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The King of Glome has three daughters: Orual the malaimée, Redival, jealous and quarrelsome, and finally Istra child whose unearthly beauty will soon earn him the adoration of the people and the wrath of the goddess Ungit and its clergy. After a season of drought and famine, the king cornered by priests, Istra agrees to offer a sacrifice to the monster of the mountain. To avenge his sister, Orual embarks on a desperate struggle against his father, the traditions of his kingdom and the tyranny of Ungit. She can count on his quest on two allies Fox, his Greek tutor, who dreams of making it an enlightened monarch, and Bardia, the captain of the guards, who will become an accomplished warrior.

Author:
When finished the last volume of the Mande Narnia. CS Lewis (1898-1963) was far from suspecting that he would make him a superstar. Translated into more than 27 languages ​​and sold millions of copies worldwide, it represents one of the largest literary and cinematographic successes of recent decades. Member of the very select group of Oxford Inklings with his friend JRR Tolkien, Lewis, despite the commercial success of Narnia, has always considered long as we do not have to face his greatest romantic success.

304 pages
September 15, 2011
Editions Anne Carrière
17 € 10

I discovered this book while shopping, and if the cover is intriguing, the summary left me skeptical, and finally because of the name of the author that this book has come to my library.
For if the name may seem unknown to you, everyone knows CS Lewis, the famous writer of the equally famous Chronicles of Narnia!

In this book, Lewis revisits the Greek myth of Psyche, the young woman, 3rd daughter of a king, a great beauty, so great Aphrodite, jealous, demand sacrifice and sends her son, Cupid, to destroy . Except that the latter falls in love, saves her and takes her to his palace. The girl is happy but never saw the face of his savior. And when her sisters come to visit, jealous of his fortune, and asks him to ignore the orders of her husband and her see his face, Psyche obeyed.
To his misfortune, because here she is alone in the desert, having to carry out several missions Aphrodite be forgiven and found her husband (for more detailed story is here )

Except that the story is told by the eldest of three sisters, Orual, and its language (or at least the names). The latter denies the Greek version and gives us his own, not necessarily warmer.
Names catch you off guard. Psyche is called Istra, Aphrodite Ungit ... After a few pages, you end up getting done.

I found this book very interesting, by the version of Orual against this myth. She tries to clear itself, explain, justify, and finally make amends.
Finally, she is the heroine of this novel, because it follows after the exile of Psyche, his accession to the throne, his regrets and his "trial" and finally his death.

Still, I would not call this book "the greatest romantic success" Lewis. Already because of the lengths of its uninteresting passages. Secondly, because, unlike Narnia can reach the greatest number, this novel will resonate in the readings of people who are interested in mythology. Others are bored or find it useless and easily readable book.

I still had a good time, spent the first few chapters a little breadsticks, and I am committed to Orual, which seemed to me to be more of a mother hen and possessive than jealous bitter.

In short, a book that reads well, despite its flaws

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