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flobbinhood's review against another edition
5.0
Really weird but incredibly insightful and entertaining.
alexeysidoruk's review against another edition
4.0
I did not think I would like this book, but it definitely can surprise. Not because it is better than I hoped, but because every time I expect something of plot author turns it another way.
This is the story of maturation, of growing up showed through the journey of Anodos in the Fairy Land. In stories like this, we expect a hero jump in the quest, combat his dragon and return to ordinary life in this straightforward sequence. However, Anodos jumps in a rabbit hole not once or twice, his quest to combat his vices, his shadow repeats many times and reflects in stories of other characters like in mirrors. If we need a phrase to describe this book - it is the story of reflections.
Classical fairy and magical motives in the book combined with the Christian essence of the hero’s transformation. By merging them author does not create a sense of eclecticism, the narrative is harmonic and balanced. However, I feel uneasy about mixing Christian and pagan elements in this book, though it is done well.
This is the story of maturation, of growing up showed through the journey of Anodos in the Fairy Land. In stories like this, we expect a hero jump in the quest, combat his dragon and return to ordinary life in this straightforward sequence. However, Anodos jumps in a rabbit hole not once or twice, his quest to combat his vices, his shadow repeats many times and reflects in stories of other characters like in mirrors. If we need a phrase to describe this book - it is the story of reflections.
Classical fairy and magical motives in the book combined with the Christian essence of the hero’s transformation. By merging them author does not create a sense of eclecticism, the narrative is harmonic and balanced. However, I feel uneasy about mixing Christian and pagan elements in this book, though it is done well.
anmamo91's review against another edition
Just couldn't get into it. Very little story, very little character
bdukes's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely a challenge, but overall enjoyable stories with an intriguing moral arc
estherfilbrun's review against another edition
3.0
I’ve always been curious about George MacDonald’s works, but in retrospect, this probably wasn’t the greatest first book to pick up by him. Thankfully, I was able to listen to it in audio—otherwise, I would have never finished the story! Overall, I found this book somewhat confusing to understand, as it seemed like we were always jumping around in this fairy/fantasy world doing random things. The descriptions were beautiful, and the imaginative location was interesting to explore, but the story itself didn’t tie together very well for me. I’m sure there were allegorical portions of the book, but figuring out what they are is a bit beyond me. Not a great first read, but I’m looking forward to trying out some of his other works, and maybe one day I’ll come back to this one and understand its purpose better!
respectabiggle7's review against another edition
5.0
Fabulous! Fabulous! Did I mention this piece is FABULOUS?!!
I love MacDonald--he is C.S. Lewis' favorite author--and this work is no exception. It is a faerie tale (not fairy, but faerie) that explores the more devilish depths of the human psyche.
I love MacDonald--he is C.S. Lewis' favorite author--and this work is no exception. It is a faerie tale (not fairy, but faerie) that explores the more devilish depths of the human psyche.
belleoftheb00ks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
joshknape's review against another edition
3.0
I had noted that many passages in Phantastes are mostly poetry, but I didn't realize this until I approached the end: the reason many (even most) passages are poetry is because Phantastes is a poem. Yes, the entire book is a long and meandering poem, and will make more sense (and seem less poorly written) if viewed as poetry rather than novel. It also probably explains why I had enormous difficulty getting through it--I was attempting to read it as a novel.
This quotation from chapter 16 refers to a character the protagonist meets, but arguably describes the entire story: "[S]he seemed removed into that region of phantasy where all is intensely vivid, but nothing clearly defined."
More than with Lilith, there's something Bradburyesque about Phantastes; if none of it evokes the feeling of Bradbury's overall body of work, then specifically Dandelion Wine--there's something of that here. I strongly felt that Dandelion Wine was poetry (in substance if not form), sung to the memory of youth; Phantastes is definitely poetry, more so because unlike Bradbury, MacDonald is evidently an actual poet. That becomes much more evident in the later chapters of Phantastes, where MacDonald creates little poems of his own in addition to the German Romantic poetry that he has quoted at times throughout the book.
Because of this, the book is much more challenging than its length (about 190 pages in my edition) suggest. It took me roughly two months to read, although that was partly for being distracted by other books.
Like Lilith, Phantastes is highly impressionistic. Dreamlike quality? I'm not sure I would say it feels dreamlike overall, but MacDonald's way of describing physical setting is extremely similar to what someone with a good memory might write down in a dream notebook. Writers wanting to evoke the surreal or, more generally, to describe imaginatively rather than photographically, should probably study Phantastes.
This quotation from chapter 16 refers to a character the protagonist meets, but arguably describes the entire story: "[S]he seemed removed into that region of phantasy where all is intensely vivid, but nothing clearly defined."
More than with Lilith, there's something Bradburyesque about Phantastes; if none of it evokes the feeling of Bradbury's overall body of work, then specifically Dandelion Wine--there's something of that here. I strongly felt that Dandelion Wine was poetry (in substance if not form), sung to the memory of youth; Phantastes is definitely poetry, more so because unlike Bradbury, MacDonald is evidently an actual poet. That becomes much more evident in the later chapters of Phantastes, where MacDonald creates little poems of his own in addition to the German Romantic poetry that he has quoted at times throughout the book.
Because of this, the book is much more challenging than its length (about 190 pages in my edition) suggest. It took me roughly two months to read, although that was partly for being distracted by other books.
Like Lilith, Phantastes is highly impressionistic. Dreamlike quality? I'm not sure I would say it feels dreamlike overall, but MacDonald's way of describing physical setting is extremely similar to what someone with a good memory might write down in a dream notebook. Writers wanting to evoke the surreal or, more generally, to describe imaginatively rather than photographically, should probably study Phantastes.
basharria's review against another edition
5.0
May the world be brighter for me, at least in those portions of it, where my darkness falls not.
Thus I, who set out to find my Ideal, came back rejoicing that I had lost my Shadow.
Thus I, who set out to find my Ideal, came back rejoicing that I had lost my Shadow.