I have no less than five C.S. Lewis books on my to-read pile right now: The Great Divorce, The Problem of Pain, The Four Loves, The Screwtape Letters, and there is a revolving cast of other titles that come into fifth place, depending on my mood. For instance, Mere Christianity could use a re-read. Also, I was ambivalent towards Until We Have Faces, which I read for a course in college. But I saved my copy, which means I thought I would come back to it. I wonder if a little maturity would lend a different perspective if I were to give it another try.

The Chaplain has the audio book of The Four Loves. When I noticed it was only two hours long, I knew I needed to listen to it before I tried to read any of Lewis’ other works. Amazingly, the audio is by C.S. Lewis himself, with some interjections between chapters by some famous evangelical guy – Chuck Swindoll or Chuck Colson or the sort. The audio quality and difference in tone between the two voices can be a bit of a surprise, but I found both had valuable things to say.

I discovered from Audible reviews that the audio is C.S. Lewis’ lectures on the book and not the book itself, which contains more material. Indeed, the chapters, while dense, felt like an overview. But with my reading list, it was the abridged version, or nothing at all, and I think I made the right choice.

The four types of love are Storge, Philia, Eros, and Agape love. Lewis describes each in its own chapter. During each chapter, I found myself hearing something I hadn’t thought about before or didn’t expect. It was so full of meaning at times that I may need to give it a second listen. His characterizations and examples were thought provoking and often insightful.

At times I felt hesitant to agree with him on a point, but he never failed to make me think. Eros in particular, as well as Storge, lent themselves to the lecture form. Philia was interesting, but Lewis’ gendered characterizations were tiresome. I don’t deny gender differences, but womens’ roles and options have changed since Lewis’ day (which he alluded to) and so the information felt a little dated.

Agape was the chapter I felt I could have most benefited from in book form. The lecture is just a brief overview; as the mental clouds part and you begin to feel you understand where he’s going, the section is over. At least, that’s how it was for me.

While the audio is only two hours long, those two hours pack a punch. I had to take breaks to digest what I was hearing because it was such dense material. A book I had planned to listen to over a day or two stretched out to three as I worked my way through the chapters. Each one is a lecture in its own right; I suggest listening to one at a time.

One of the top reviews of the book mentioned that Lewis’ voice is an acquired taste, and I tend to agree. His accent and tone sound very much like the queen from The Crown. I believe it was trying to focus past that to the words he was saying that caused part of the fatigue I was experiencing while listening, although the greater weight of that undoubtedly came from the heady nature of the material. In spite of that, it was fascinating to hear his voice.

Listening to The Four Loves was at once lecture, sermon, and story time. It was thoughtful and interesting, and gave me plenty to consider. If you have a bent toward Lewis, this is a good medium by which to experience his material.

I hate taking photos of audio books – the lighting never works quite right and I always have trouble editing them. So instead, my feature photo is Five and I showing an example of Storge love.