Paul Faber, Surgeon (George Macdonald Original Works) [Hardcover]

George MacDonald (Author)

Book Description

Series: George Macdonald Original Works | Publication Date: December 1992

Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 396 pages
• Publisher: Johannesen (December 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1881084086
• ISBN-13: 978-1881084082
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,485,355 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The love of self is, in truth, the love of nothing., November 5, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Paul Faber, Surgeon (George Macdonald Original Works) (Hardcover)

This was a difficult book for me, personally, in as much as I could look back over my own life and identify far too closely with Dr. Paul Faber, I formed an immediate dislike of the man. Indeed, he was, in the eyes of the world, a very good man. He was kind, compassionate, caring, and charitable. He was among the first to assist those in need, to give freely to the poor. Yet, Faber, not unlike the Pharisee at his prayers, saw himself as the very font or source of this goodness, and it was his smug self-assuredness and self-satisfaction that alienated me. The woman whom he chose to marry was, in my estimation, little better. She was shallow and vain and, like Faber, prone to self-pity, although deeply in love with and devoted to Faber. Of course, when two such individuals marry there is bound to occur difficulty. They are each so entranced with their own self-perceived purity, excellence, and divinity-both of themselves and one another-that there exists no option but the inevitable fall from grace. They place one another on towering marble pedestals from which the inescapable fall becomes all the more inglorious, painful, and, forgiveness, virtually impossible.

It is the dwarf (my favorite character), Polwarth, who stands tall as a shining beacon of light. It is Polwarth, ill-formed and asthmatic, who loves his God above all else and lives this love through his service to others. It is Polwarth who, with subtlety, humility, and self-effacing kindness, leads Faber and Juliet toward the true source of all goodness. Whether they will follow is, of course, their decision, for many who have seen the light prefer the darkness. Will you follow Polwarth, or will pride and self guide you further into the darkness?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for a MacDonald fan, June 17, 2010

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Paul Ellsworth "composer, musician, software ... (California, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Paul Faber, Surgeon (Paperback)

I love MacDonald, so I may be slightly biased! I found Paul Faber, Surgeon to be a very nice quasi-sequel to Thomas Wingfold, Curate. You don't have to read Wingfold first, but it certainly does help with background information and knowing what the setting for this book is.

One of the primary reasons I like this book (and Wingfold) is that it is a book that makes you think. Being a Christian, I am impressed with the way MacDonald handles some very hard and pressing questions by Paul Faber, an atheistic naturalist.