Phantastes (1858)

this early book of fantasy begins well, with one of the best descriptions of being in a dream ever written. It falls off towards the end as it morphs into a sermon on the morality of self sacrifice. Nonetheless, the strain begun here runs to Morris, then Eddison and Cabell, and, at last, to Tolkien. A very good read, unless you are a fantasist of violence, complete and total. ( )

This is such a whimsical book. The tone and atmosphere feel like a real life fairy-tale. The story is slow and steady, and a bit too meandering in the middle, but still delightful to read. I could have done without quite so many "singing" poems, not to say they all should be cut out, but I didn't feel that they all were necessary to the story. ( )

I liked a couple of McDonald's fantasies for kids, so I thought I'd try one aimed at an older audience. About six or so chapters in, I was pretty much done. After Dostoyevsky's huge paragraphs, I didn't really want more huge paragraphs--- especially of the sentimentalist vein. Soooo I'll pick this one up again later, hopefully.

One of my favorite books, but not one of the best books I’ve read by any objective measure; its language is awkward even considering its age, its poems can plod, and it wanders into innumerable diversions. But this book was fundamentally formative for my teenaged self and I love it in its weird, genuine, imaginative way. Each chapter begins with a quote from another work, and a lot of those have stuck with me through the years. For instance: “When bale is highest, boote is nighest” (which means, roughly, “help is nearest when things are worst”). Or this portion of the Ballad of Sir Andrew Barton::

“‘Fight on, my men!’, Sir Andrew says,
“A little I’m hurt but yet not slain!
I’ll but lie down and bleed awhile
And then I’ll rise and fight again!”
( )

O pai da Fantasia moderna“Ouvi dizer que, para os que entram no Reino das Fadas, não há volta. Devem continuar e atravessá-lo. Como, eu não faço a menor ideia.”A obra de fantasia clássica que influenciou C.S. Lewis e J.R.R. Tolkien, considerada uma das obras mais importantes de George MacDonald, é a história do jovem Anodos e suas aventuras no reino das fadas que, em última análise, revelam a condição humana. “Escrevo não para crianças”, disse George MacDonald, “mas para crianças, sejam elas de cinco, cinquenta ou setenta e cinco anos”. Tudo escrito com um capricho inocente e um anseio cheio de alma, o coração da jornada de Anodos através do Reino das Fadas revela uma busca espiritual que requer uma entrega de si mesmo.“Nunca escondi o fato de que o considerava meu mestre; na verdade, imagino nunca ter escrito um livro em que não fizesse nenhuma citação dele.” –– C.S. Lewis“George MacDonald [...] [criou] histórias de poder e beleza.” –– J.R.R. Tolkien “Certamente, George MacDonald é o avô de todos nós que lutamos para chegar a um acordo com a verdade por meio da fantasia.” –– Madeleine L. Engle ( )