Till We Have Faces

A retelling of Cupid and Psyche, “Till We Have Faces” is retold through the eyes of Psyche’s oldest sister, Orual.

Orual was born ugly and even though she’s a princess, she struggles with the death of her mother and the friction between her sisters. There are two lights in Orual’s life. One is her tutor, the Fox, a Greek slave captured through war. The other is her much younger sister Istra, later nicknamed Psyche, born from Orual’s father’s second marriage. Istra is beautiful and sweet and good but far from being jealous of her, Orual loves her as a daughter. When the priest of Ungit says that Psyche’s great beauty is an insult to the goddess and she must be sacrificed, Orual fights to prevent this. When Orual expects to find her sister dead, she finds her well and thriving. But, why can’t Orual see what everyone else sees? Blinded by her jealous love, Orual casts blame on the duplicity of gods. What is the truth? What is real?

Lewis’s novel examines love, envy, loss, betrayal, blame, grief, and guilt.