Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Dec 15, 2010

Doug rated it:

Overall a fascinating read, though a bit more "high-brow" than my usual fare. Having a background in the classics, as in OLD classics, would help to make more of it understandable. And sometimes I got a little lost in his logic. However, the points of view on the different types of love were very useful to me, in reflecting on my own life and relationships. If I were to sum up the effect on me in one word, it would be "clarifying."

I am an incurable romantic; neve More...

2 comments like (7 people liked it)

Dec 15, 2010

Suzanne rated it:

Read this in college when most of it went over my head...then life happens. After a life full of joy and tragedy and senseless loss at times...this work sits in my nightstand drawer so I can be renewed, reawakened and reminded of higher purposes when the world is too much with me.

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Dec 15, 2010

Lavinia rated it:

'the four loves' [1960] sau 'cele patru iubiri', pentru norocosii care au prins cartea de la humanitas, aparuta in 1997, impreuna cu 'problema durerii' si 'despre minuni'.

cartea pleaca de la cei patru termeni care definesc dragostea, intilniti in noul testament: storge [afectiunea], fileo [prietenia], eros [atractia/dragostea sexuala] si agape [caritatea sau mila, in trad. romaneasca]. lewis merge pe ideea ca primele trei iubiri, cele 'naturale' sint complet diferite, rupte de agape, d More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 15, 2010

Terri rated it:

This book was something I looked forward to reading and then I was totally bored and disgusted with it. What frustrated me the most is how he would take an opinion or outright incorrect statement such as Pagans worship trees (way way way out of context and incorrect) and then use that false statement to support his arguments. That is basic logic 101 class and made most of his arguments invalid. I wanted to like what he was saying but couldnt because he was just down right incorrect in so much More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Dec 15, 2010

Chak rated it:

I talk about how much I dislike Lewis and yet read two of his books in the space of a few days. Hypocritical much? If you enjoy Lewis' continual didacticism, this is the book for you. I found it hard to get through (though I persevered) due to sexist anachronisms (women, as homemakers, cannot understand a man's world or thoughts) and statements with which I vehemently disagree presented as facts (don't get me started). Admittedly, I don't read philosophy or dogma well, and this is both. How More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 08, 2012

Marcie rated it:

I hadn't read any CS Lewis in years, and I remember not being especially impressed the first time I read this book; it didn't seem to have a cohesive thesis. However, I ran across a used copy at a flea market in NYC (irresistible) and couldn't put it down on the airplane home. I can see why I thought Lewis was tangential, and I assume I overlooked the genius because at the time I was too naive of love (& it's pitfalls) to understand his meditations. No doubt the book will be even more meaning More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 15, 2010

Charity rated it:

With clarity C.S. Lewis outlines the four loves as he understands them. As I read I recognized the roles these loves play, and have played, in my life and in the lives of those I know. People and possible motives for their actions became apparent to me. It is a book that captures reflections to share with the reader and allow them to create more of the same. Below is an excerpt that I wished to share.

"There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love a More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 15, 2010

Jen rated it:

This is an interesting book. C. L. Lewis describes his four categories of love: affection, friendship, Eros (romantic love) and charity (love of God and selfless love of others). I like his analysis of each kind of love and how affection, friendship and Eros can all have destructive sides to them. I also appreciate that he points out that the first three kinds of love need charity (need God) in order to thrive. However, while I think separating the loves for the purpose of description is us More...

0 comments like

Dec 15, 2010

Jess rated it:

I loved this book. The first read through, was confusing because he would often refer to the other loves without having explained it. But the second time through, I understood how Lewis was piecing together his categories of love.
The greatest point I think this book makes is that all other loves are unsustainable unless they are consumed and supported by Charity. Without Charity, a divine love, all other loves with "go bad" on us, because we are human. But our ability to love Go More...

0 comments like

Dec 15, 2010

Jessica rated it:

This book induced many a nap and was often over my head, but there were some parts that blew me away. It is a book very much about human psychology I think and behavior. The four kinds of love: friendship, affection, eros, and charity. In friendship we stand together in a common cause or activity, in affection we treat someone kindly that we've known for a long time and been through things with, eros is love with our beloved, and charity; godlike love. Definitely a book worth rereading to unders More...

