Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Phantastes

3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 · rating details · 2,866 ratings · 229 reviews

"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" cl...more

Paperback, 216 pages

Published July 1st 2008 by Waking Lion Press (first published 1858)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

Favorite Magical Realist Novels

197th out of 683 books — 2,744 voters

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian by Robert E. Howard

The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany

A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll

Pre-Tolkien Fantasy

14th out of 51 books — 37 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jul 24, 2009 matthew rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is an interesting book. C.S. Lewis cites MacDonald as his guru of types (note his role in the book "The Great Divorce"). Lewis further said that Phantastes "baptized [his:] imagination". Those are strong words and citations from an author that I love reading. So I decided to try out Phantastes. It is a "fairy romance", but really it is in the vein of Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress"--an extended allegory about life and philosophy. Except, in this version, none of the characters are explicitly...more

like 3 likes · see review

Nov 20, 2009 Melinda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, british-lit, christian

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I read this book first in 1984. I did not understand it. I thought I would read it again, and perhaps being a bit better educated I would understand it better. I think I need to read it again in about 20 years.

I love C.S. Lewis. C.S. Lewis credits the writing of George MacDonald with converting his imagination, years before his intellect or conscience was similarly converted. Lewis considered MacDonald his master, and even writes him into his book, "The Great Divorce", as a wonderful teacher. So...more I read this book first in 1984. I did not understand it. I thought I would read it again, and perhaps being a bit better educated I would understand it better. I think I need to read it again in about 20 years.

I love C.S. Lewis. C.S. Lewis credits the writing of George MacDonald with converting his imagination, years before his intellect or conscience was similarly converted. Lewis considered MacDonald his master, and even writes him into his book, "The Great Divorce", as a wonderful teacher. So if Lewis liked MacDonald and thought so highly of him, I am eager to understand and think so as well.

Unfortunately, I really don't understand the book! It is like a huge mystical set of fairy tales, with shadows and behind-the-scenes stories that must mean something... but unfortunately I don't know what!

In brief, Anodos, the main character, is transformed from this world into the land of Fairy. He has adventures, trials, temptations, and battles in the land of Fairy. What any of these adventures mean is difficult to say, either as individual adventures, or as one big huge adventure. In the end, ***SPOILER ALERT**** Anodos dies in a battle. However, his death in the land of Fairy merely transforms him back into the real world. So he lives the rest of his life using what he learned (I wish I knew what that was?) in this life.

One wonderful quotation that I've always loved is this.... "I knew now, that it is by loving, and not by being loved, that one can come nearest the soul of another, yes, that where two love, it is the loving of each other, and not the being beloved by each other, that originates and perfects and assures their blessedness. I knew that love gives to him that loveth, power over any soul beloved, even if that soul know him not, bringing him inwardly close to that spirit, a power that cannot be but for good, for in proportion as selfishness intrudes, the love ceases, and the power which springs therefrom dies. Yet all love will, one day, meet with its return. All true love will, one day, behold its own image in the eyes of the beloved, and be humbly glad."

So, someone read the book please, and share your thoughts on it! (less)

like 2 likes · see review

Jul 25, 2011 Chad Gibbons rated it 4 of 5 stars

What an excellent book. This is my favorite George MacDonald book by far. There is a palpable sense of danger as the narrator Anodos tells of his travels in Fairy-Land. Along his journey, he encounters sinister Ash trees, mischievous kobolds, women who only appear in the reflection of mirrors, Sir Galahad, and a host of other fairy-folk. It's written in the classic George MacDonald surrealist tone, which at times will make you gape with wonder and at others cringe in horror. If you take any deli...more

like 4 likes · see review

Jun 12, 2007 Adam rated it 5 of 5 stars

For lovers of good storytelling, this one is a great find. I was tempted to label Phastastes as a fantasy, and while it is one, it has a sense of being much more than that. The vocabulary is a bit more intense than what the modern reader is used to, but this story from nearly one and a half centuries ago holds up very well to the test of time. Overall, very enjoyable, solid storytelling...MacDonald's rich descriptions draw you into the world he creates.

I guarantee I will pick it up again in the...more

like 6 likes · see review

Jan 17, 2009 John rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Very good. Now if only I could understand more of the symbolism....

like 5 likes · see review

Apr 04, 2007 Cora rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

A friend and I decided to have "family story time" each evening as a new bedtime routine to help us fall asleep more calmly in the midst of interpersonal and academic stress. We chose this classic tale, picked up by C.S. Lewis at a train station (he later said that it influenced his writing greatly).. it's a fabulous read-aloud story because the writing is just so darn good, especially in the introductory chapters. We have at least a dozen notecards with quotes from the book scattered about the...more

like 6 likes · see review

Aug 04, 2011 Jacob Aitken added it · review of another edition

In many ways this really isn't a good book. The style borders on choppy and dense. The story doesn't always flow. MacDonald routinely makes excurses without telling you. But...

The "mythopoeic" prose is its redeeming quality. MaDonald bathed the book in sacramentality. Every leaf, grove, and spring refleted redemption--and MacDonald is a talented enough artist that he can show redemption without telling you redemption (usually).

The story line is simple enough. The protagonists finds himself in "...more

like · see review

Apr 21, 2013 Joel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Do not go into this book expecting high fantasy or even a coherent fairy tale. Reading Anodos' journey through faerie land is like being immersed in someone's beautiful, rambling, half-understood dream. George MacDonald uses a bewildering profusion of symbols, allegory, and good old-fashioned fairy tale ingredients to ponder the nature of beauty, love, nobility, the true self, eternity, etc. I felt like the overall affect was somewhat uneven, swinging between overly ornate Victorian melodrama an...more

like · see review

Feb 11, 2013 Vivian rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: novels

The beginning narrative hooked me. On the occasion of his 21st birthday, young Anodos is given the key to his deceased father's desk. But it is what he finds in the desk that opens the door to the rest of the tale. And what a tale it is.

