Like several other commenters, I have read a lot of C.S. Lewis, both fiction and non-fiction. this is different from the rest, and I recommend it highly. It is much more adult in focus than the Chronicles of Narnia. Part of it, as might be expected, discusses several views on the relationship between deity (or deities, in this case) and the individual. During the extended first part of the book, which has a queenly, ugly older sister angry at the gods for their treatment of her younger, beautiful, and adored younger sister. Are the gods fair and caring, or are they capricious, uncaring despots. The first part of the book comes to the view that the gods are probably uncaring and cruel, or at least they are silent and have some explaining to do. At the same time the older sister/ queen reviews her own behavior and attitudes and decides that while she might have done better, there is no major fault in herself. She challenges the gods to defend themselves. The second part of the book changes course markedly, as some chance circumstances and then dreams and visions help her to review the situations recounted earlier from other viewpoints. As the queen nears death, she comes to realize that her motives were not as pure as she had thought, and her understanding of what was going on not as complete as she believed. This happens in layers. She comes to judge the gods as more fair and open than she had believed, and her own behavior less worthy.
It is the self-discovery of her own layers of behavior and motives that I find the most appealing part of the book. How many of us can look back and discover that we are self-deceived as to how we behaved and thought?
This is a good read on the surface, and it offers layers of thoughtfulness for a person who chooses to use it to reflect on his or her own life.

Lewis's retelling of the Psyche myth, I think I first read this in college and it messed with my head a bit. The tone is much darker than his other works and doesn’t have as clear a sign of hope, either. But it is one of the best books I’ve read. And there’s a scene in the middle that is the best depiction I’ve read describing how our experience of life is limited to how we see it — that we can miss out on what life has to offer when we choose doubt over faith.

Don't let the slow pacing discourage you; if you're at all interested, the time spent with these pages is worthwhile.

When I first started reading this, I thought to myself "this is pretty boring." After a while it got a bit more interesting—but at the same time more lonely, more heartbreaking, more tragic. At the beginning I didn't sympathize with the characters. Now when I was over halfway? I cried for them. I raged for them. And I prayed for them. I kept thinking "this just isn't fair. It has to get better. It has to." And then the confusing philosophical stuff started in Part Two, and even though I only understood half of it I was still drawn in by it. The pieces of the puzzle that had haunted Orual for so long started to fall into place. The emotions she felt, the dreams she dreamt, the hardships she suffered—it all seemed to come together in a heartbreaking finale of grief, guilt, love, jealousy, and loneliness.
I am still a little bewildered by this book, but commend Lewis for his writing prowess.

Could hardly be better, rewarding the reader's engagement while crafting a compelling new vision of a timeless story.

I loved this book! I'd never heard of the story of cupid and psyche till I had to read this book in 8th grade for literature class but I'm glad I did because it's a wonderful book! I just adore any thing by C.S.Lewis!

This was a beautifully written story about an ugly sister who tells the story as a sort of memoir. The first 'book' expresses her anger with the gods, but the second book is her older and wiser take on the first book. I never wanted the second book to end and the ending made me feel so peaceful that I wanted to laugh and cry and everything all at once.

A unique retelling of Cupid and Psyche story, told from the view point of Psyche's sister. A classic!

C.S. Lewis considers this his best work. It was slow starting. I kept thinking "why did he like this one so much". In the end I liked it too, I still like the Narnia series best and think they are truly his best works.