kate_reads_literature's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
kjulie's review against another edition
4.0
These short stories are amazing. I love the way that George MacDonald describes things, it's super magical... If you like faerie stories, give these a read.
alana_ellsworth's review against another edition
5.0
"It cannot help having some meaning; if it has proportion and harmony it has vitality, and vitality is truth. The beauty may be plainer in it than the truth, but without the truth the beauty could not be, and the fairytale would give no delight."
--"The Fantastic Imagination," by George MacDonald.
Only in Faerie can I laugh and cry in the same book. The influence MacDonald had over the works of Tolkien and Lewis is evident. And it is not merely the transportation to another fantasy realm, but the understanding of deeper truths within it. MacDonald throws together unsuspecting characters in the midst of witches, fairies, princesses and kings. Through their many trials, they must save one another, or simply themselves, by rivaling against the evils of what Tolkien called the "perilous realm."
Every one of these stories is so superbly beautiful and transient that it makes you regret leaving. He immediately immerses you in a world of his choosing and you have to follow it through the absurdly hilarious and the terrifyingly dangerous. I laughed out loud at many lines such as this gorgeous example: "And besides, he could not tell whether the queen meant light-haired or light-heired; for why might she not aspirate her vowels when she was exasperated herself?" Sometimes the pun is contained in the very title, as the example of "The Light Princess," where it's revealed she is cursed not to be light in color but in weight.
His talent for clever humor is beautifully balanced, though, with his more serious tales such as "The Shadows" or "The Wise Woman." "The Shadows" may be my all-time favorite story of this collection. In it MacDonald writes a beautiful tale of a man who is taken captive by fairies to be their king and taken to the Shadow-Church to listen to their petition. There he hears their sad pleas to remain alive, as they are hidden and driven away by constant light. He also hears of their deeds, some bad, some kind, some a twisted sort of good. It's a touching, poignant tale of an existence between the light and how they are not unlike ourselves, but yet rudimentary in their understanding of the world.
There are many other lovely tales, some that seem to repeat basic plot-lines but still hold their own as a unique fantastic. This edition, or The Complete Fairy Tales, is only a selection of certain stories originally published in other volumes such as At the Back of the North Wind and Dealings with the Fairies. Included in this edition, though, is MacDonald's essay, "The Fantastic Imagination," which echoes so many of the ideas and themes that defined Tolkien's defense of fantasy in his lecture-essay, "On Fairy Stories."
The same love of story, paired with the love of the Gospel, dominates both of these men's works. MacDonald has a talent for prose that he combines with a talent for fantasy. The plots, albeit repetitive at times, are not the point--the point is the transportation to a fantastic world, and to wake us up to reality through fantasy. Read it for Faerie, or read it for Truth, for, "One difference between God's work and man's is, that, while God's work cannot mean more than he meant, man's must must mean more than he meant."
--"The Fantastic Imagination," by George MacDonald.
Only in Faerie can I laugh and cry in the same book. The influence MacDonald had over the works of Tolkien and Lewis is evident. And it is not merely the transportation to another fantasy realm, but the understanding of deeper truths within it. MacDonald throws together unsuspecting characters in the midst of witches, fairies, princesses and kings. Through their many trials, they must save one another, or simply themselves, by rivaling against the evils of what Tolkien called the "perilous realm."
Every one of these stories is so superbly beautiful and transient that it makes you regret leaving. He immediately immerses you in a world of his choosing and you have to follow it through the absurdly hilarious and the terrifyingly dangerous. I laughed out loud at many lines such as this gorgeous example: "And besides, he could not tell whether the queen meant light-haired or light-heired; for why might she not aspirate her vowels when she was exasperated herself?" Sometimes the pun is contained in the very title, as the example of "The Light Princess," where it's revealed she is cursed not to be light in color but in weight.
His talent for clever humor is beautifully balanced, though, with his more serious tales such as "The Shadows" or "The Wise Woman." "The Shadows" may be my all-time favorite story of this collection. In it MacDonald writes a beautiful tale of a man who is taken captive by fairies to be their king and taken to the Shadow-Church to listen to their petition. There he hears their sad pleas to remain alive, as they are hidden and driven away by constant light. He also hears of their deeds, some bad, some kind, some a twisted sort of good. It's a touching, poignant tale of an existence between the light and how they are not unlike ourselves, but yet rudimentary in their understanding of the world.
There are many other lovely tales, some that seem to repeat basic plot-lines but still hold their own as a unique fantastic. This edition, or The Complete Fairy Tales, is only a selection of certain stories originally published in other volumes such as At the Back of the North Wind and Dealings with the Fairies. Included in this edition, though, is MacDonald's essay, "The Fantastic Imagination," which echoes so many of the ideas and themes that defined Tolkien's defense of fantasy in his lecture-essay, "On Fairy Stories."
The same love of story, paired with the love of the Gospel, dominates both of these men's works. MacDonald has a talent for prose that he combines with a talent for fantasy. The plots, albeit repetitive at times, are not the point--the point is the transportation to a fantastic world, and to wake us up to reality through fantasy. Read it for Faerie, or read it for Truth, for, "One difference between God's work and man's is, that, while God's work cannot mean more than he meant, man's must must mean more than he meant."
the_scribbling_man's review against another edition
4.0
The Light Princess - 4.5
The Shadows - 3.5
The Giants Heart - 3
Cross Purposes - 2.5
The Golden Key - 5
Little Daylight - High 2
Nanny's Dream - High 2
Diamond's Dream - 3
The Carosyn (part 1) - 3.5
The Carosyn (part 2) - 3
The Wise Woman/The Lost Princess - 4
The History of Photogen and Nycteris - 5
The Shadows - 3.5
The Giants Heart - 3
Cross Purposes - 2.5
The Golden Key - 5
Little Daylight - High 2
Nanny's Dream - High 2
Diamond's Dream - 3
The Carosyn (part 1) - 3.5
The Carosyn (part 2) - 3
The Wise Woman/The Lost Princess - 4
The History of Photogen and Nycteris - 5
More...