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brandifox's review against another edition
What a strange, haunting, little book. I’m not sure what to think or feel about it - but I know I shall think and feel about it for some time.
wkmcconnell's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVE George MacDonald!! When I was a little girl and reading everything I could get my hands on, the librarian for my tiny church library 'adopted' me as her favorite, and fed me so many amazing books. What I especially love about writers like CS Lewis and MacDonald is the way that they weave deep theological statements into children's literature, so that even from an early age kids are learning about faith, and hope, and what it means to be a good person. You can never grow too old for stories like this!
enolas's review against another edition
5.0
Because I could not stop for Death
He kindly stopped for me
The Carriage held but just Ourselves
And Immortality
He kindly stopped for me
The Carriage held but just Ourselves
And Immortality
rschmidt7's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful children's story
This fairytale by MacDonald is a wonderful (in the real sense of the word) story for children, though much of it may go over their heads.
MacDonald mixes metaphysics with childishness, and the result is absolutely spellbinding. The character of Diamond is so loveable. However, the middle of the tale drags a little, and could have been shortened up. The ending more than makes up for this, though.
In the end you will be left with a quite beautiful heartache, in the best way. If you enjoy fairytales and old children's stories, you will enjoy this.
This fairytale by MacDonald is a wonderful (in the real sense of the word) story for children, though much of it may go over their heads.
MacDonald mixes metaphysics with childishness, and the result is absolutely spellbinding. The character of Diamond is so loveable. However, the middle of the tale drags a little, and could have been shortened up. The ending more than makes up for this, though.
In the end you will be left with a quite beautiful heartache, in the best way. If you enjoy fairytales and old children's stories, you will enjoy this.
kaaleppii's review against another edition
5.0
I suspect Lewis got some of his inspiration for Narnia from this book. If the Lord blesses me with children, I will be reading this to them. Even for an adult, it puts the longing for heaven in one’s heart and imagination.
samara_surface's review against another edition
5.0
Title: At the Back of the North Wind
Author: George MacDonald
Published: 1871
Year I read it: 2008
One sentence summary: The fantastical tale of a boy named Diamond going on adventures with the North Wind and, eventually, to the land that lies at her back.
Three reasons to read it:
MacDonald's fantasy is tantamount! Chesterton, Lewis, Tolkien - they wouldn't be who they are without it.
This is a beautiful depiction both of God's sovereignty and of child-like faith.
Immersing yourself in awe & mystery for a few hundred pages does wonders for the soul
One reason you maybe shouldn't:
My brothers tease me mercilessly, saying this book is really creepy, partly because of their interpretation of the ending, partly because it's their job to tease me. (May I assure you, it's rather beautiful!)
Great quote:
I begin to think there are better things than being comfortable.
A poet is a man who is glad of something, and tries to make other people glad of it too.
Only he knew that to be left alone is not always to be forsaken.
This whole passage.
Part of my series "31 Days of Books" over at Wait and Hope
Author: George MacDonald
Published: 1871
Year I read it: 2008
One sentence summary: The fantastical tale of a boy named Diamond going on adventures with the North Wind and, eventually, to the land that lies at her back.
Three reasons to read it:
MacDonald's fantasy is tantamount! Chesterton, Lewis, Tolkien - they wouldn't be who they are without it.
This is a beautiful depiction both of God's sovereignty and of child-like faith.
Immersing yourself in awe & mystery for a few hundred pages does wonders for the soul
One reason you maybe shouldn't:
My brothers tease me mercilessly, saying this book is really creepy, partly because of their interpretation of the ending, partly because it's their job to tease me. (May I assure you, it's rather beautiful!)
Great quote:
I begin to think there are better things than being comfortable.
A poet is a man who is glad of something, and tries to make other people glad of it too.
Only he knew that to be left alone is not always to be forsaken.
This whole passage.
Part of my series "31 Days of Books" over at Wait and Hope
ehays84's review against another edition
4.0
"Some children are profound at metaphysics." That's a quote from the last chapter that sums up the book pretty well.
As with most MacDonald, it was a tough yet beautiful read in parts. I could see all again McDonald's influence on the thinking of Lewis and others. There is just this unwavering faith in God and the path He leads us on that is such a good reminder to me.
