Ratings6
Average rating3.7
One of George MacDonald's most important works, Phantastes is the story of a young man named Anotos and his long dreamlike journey in Fairy Land. It is the fairy tale of deep spiritual insight as Anotos makes his way through moments of uncertainty and peril and mistakes that can have irreversible consequences. This is also his spiritual quest that is destined to end with the supreme surrender of the self. When he finally experiences the hard-won surrender, a wave of joy overwhelms him. His intense personal introspection is honest as he is offered the full range of symbolic choices--great beauty, horrifying ugliness, irritating goblins, nurturing spirits. Each confrontation in Fairy Land allows Anotos to learn many necessary lessons. As he continues on the journey, many shadowy beings threaten his spiritual well-being and compel him to sing. The songs are irresistible to a beautiful White Lady who is freed from inside a statue by the music, and Anotos remains captivated by her for a long time. He sees the world more objectively; his trek invites a natural descent into feelings of pride and egotism. But his losses and sorrows coalesce themselves into things of grace, and these experiences help his spiritual growth. Please Note: This book has been reformatted to be easy to read in true text, not scanned images that can sometimes be difficult to decipher. The Microsoft eBook has a contents page linked to the chapter headings for easy navigation. The Adobe eBook has bookmarks at chapter headings and is printable up to two full copies per year. Both versions are text searchable.
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1,890 booksWhen you think back on every book you've ever read, what are some of your favorites? These can be from any time of your life – books that resonated with you as a kid, ones that shaped your personal...
Reviews with the most likes.
Strange, disjointed tale with some compelling images and lines but overall not as satisfying as some of MacDonald's other works. Read because of C.S. Lewis's statement in Surprised by Joy of the powerful effect it had on him – one of those books that can be incredible when it hits you at the right time. It was not the same for me.
One of my favorites! An amazing story filled with symbolism and comming of age angst.
Dreamlike, but that is not necessarily a compliment.
The story feels very uneven, with some very successful and transcendent stories and some decidedly less so. The metanarrative struck me as strained and didn't seem to do a good job of explaining Anodos' motivations, actions, or what was going on.
As a parable, some of the interludes are excellent, some more questionable.