Another month off from school means another month to read some (of the many) works that I have been excitedly waiting to begin. I focused on three pieces of literature over the past month: C.S. Lewis’s Till We Have Faces, Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, and Walter J. Ciszek’s He Leadeth Me. So, let’s dive into a quick overview of these works.
Till We Have Faces
Till We Have Faces is an incredibly fascinating reworking of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. It beautifully explores intriguing philosophical and theological questions, bringing complex, abstract questions to an extremely personal level. This was my first C.S. Lewis novel, and I immensely enjoyed it and would recommend it.
ThE Divine Comedy
Funnily enough, I had never read any part of Dante’s Divine Comedy. “Inferno” is, of course, a very popular school read, but none of my teachers ever assigned the work. Naturally, as an English major and as someone, more broadly, who loves literature and philosophy, I felt a dire need to read the Italian poet’s masterpiece. Dante daunted me for a while, but I finally gathered the courage to tackle the entire epic poem this winter break, and I am incredibly glad that I finally did! The Divine Comedy is such a rich, compelling work; it is truly unlike any other piece of literature. So, if you have never read even one canticle of The Divine Comedy, I would definitely recommend delving into this work.
He Leadeth Me
He Leadeth Me is a breathtaking work. In it, Walter Ciszek, a Catholic priest, discusses his experiences in a Soviet prison (where he was held under the false charge that he was a Vatican spy) and a Siberian labor camp. He chronicles the grueling conditions he faced and the many internal challenges he battled during his years in the USSR, discussing how the faith he clung to nurtured him and allowed him to aid his fellow sufferers.