I haven't read as much C.S. Lewis as I'd like. He always sounds like he's talking to himself, and then he zaps you with something so profound that you never forget it. This book is no exception, and says many things that made me feel quite uncomfortable. CSL explores various degrees of love: affection, friendship, Eros, and charity. It's by no means an exhaustive list, but it's a great place to start thinking about the role of love in your own life and in society. ( )

As someone else stated, the book can be tedious to read. I likewise found myself rereading passages and double checking my progress. With that said, the book is fantastic and worth the read. It is uplifting and will help shape the biblical concept of love. I always find Lewis to be humble and refreshing. Worth the read! ( )

Good thoughts, as always, but I felt he didn’t go deep enough. ( )

An amazing book with excellent insight into the topic of love. This is one to add to your 'read yearly' list. I can't recommend it enough! ( )

Lewis' genius in all his writings shows forth as piercing insight in warm and delightful prose, and he brilliantly succeeds in this book. There has been more written on love than perhaps any other topic, but the vast majority is mindless drivel or hormone driven blindness or sentimental fluff or philosphical madness. Lewis will have none of that: he sets forth the nature and varieties of human and divine love, and through his keen insight allows us to see ourselves, others, and God better.

His basic franework for the book is looking at love through the four different kinds of love that the Greeks defined. He devotes chapters to the "natural" human loves of storge, the love of family affection; philia, the love of friendship; eros, the love of sexual love and romance. He looks at their characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses. He also looks at love through a three fold division between need-love, gift-love, and the love of appreciation.

Lastly, he examines agape, the selfless love of charity. In some of the most beautiful passages he ever wrote Lewis describes how agape perfects our natural loves and prepares us both to truly love God and be like Him. "When we see the face of God we shall know that we have always known it."

Leading a life marked by love is not a matter of just reading a book, but understanding the nature of God and the nature of love. This book is welcome wisdom in leading such a life. ( )

Very valuable to me in my youth when I fell in love (or thought I did) almost every day. ( )

One of Lewis' best works, I think. Much of his work is dated now, sadly, but this one holds up. The way human beings love doesn't change much from age to age and Lewis helps us make sense of the four most common "loves" available to fuck us up. ( )

As usual with Lewis, excellent analysis of the finer shadings of a topic. Among other things, the discussion of friendship, as opposed to affection, is personally helpful.

I'm on my third copy of this book. I lost the first in college, the next eventually fell apart from use, and the new one awaits fresh underlinings after twenty years of rereading. ( )

There is really some dynamite material in here. C.S. Lewis explains in typical style and clarity all that is right and wrong with love. Dealing with affection (that warm, fuzzy, it-sure-bugs-me-how-you-twiddle-your-thumbs-but-it's-endearing-in-a-funny-sort-of-a-way type of love you experience after knowing people for a while), friendship, Eros (romantic love, not to be confused with Venus (sexual passion), which is only an element of Eros), and charity, the highest of the loves, Lewis explains the glory of each, and the temptations that arise because of the glory. Much of the book is just hilarious, since he points out little faults common to us all, and he makes it easy to laugh at ourselves. But he also offers much practical advice, good for understanding and enriching our relationships.

Main thesis of the book: If you make love God, love becomes a demon. Love is a great gift from God, but because love is so lovely, it's a great temptation to serve it as the whole end and purpose of life. But if this occurs, love becomes a demon, and turns against you. Keep God at the forefront of your mind and your relationships, and love can be kept rich and sweet in its proper perspective. ( )

I normally LOVE Lewis, but I had a hard time getting through this book. For some reason, his style was hard to read and I found myself constanty just reading without paying attention to the words. Still a good book, but you have to be prepared to Focus! ( )