Phantastes: Amazon.ca: George Macdonald: Books

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"I was dead, and right content," the narrator says in the penultimate chapter of Phantastes. C.S. Lewis said that upon reading this astonishing 19th-century fairy tale he "had crossed a great frontier," and numerous others both before and since have felt similarly. In MacDonald's fairy tales, both those for children and (like this one) those for adults, the "fairy land" clearly represents the spiritual world, or our own world revealed in all of its depth and meaning. At times almost forthrightly allegorical, at other times richly dreamlike (and indeed having a close connection to the symbolic world of dreams), this story of a young man who finds himself on a long journey through a land of fantasy is more truly the story of the spiritual quest that is at the core of his life's work, a quest that must end with the ultimate surrender of the self. The glory of MacDonald's work is that this surrender is both hard won (or lost!) and yet rippling with joy when at last experienced. As the narrator says of a heavenly woman in this tale, "She knew something too good to be told." One senses the same of the author himself. --Doug Thorpe

Book Description

I was dead, and right content, the narrator says in the penultimate chapter of Phantastes. C.S. Lewis said that upon reading this astonishing 19th-century fairy tale he had crossed a great frontier, and numerous others both before and since have felt similarly. In MacDonalds fairy tales, both those for children and (like this one) those for adults, the fairy land clearly represents the spiritual world, or our own world revealed in all of its depth and meaning. At times almost forthrightly allegorical, at other times richly dreamlike (and indeed having a close connection to the symbolic world of dreams), this story of a young man who finds himself on a long journey through a land of fantasy is more truly the story of the spiritual quest that is at the core of his lifes work, a quest that must end with the ultimate surrender of the self. The glory of MacDonalds work is that this surrender is both hard won (or lost!) and yet rippling with joy when at last experienced. As the narrator says of a heavenly woman in this tale, She knew something too good to be told. One senses the same of the author himself.

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First Sentence
I AWOKE ONE MORNING with the usual perplexity of mind which accompanies the return of consciousness. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

20 Reviews

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
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4.1 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Vivid images and continuous action in a Strange New World, April 26 2004

By

Gary Mull (Milan, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Phantastes (Paperback)

There are a couple elements about this story that made reading it worth my time. First, MacDonald pulled me into a new land that has enough familiar surroundings to keep me from losing my bearings, but enough new elements to keep me wanting to see what's behind the next tree. In fact, the setting is a primary component of this book. There are active creatures who live in flowers kind of like snails live in shells. There are sinister trees. There are statues that are full of life if you catch them at the right moment. MacDonald crafts a fresh world through words - a world my eyes have never seen, yet a world my brain can see when I feed it MacDonald's descriptions.

Second, the main character wades through uncertainty, danger, and a few mistakes that have irrevocable consequences. Yet through it all, MacDonald doesn't throw patronizing explanations for every scene and activity and character. I get to come up with my own interpretations. What's the point about the knight whose armor shines more brightly as the story progresses? What's the point about the unwelcome and malicious shadow? What's the point about the trek into the dark, goblin-infested cavern, where vision is limited to a few feet in each direction? It seems like every chapter doses out a few more helpings of fresh symbolism, and each time I pause to think through the possible meanings.

I struggled with MacDonald's writing style. Reading this story was somewhat like driving down a bumpy road. I reached my destination safely, but I had to move slowly. I did more rereading than I like to do. Still, the string of adventures in this peculiar land kept me going, and I was glad I finished the journey MacDonald prepared for me.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, influential novel of high fantasy, Oct 16 2002

By

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Phantastes (Paperback)

This is an enchanting work of high fantasy, lyrical in its composition, spiritual in its nature, and enlightening in its effect on the careful reader. As the subtitle says, Phantastes is a Faerie Romance For Men and Women. The Fairy Land in which Anodos, the narrator, ventures is not the fairy land of youth's innocent dreams; rather, it is an otherworldly plane full of great beauty and terrible ugliness, impish little fairies and horrible, teasing goblins, nurturing spirits and malevolent entities. Anodos' discovery of a fairy inside his deceased father's old desk leads to his unplanned journey into this world of wonder. Interestingly, upon entering Fairy Land, Anodos leaves the beaten path and makes his way through the woods all on his own. He meets a diverse cast of characters along the way, reckoning with dark beings who threaten his spiritual well-being while also finding great and needed comfort at crucial times from nurturing maternal forces. His own shadow takes on perhaps the most malevolent influence of all the beings he deals with. He often finds himself compelled to sing, and his songs are powerful enough to free a beautiful White Lady from inside a statue; he remains infatuated with this lady for a long time, trying desperately to find her; his love for her, he comes to realize, comes in large part from his feelings of having been the one to free her, and an important point the author seems to be suggesting is that the love of a giver is much more pure than the love of a benefactor.

Much of this story is allegorical; Anodos basically comes to know himself and to see the world more objectively as a result of his journeys. He often resorts to tears, yet he also raises his voice in song to uplift others. He discovers the power of brotherly love and the beauty that is all around, yet he cringes at the sight of the shadowy creatures that would do him ill. His journey is challenging because he naturally falls prey to feelings of pride and egotism, but his losses and sorrows eventually coalesce themselves into something of beauty, for it is these experiences that help him grow more spiritual. Much has been made of MacDonald's religious beliefs, but Phantastes to me calls forth no religion other than spiritualism and personal growth and maturity. Good and evil do not exist in Fairy Land, except in the sense that there is both good and evil in each individual spirit.

Doubtless, some will not like MacDonald's 19th-century, florid style. There is action in this novel, but it definitely takes a back seat to exposition and philosophical musings. Some will surely find Phantastes exceptionally boring, but those readers willing to follow Anodos deeply into Fairy Land will embark on an enlightening, touching read that will almost surely make them better persons for having taken the literary journey.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Not Typical but Atmospherically Mythical, Mar 31 2011

By

D Glover (northern bc, canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Phantastes (Paperback)

This is not what most would expect in a fantasy novel. It reads like myth or like an exploration of the breeding ground for myth and is not like most novels, having no typical plot line. There is a story here, but in much the same way that a dream is a story. There is a protagonist, but rather than a quest or mission or struggle, the "plot" is one of exploration and discovery. The main character ventures out to discover Fairy Land, and the book chronicles his adventures, observations and often tentative impressions. There are moments of excitement but this could not be said to be fast paced. This is a tale of rich description of the oddities and wonders of the world of fairy and the musings of the one discovering it.

Though not for everyone's tastes, it really is a gem. It left me with the sense that there is much more going on at a symbolic level but I only picked up on a bit of it (I think). I am left with grand impressions and images, with a sense of mood or atmosphere, rather than sharp recollections of a wonderful tale of twists and turns (like, say, Lord of the Rings). This is a work will contribute much to the leaf mould of the reader's mind.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars I must have nodded off in the dream...
Well, much as C.S. Lewis praised this book, it just didn't really do it for me. I can see something of the style influencing his 'Great Divorce', but where I found Lewis' allegory... Read more

Published on Feb 21 2004 by Trevor Kettlewell

3.0 out of 5 stars Not MacDonald's best.
This is a good and interesting book, but it does not come close to the beauty and power of Lilith, MacDonald's masterpiece. It often lacks cohesion and has no tone center. Read more

Published on Dec 4 2003 by Mark DeBolt