Phantastes [Paperback]

George Macdonald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 18, 1981

Introduction by C. S. Lewis

In October 1857, George MacDonald wrote what he described as “a kind of fairy tale, in the hope that it will pay me better than the more evidently serious work.” This was Phantastes -- one of MacDonald’s most important works; a work which so overwhelmed C. S. Lewis that a few hours after he began reading it he knew he “had crossed a great frontier.”

The book is about the narrator’s (Anodos) dream-like adventures in fairyland, where he confronts tree-spirits and the shadow, sojourns to the palace of the fairy queen, and searches for the spirit of the earth. The tale is vintage MacDonald, conveying a profound sadness and a poignant longing for death.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"I was dead, and right content," the narrator says in the penultimate chapter of Phantastes. C.S. Lewis said that upon reading this astonishing 19th-century fairy tale he "had crossed a great frontier," and numerous others both before and since have felt similarly. In MacDonald's fairy tales, both those for children and (like this one) those for adults, the "fairy land" clearly represents the spiritual world, or our own world revealed in all of its depth and meaning. At times almost forthrightly allegorical, at other times richly dreamlike (and indeed having a close connection to the symbolic world of dreams), this story of a young man who finds himself on a long journey through a land of fantasy is more truly the story of the spiritual quest that is at the core of his life's work, a quest that must end with the ultimate surrender of the self. The glory of MacDonald's work is that this surrender is both hard won (or lost!) and yet rippling with joy when at last experienced. As the narrator says of a heavenly woman in this tale, "She knew something too good to be told." One senses the same of the author himself. --Doug Thorpe

About the Author

(1824-1905) The great nineteenth-century innovator of modern fantasy, whose works influenced C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams. "I do not write for children," MacDonald once said, "but for the childlike, whether of five, or fifty, or seventy-five."

Product Details

• Paperback: 197 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; 15th ptg. edition (May 18, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802860605
• ISBN-13: 978-0802860606
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.6 x 6.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #253,037 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 73 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, influential novel of high fantasy October 16, 2002

By Daniel Jolley HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

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.

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Phantastes: Just another Fantasy ? May 20, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

The author was unknown to me when I first picked up this book. I had last delved into fantasy novels as a child, the most notable being the writings of Tolkien & CS Lewis. Phantastes was something on another level completely. Where it may lack the adventure, characterisation & humour of other books, it is a powerful psychological journey. While reading, I was "Anodos" and his experience in the Faerie Lands brought revelatory knowledge of my innermost self. I wept as I slept securely in the warm presence of the Beech & felt again the deep maternal love of my mother for her young child. I shuddered with the recognition of the infernal shadow that sped toward me in the Ogre's cottage knowing that the picture matched my own experience also, and I left that house running, carrying with me an overwhelming sense of despair. I also found that as the character Anodos found redemption and finally his release, that I too, have known this longing all my life. George MacDonald, the author was a man who travelled a hard road, constantly seeing those dear to him dying of the prevalent illnesses of the Victorian era. He lost his mother at a young age and the memory of her is felt through most of his work as are many of the influential & formative experiences of his life. He is a man motivated to use his perceptive writing to influnce people to be greater men & women and I thank him for it.

59 of 64 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Grandfather of modern fantasy May 21, 2003

By bixodoido

Format:Paperback

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.