0 comments like

Jan 02, 2012

Ellen rated it:

"Having finished The Four Loves now gives me a sense of what C.S. Lewis must have been like as a teacher -- I felt like I was back in a college class. I actually listened to the audiobook version read by Lewis himself, which added to this impression. I would have much preferred to be listening live, in hopes that he would have some visual aids to help with the more confusing passages. In truth, I'm still trying to process some of his conclusions.

It was a difficult, but fascinat More...

0 comments like

Dec 06, 2011

Christopher rated it:

A good examination of the different types of love that men and women can experience. One of the pleasures of reading Lewis's theological/philosphical books is the beauty and shrewd brilliance of his arguments. His examinations of the promises and pitfalls of affection, friendship, eros, and charity moves so seamlessly that it is hard not to be awed at the mind that is at work behind the pages. There are only two problems with this book, both of which are repeated characteristics of Lewis's nonfi More...

0 comments like

Nov 19, 2011

Kathy rated it:

In the introduction to The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis talks about two kinds of love: Gift-love and Need-love. Gift Love, he says is “the love which moves a man to work and plan and save for the future well-being of his family which he will die without sharing or seeing.” An example of Need-Love is “that which sends a lonely or frightened child to its mother’s arms.”

" Likings and Loves for the Sub-Human " is the first chapter. The sub-human is anything that may be an object More...

0 comments like

Jul 23, 2011

Bill rated it:

This was a stimulating but somewhat dry analysis of the different ways we use the word, "love." Lewis discusses four kinds of love: affection, friendship, eros, and charity. Affection refers to the love of parents for children and vice versa. It is expected, and because it is expected it is subject to abuse and manipulation. Friendship love is the love between individuals who share a common interest. The shadow side of friendship love is its possible result in indifference to outs More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 20, 2011

Tim rated it:

At his best Lewis can be very good (Screwtape Letters, Mere Christianity), but at other times he can be a bit frustrating. He has an excellent mind overstuffed with knowledge of many fine things, he’s often insightful, and he’s able to write engagingly and accessibly while fleshing out a carefully conceived and detailed plan. But when he’s not at his best there can be too much wordplay and other cleverness combined with an over-certain pedagogy, or at least that’s how it comes off for me. It’ More...

0 comments like

Jul 31, 2011

Ellen rated it:

Having finished The Four Loves now gives me a sense of what C.S. Lewis must have been like as a teacher -- I felt like I was back in a college class. I actually listened to the audiobook version read by Lewis himself, which added to this impression. I would have much preferred to be listening live, in hopes that he would have some visual aids to help with the more confusing passages. In truth, I'm still trying to process some of his conclusions.

It was a difficult, but fascinating an More...

0 comments like

Jul 28, 2011

dragonhelmuk added it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Dec 15, 2010

Ruth rated it:

Even for C. S. Lewis, this is deep. His use of allegory, metaphor and sheer verbiage alone make it a pretty intense brain-stretching reading experience. The basic loves he describes are affection, friendship, eros, and charity; and the common pitfalls we humans face in our ability to feel and express in each category. I definitely saw my own weaknesses through many of his explanations. Worthwhile, but it's not casual reading!

0 comments like

Dec 15, 2010

Judith rated it:

I read this book about once a year to remind myself of the basics: to Whom I am accountable, what true love entails and endows, and why I wake up every day.

My favorite quote: "...in the act of love we are not merely ourselves. We are also representatives. It is here no impoverishment but an enrichment to be aware that forces older and less personal than we work through us..."

Amen.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 15, 2010

Ron rated it:

Re-reading Four Loves several years after my first reading I find a depth that I missed before. This last apologetic by Lewis is less polemic and more analytic.

Going beyond the usual division of loves into gift-loves and need-loves, Lewis delved into how any affection can raise us bring us closer to divine source of love or move us farther away.

