Customer Reviews

Sir Gibbie

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sir Gibbie by George Macdonald
The first time I read this book, I found it long, boring, and dull. I didn't understand why everyone else who read it thought it was so excellent. So I really thought hard about it one night, and made up my mind that I would keep reading it until I understood the message. Finally, it came to me, and it was so overpowering that I broke down and cried.
Gibbie is a young, mute boy with an alcoholic father. He has a kind heart and is extremely gentle. His good friend, Sambo, is murdered, and he runs away. Gibbie is just a small boy in a large, cruel world, and he is treated badly by everyone on his journey but one woman, Janet. The variety of places he lived and the things he had to go through really taught me that not everyone has a full roof over their head, or enough clothes to cover more than a few body parts. This book gave me a lot to think about, such as the fact that some children are abused and don't show it at all to anyone. Or that most people just make assumptions about things that they know nothing about. I realize that I am guilty of these things, as everyone else is.
This book was very compelling and I learned a lot about grace and mercy from it. The forgiveness that Gibbie shows his father towards the end is unbelievable, and I thought it was amazing that a tiny, mute boy could show so much more faith, wisdom, and emotion than anyone I have ever met, or read in a book. The story definitely had an impact on my view of how the world treats people and how the smallest child (who isn't even real) could change your life. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone - it is extremely good!

Like many people, I read MacDonald's 'Lilith' and 'Phantastes.'
They were superb. I tried a collection of short stories, they
were ok. It seemed the rest of his work, labeled as children's
stories or novels of Scotch pastoral life, would not interest
me.

2 or 3 years later I read Melville's 'Moby Dick' I was casting
about desperately for something even remotely comparable to
Melville's masterpiece. I read Chesterton's 'The Man who was
Thursday.' Very good book. But what next?

Even more desperate, I ordered an unabridged 1927 printing of
Sir Gibbie. About 400 pages of small print, btw. I am amazed.
I'm 3/4 thru it. This is even better than 'Lilith'
or 'Phantastes.' This is MacDonald at the height of his power.
His ideals and his knowledge of the human condition come thru
in prose so rich and powerful that many passages have to be
studied rather than read. Like Melville in 'Moby Dick.'

Yes, if any of this can be conveyed to a child, great. Yes,
Christians may embrace it and seek to make it their own.
MacDonald was a minister and he preaches from the soul here.

But Gibbie as a literary character is a Titan of the same stature
as Melville's Ahab. That comparison is of Light to Dark only
because I don't know of any other fictional Hero of the Light
comparable to Gibbie. Let me underline this: if you won't like
a hero who is entirely good, if you don't believe any character
can embody the universal ideals of humanity, then you won't like
'Sir Gibbie.' MacDonald is utterly uncompromising on this issue.
He wanted a Power of heaven to walk on earth. Gibbie is that
Power.

I believe 'Sir Gibbie' is the work which is at the root of
MacDonald's influence and friendship with other writers.

But let me make clear, the book is not just an exercise in
character development. MacDonald's prose in observing the
nature of the book's many other characters is devastatingly
potent.

One of the most powerful literary works I've ever read.

I love this book so much that I have re-read it many times. It is a beautiful story of overcoming obstacles, increasing one's faith, and the redemption of mean-spirited people as they recognize goodness and truth and leave their unkind ways. It makes one's heart leap for joy with its Christian message. The writings of George MacDonald had a major influence on C.S. Lewis, and you will understand why when you read this Victorian classic. This edition is especially good to read to children as the confusing Scottish dialect has been simplified.

I had just began rereading the original long-form version of the story when this Young Readers version arrived.

It didn't take long for me to be disappointed.

In the first, I had to work hard to understand the Broad Scotch passages, the non-P.C. language (BTW, what's wrong with using the word "negro" in an innocently non-judgmental way?) and the author's lengthy sidebars, which are all missing from this edited version. This later edition makes the central story much easier to read.

But, sadly, Ms. Lindskoog removes much of the richness and depth of the original. Gone are the insights into the characters' motivations - all we get are their actions. Gone are the many of MacDonald's opinions about human life and God's desires for us. Gone are many interpersonal exchanges between characters, such as the most of the quite delightful argument between Mistress Croale and Reverend Sclater about his goal of closing her saloon.

Don't get me wrong, this is still a very good story and does not shy away from MacDonald's original *very* evangelical Christian goal. But (this version at least) misses much of what the author originally seems to have intended.

If you can get the full, unabriged version, please, by all means do so. You will be enriched through the effort of reading it. But if you don't want to work that hard, this version is still worthwhile.

The April 22, 2000 and April 26, 2005 reviews are, I think, referring to a different edition. This edition is by Johannesen, who just reprint the original edition. They are referring to edited versions which "dumb down" or make suitable for younger folk the difficulty in some of MacDonald's writings (i.e. Scotch dialect, brief escapades away from the main story). If you are looking for the unedited version, you have found it. Buy confidently. This is one of my favorites of MacDonald's books, but then, so many are.

Discovering Sir Gibbie by George MacDonald has changed my reading habits.

A wonderful story with many spiritual truths. I will be a fan of George MacDonald from now on.

Yvonne Barrett

Relates the tale of Sir Gibbie greatly abridged. Though not nearly as good as the original (but you have to have an ear for heavy Scots dialect to wade through the original - yet it's worth it) still a good tale. This may be my favorite MacDonald Book (in the original) which simplified for young people is worth 4 stars.

This unabridged version of Sir Gibbie is worth wading through the Scots dialect--a challenge even for those familiar with it to some extent. You can skip some of it and still follow the story, but the dialect adds much to the story. And the story is an extremely entertaining and edifying one. I read that this was C.S. Lewis's favorite Macdonald, and I can see why. Now it's mine, too. My husband was entranced with just hearing parts of the story. It's a wonderful story. And then you have Macdonald's words to make your heart melt or sing or sigh. The humor is delicious when it appears, as in the scene of Gibbie in the doghouse with Oscar, the collie. I finished the book inspired, entertained, and spiritually wiser.

Having read & enjoyed Sir Gibbie some time back, I continue to purchase copies to give to friends (young & old) and to try to keep additional copies on our church book table.