Rating: 
Summary: Vivid images and continuous action in a Strange New World
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Vivid images and continuous action in a Strange New World
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Not MacDonald's best.
Review: 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. At times even the willing cannot suspend disbelief. For all that, it is well worth the read, and is full of MacDonald's typical psychic depth and spirituality. But if you only read one book by MacDonald, it should certainly be Lilith.
Rating:
Summary: Not MacDonald's best.
Review: 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. At times even the willing cannot suspend disbelief. For all that, it is well worth the read, and is full of MacDonald's typical psychic depth and spirituality. But if you only read one book by MacDonald, it should certainly be Lilith.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful, influential novel of high fantasy
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: A Beautiful Book
Review: This was an amazing book by George MacDonald. It was absolutely beautiful and I could not put it down. When I had to put it down, my thoughts were constantly drawn back to the story of Anodos and his journey through the Land of Faerie. As I read, I could see that he was showing me much more than just the skin of the story. There was so much underneath that I could see, like shadows of fish in pond. You can see them, but can't particularly tell what kind they are. Perhaps this is due to lack of intelligence on my part, yet, there was much that I did not understand about the story. Even so, it added to the beauty and mystery of the book. Also, this version by Johannesen is great. The illustrations by Arthur Hughes are perfect to go along with the book.
Rating:
Summary: The Grandfather of modern fantasy
Review: Throughout his adult life, CS Lewis repeatedly asserted that George MacDonald was his 'master,' his mentor. Without MacDonald's works (and this one in particular), there may never have been a Lewis as we know him. Besides that, MacDonald has heavily influenced such other creators of fantasy as JRR Tolkien, Charles Williams, and GK Chesterton. Madeleine L'Engle calls MacDonald the 'Grandfather' of all who attempt to understand life through fantasy. Indeed, he is a grandfather of modern fantasy of sorts.
This particular novel had a profound impact on CS Lewis's conversion to Christianity. He claims that it 'baptized' his mind, and that it was this book which really got the ball rolling for Lewis's path back to his faith. Phantastes is about a young man named Anodos who finds himself in another world (called Fairy-land) one morning. As he wanders around Fairy-Land, he has a series of adventures and learns many valuable lessons. Along the way he meets many strange creatures, some terrifying and some beautiful.
As Lewis himself has pointed out, MacDonald's books are not incredibly well-written. His descriptions, however, are rich and enchanting, and the effect created by his vivid imagery is very powerful. The narrative is somewhat confused, consisting mainly of many adventures which scarcely seem interrelated. Most importantly, though, are the lessons young Anodos learns along the way, and this is the importance of the book.
MacDonald was a master of teaching valuable lessons through fantasy. Lewis, Tolkien, and others have since combined the ability to teach moral lessons through fantasy with powerful and compelling narrative, but MacDonald can truly be considered a pioneer of sorts. Light readers of Christian apology or fantasy will do better with CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, or GK Chesterton's works, which have more engaging storylines. Still, for anyone with a strong interest in Lewis or any of the others, this book is a must-read, as it is a work which has inspired many of the great Christian and fantasy authors of the twentieth-century.
Rating:
Summary: The Grandfather of modern fantasy
Review: Throughout his adult life, CS Lewis repeatedly asserted that George MacDonald was his `master,' his mentor. Without MacDonald's works (and this one in particular), there may never have been a Lewis as we know him. Besides that, MacDonald has heavily influenced such other creators of fantasy as JRR Tolkien, Charles Williams, and GK Chesterton. Madeleine L'Engle calls MacDonald the `Grandfather' of all who attempt to understand life through fantasy. Indeed, he is a grandfather of modern fantasy of sorts.
This particular novel had a profound impact on CS Lewis's conversion to Christianity. He claims that it `baptized' his mind, and that it was this book which really got the ball rolling for Lewis's path back to his faith. Phantastes is about a young man named Anodos who finds himself in another world (called Fairy-land) one morning. As he wanders around Fairy-Land, he has a series of adventures and learns many valuable lessons. Along the way he meets many strange creatures, some terrifying and some beautiful.
As Lewis himself has pointed out, MacDonald's books are not incredibly well-written. His descriptions, however, are rich and enchanting, and the effect created by his vivid imagery is very powerful. The narrative is somewhat confused, consisting mainly of many adventures which scarcely seem interrelated. Most importantly, though, are the lessons young Anodos learns along the way, and this is the importance of the book.
MacDonald was a master of teaching valuable lessons through fantasy. Lewis, Tolkien, and others have since combined the ability to teach moral lessons through fantasy with powerful and compelling narrative, but MacDonald can truly be considered a pioneer of sorts. Light readers of Christian apology or fantasy will do better with CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, or GK Chesterton's works, which have more engaging storylines. Still, for anyone with a strong interest in Lewis or any of the others, this book is a must-read, as it is a work which has inspired many of the great Christian and fantasy authors of the twentieth-century.
Rating:
Summary: I must have nodded off in the dream...
Review: 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 striking and insightful, I never really felt like I got the drift of MacDonald. Maybe it's a bit Zen - if you try to analyse you'll never get it - and I think in the book we're told not to try to think about fairyland too critically. The book is very dreamlike, wafting around from scene to scene, all sort of making sense within the dream, but quite absurd if you step back. There are several stories within the story, but it's hardly a gripping read. It seems every character is part of an allegory, but there's rarely a stinging point. The narrator does seem to go through a process of losing his pride, but I could hardly tell you how and why it happened. There's bits and pieces of knightly chivalry and mysticism floating around, and maybe if I was immersed in things like Spenser's 'Faerie Queen' and the Arthurian tales it would have done more for me. And, sure, the guy can create and sustain a real mood, but, sorry, this leaden soul just wasn't open for whatever enchantment may or may not have been there.
Rating:
Summary: Like a memory from a dream...
Review: What an amazing book! Reading it was like I was in another place far away. Though there is a slow plot, and the action frequent in most other fantasies is missing, it is a read that you will never forget. George MacDonald is one of the first ever fantasy writers, and his work has been read by Lewis and Tolkien, and many other prominent writers. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and left each chapter feeling refreshed.
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