A far longer book than it needed to be with lots of stories within stories, but I do like how McDonald's characters are real, often poor people with lots of real challenges as opposed to wealthy children who are either orphans or whose parents aren't involved like with say the Pevensies. In this way, MacDonald is really a lot like Dickens but much more theological and mystical.
In the end, a beautiful extended metaphor of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
As with most MacDonald, it was a tough yet beautiful read in parts. I could see all again McDonald's influence on the thinking of Lewis and others. There is just this unwavering faith in God and the path He leads us on that is such a good reminder to me.
A far longer book than it needed to be with lots of stories within stories, but I do like how McDonald's characters are real, often poor people with lots of real challenges as opposed to wealthy children who are either orphans or whose parents aren't involved like with say the Pevensies. In this way, MacDonald is really a lot like Dickens but much more theological and mystical.
In the end, a beautiful extended metaphor of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
erikars's review against another edition
3.0
George MacDonald's fairy tales are a bit weird. One of his more well known novels, The Princess and the Goblin is standard fairy tale fare, but as you range further afield in his tales, the plots get more disjointed (in the "this is interesting -- let's insert it as a dream sequence!" sense) and the tone more moralizing.
That said, At the Back of the North Wind is a delightful tale of a young boy whose unique perspective on the world allows him to take adventures with the North Wind as she moves throughout the world. His perspective and his adventures affect all the people around him.
Also, it's public domain, so the Kindle download is free!
That said, At the Back of the North Wind is a delightful tale of a young boy whose unique perspective on the world allows him to take adventures with the North Wind as she moves throughout the world. His perspective and his adventures affect all the people around him.
Also, it's public domain, so the Kindle download is free!
jewellspring's review against another edition
4.0
More a read-aloud for my 10yo than the 13yo, but both listened all the way through and asked for it. Realistic fantasy set in London in the 19th-century. North Wind reminded us of the Spirit, but we found Diamond's, the young boy, story...full of innocence and wisdom...the most intriguing.
paracosm's review against another edition
1.0
This is one worst books books Ive ever read, not only because of how bad it is but because it makes me angry just to think about it. The only reason I read it was because the edition I got is super pretty and I regret it so much. This book is absolutely horrible. Diamond is one of the most annoying characters that I’ve ever encountered. During the first half of the book he cries about every single thing, literally. He cried about leaves falling, the wind blowing, not being able to get on a horse. At some point he even tripped over and cried himself to sleep while still on the floor.
During the second half of the book he turns into a textbook Mary Sue. The book has no plot, it’s just a series of scenes in which Diamond meets people and every single one of them realize how wonderful he is. People go on rants about how Diamond is an actual angel that God has sent to Earth to bring joy and fight sadness and how he is the only person that can truly differentiate between right and wrong. I’m not joking, that’s exactly what people say about him. Diamond is absolutely perfect in the eyes of everyone that comes across him and has never done a single wrong thing in his entire life. I don’t understand how the author was taking seriously as a writer after this.
That brief description Goodreads gives is a lie. That motherfucker is only at that weird country for a chapter before coming back as a Mary Sue. And at the end the North Wind just kills Diamond. She shows up one night, asks him if he wants to come with her, he says yes and wakes up dead. That was a weird ending, but it was actually the best part of the book.
During the second half of the book he turns into a textbook Mary Sue. The book has no plot, it’s just a series of scenes in which Diamond meets people and every single one of them realize how wonderful he is. People go on rants about how Diamond is an actual angel that God has sent to Earth to bring joy and fight sadness and how he is the only person that can truly differentiate between right and wrong. I’m not joking, that’s exactly what people say about him. Diamond is absolutely perfect in the eyes of everyone that comes across him and has never done a single wrong thing in his entire life. I don’t understand how the author was taking seriously as a writer after this.
That brief description Goodreads gives is a lie. That motherfucker is only at that weird country for a chapter before coming back as a Mary Sue. And at the end the North Wind just kills Diamond. She shows up one night, asks him if he wants to come with her, he says yes and wakes up dead. That was a weird ending, but it was actually the best part of the book.