shown by the attitude each ruler takes towards their kingdom's only valuable commodity, silver. The kingdom has several mines in operation during the king's reign. The king does not see the potential in the mines and primarily uses them for capital punishment. He sends his prisoners, enslaved enemies and political adversaries there to work hard labor until they die. As one would expect, output, production and profits are not pouring out of these mines. Orual, however, clearly sees the potential in the rich, silver deposits and completely overhauls the mining operation. She frees the slaves and prisoners and replaces them with skilled laborers. These laborers are allowed to keep any silver they mine over a certain quota. Since skilled, motivated, profit-sharing laborers are always more productive than slaves, the mines are soon working to full capacity.   The wealth pouring forth begets technological and cultural innovations which then lead to even higher levels of wealth and satisfaction. The kingdom is rich and the people are happy and fulfilled. Orual has done well.   Her fair and democratic managerial style has reversed the nearly fatal autocratic style of her bumbling predecessor.

Orual's focus on image and how she is perceived by her subjects plays a large role in the success of her administration.   It allows her to inspire confidence in her people, challenge the status quo and turn around a failing enterprise. These lessons are as true today in our modern business world as there were in the pagan, uncivilized and barbaric world of Till We Have Faces.

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An Astonishing and Gripping Book

C.S. Lewis retells the myth of Cupid and Psyche, making Psyche's sister the narrator. He changes the myth slightly, and the story starts considerably earlier in the order of things than does the myth that we all know.

Lewis brings his theological and philosophical skills to bear on such questions as whether gods perform evil acts, whether humans are capable of understanding their actions, and how events appear to different observers. A tour de force.

Wow, my head is thick and full now

that I have read Till We Have Faces. What an amazing book. Lewis had an uncanny knack for reaching in and grabbing hold. I must admit I started reading this book and couldn't stop. It made me feel a little bit like I was drowning, but I think it was wonderful excercise for my mind. I have so long been reading what is passing for Christian fiction that my brain had become numb. What a wonderful way to brush away the cobwebs and really dig in to something substantial. It made me uncomfortable to a degree, like something that hits just a little to close to home. Greedy, all-consuming, self-centered love at the expense of others, or worse at the expense of those you are supposed to love best. Ouch. I am a Lewis fan now and ever more.

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Great book--meant to be read again and again

I purchased this book to read it for the first time. It was wonderful, like all of the other works of Lewis that I have been able to read. I found myself thinking, even as I was reading it, that it would deserve a second visit. The story itself is very intriguing, but Lewis intends to communicate a lot about how we can know truth.

Highly Recommended.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, page 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

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