Not light reading.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 16, 2011

Coyle rated it:

I wasn't overly impressed the first time I read this book (sometime in the midst of my undergrad career). Going back and re-reading it gave me a much better view of the work, especially the chapters on "Affection" and "Friendship", which alone make the book worth reading. As usual, Lewis is at his best when chatting conversationally with the reader about very practical applications of the subject matter. This book especially brings out his sense of humor and delight in the si More...

0 comments like

Feb 11, 2012

Vicki rated it:

I only read the chapter on Friendship, so my thoughts are limited to that. I rated this chapter two stars because Lewis defines friendships as side-by-side as compared to marriage as face-to-face. This seems too black and white.

Jesus never experienced marriage and yet seemed to have much face-to-face communication and relationship with his disciples and even with the pharisees.

I understand Lewis' point in that the level of commitment and closeness in a marriage should be More...

0 comments like

Dec 15, 2010

Susi rated it:

I enjoyed this book. It is short, nonfiction and enlightening in the different ways that humans love. I have always enjoyed C.S. Lewis, but I had never read this before. He uses gardening as a metaphor for the work and discipline of love, and that is something I could relate to.

0 comments like

Oct 21, 2011

Jay rated it:

CS Lewis always has a way of showing plain things in a more glorious light. In some way reading his books makes reality seem more real. In this book Lewis takes 4 types of love and sheds light on them. After reading this book you sense some of the most common expressions of love to be divine, and some of the love that we want to believe is super spiritual we find is nothing of the sort.

I'll be honest there were occasional moments where I was lost and couldn't keep up with Lewis, but More...

0 comments like

Feb 06, 2012

Timothy rated it:

The English language really is an inferior language for describing ideas or concepts. It is the weird amalgamation of so much else, kind of like the cultures that both spawned it, and that it in turn spawned. This thought has occurred to me almost every time that I have contemplated the greater variety of words to describe so many sensations and ideas in the Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic languages.

Most recently, this notion came to me when reading the book, The Four Loves, by C. S. Lewi More...

0 comments like

May 01, 2011

Paul rated it:

For me, the beauty of almost anything CS Lewis writes is that it takes a while for his words to "sink" in. I have to slow down my pace and force my mind to truly notice what I am reading. Lewis once said a book is no good at all if it is not worth reading twice - well his works are certainly, in this sense, "good."

The Four Loves is heady and though short is not a quick read. I found his look into "Eros" and especially "Charity" incredibly ins More...

1 comment like

Dec 06, 2011

Jeanie rated it:

I had high hopes in reading this book. However, in CS Lewis works, you will always find treasure. Just in this one, you had to do some digging. The Friendship chapter and the Charity were the only chapters that had any depth. This book was not high in scripture but more philosphy in his discription of the different kinds of love. Our need of love cries to God from our proverty, however, only when we know and understand our need of Him. Affection does not expect much, only when it does it i More...

0 comments like

Apr 16, 2011

Mpoland rated it:

He brings up some great points. I would love to have a conversation with him because our views are just different enough that we could probably have a great thought provoking debate without wanting to kill each other. I also found myself wondering what Lewis would be like if he was born in our generation because there is no doubt that he was a liberal thinking Christian for his time. I have this feeling that we would be two peas in a pod if he was my generation. I gave the book only three st More...

0 comments like

Nov 30, 2011

Michael rated it:

This book helped me a lot with my research. Granted, there could be some difficulty in understanding his logic at first. However, if one is an avid Lewis reader and can comprehend his logic, then this book will fit well in his or her Lewis shelf. In addition, for those individuals who enjoy allegory, then Lewis’s Till We Have Faces (his last novel) is an excellent work that complements this book. Lewis wrote The Four Loves after Till We Have Faces. His philosophy on love is well presented and mo More...

0 comments like

Sep 22, 2011

Christy rated it:

Lewis is generally wise about how humans behave and what obstacles they tend to put in the way of being good to one another, even if you don't share his Christianity. The places where he fails to convince, however, are spectacularly large, because his social conservatism and his bigotry against other faiths can't help but come out, being much of what define his thinking. But he belongs to a small group of English conservative writers--Evelyn Waugh and Saki are the others--whose levels of insight More...

0 comments like

reviews