This reader (moi)wondered how the writer was able to contrive this epic journey through who-knows-where for who-knows-what. This work is something of a shake-up of Rousseau, Defoe, Baum, and C.S. Lewis. In fact, Lewis names MacDonald as a spiritual mentor, thoug...more

like 1 like · see review

Mar 15, 2012 Smcleish rated it 3 of 5 stars

Originally published on my blog here in October 1998.

Today MacDonald is perhaps best known for his childrens books, particularly The Princess and the Goblin, but (like Hans Christian Andersen) he also wrote for adults. He was one of the nineteenth century precursors of the modern fantasy genre, along with William Morris (whose work Phantastes closely resembles) and collectors and writers of fairy stories such as Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, and the Celtic revivalists. Through his...more Originally published on my blog here in October 1998.

Today MacDonald is perhaps best known for his childrens books, particularly The Princess and the Goblin, but (like Hans Christian Andersen) he also wrote for adults. He was one of the nineteenth century precursors of the modern fantasy genre, along with William Morris (whose work Phantastes closely resembles) and collectors and writers of fairy stories such as Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, and the Celtic revivalists. Through his influence on J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, MacDonald has come to have an effect on twentieth century literature rather greater than his innate literary merit deserves.

Part of what doesn't quite come off about Phantastes is that it is almost completely devoid of plot. The narrator stumbles into Fairy Land, where, after several adventures in a wood he gains a shadow (beyond his natural one); the remainder of the book is spent in an attempt to perform good and valiant deeds to remove it. It is akin to the individual quest which is part and parcel of the fantasy genre (deriving from medieval epics detailing the adventures of knights), mainly because Tolkien used it in The Lord of the Rings. But the journey is not really sufficiently purposeful here to be called a quest; the reader gets the distinct impression that the narrator is wandering aimlessly from one adventure to another.

The positive side to this lack of plot is that it gives Phantastes a dreamlike, poetic quality (though the actual poetry that appears in the book is best skipped, as in so many later fantasy novels). This is particularly true of the best episode in the novel, the time spent by the narrator in the castle of the Fairy Queen, trying to catch a glimpse of the courtiers invisible to normal human eyes.

A major aspect of Phantastes, and one strong influence on Tolkien and particularly Lewis, is the allegory. Many of the episodes have an allusive, symbolic quality, typical of medieval allegories such as Piers Plowman, though the symbols used by MacDonald here are sufficiently personal to make interpretation difficult if not impossible. From clues in the text, and given that MacDonald was an ordained (if somewhat eccentric) clergyman, it is reasonable to guess that part of the thems of the novel is to allegorise the Christian life. Fairy Land represents the spiritual world in which the Bible insists a Christian lives, with both good and evil spirits; the shadow is the soul's load of sin (as in The Pilgrim's Progress). Beyond this it is difficult to go, though there is an extremely clear picture of death and the resurrection towards the end of the book.(less)

like · see review

Aug 08, 2011 Annette rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, christian-worldview, sci-fi, gutenberg

Rich, dense, and chewy: words that describe both the ideal chocolate chip oatmeal cookie and "Phantases," by George MacDonald. The later is also usually dreamlike, often poetic, frequently allegorical, and occasionally very profound. It would also be fair to label it as "rambling" and "sometimes rather slow," but these minor issues can be forgiven in my ever-so-humble opinion.
As the subtitle suggests, this is a fairy tale for grownups. The hero finds his way into Faery Land the day after his 21...more

like · see review

Feb 22, 2013 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, own, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. While George MacDonald's writing is not flawless and beautiful, he is known for his imagination and storytelling. As I read MacDonald, I do notice awkward passages and unclear phrases, but he is worth reading for all that.

This book is often labeled "Fantasy," although it isn't a fantasy with a clear plot like "The Princess and Curdie" or "At the Back of the North Wind." This book is structured in a very meandering dream-like way. The protagonist will wander through a forest and suddenly find him...more While George MacDonald's writing is not flawless and beautiful, he is known for his imagination and storytelling. As I read MacDonald, I do notice awkward passages and unclear phrases, but he is worth reading for all that.

This book is often labeled "Fantasy," although it isn't a fantasy with a clear plot like "The Princess and Curdie" or "At the Back of the North Wind." This book is structured in a very meandering dream-like way. The protagonist will wander through a forest and suddenly find himself at the sea side, or wander up to a palace. And also, MacDonald's other fantasies are for children, while this one is subtitled "A Faerie Romance for Men and Women."

The main character is named Anodos. His name means "ascent" and the story is about his spiritual ascent. On his 21st birthday he is informed by a fairy that he will find his way into farieland -- which he does the next morning. His adventures lead him into an encounter with a demon-like Ash tree, a lovely beech tree and a "marble lady". While traveling he receives an unnatural shadow that torments him. He rests in a palace, reading and exploring. He goes on a quest to kill giants, and becomes a squire to a knight. The adventures in this book are very allegorical.

While traveling, Anodos' "creates" a marble lady, or releases her from stone. She is his ideal, but she runs away and he spends a lot of time seeking her. The woman who comforts and helps him is the lady of the beech tree. It seems as though MacDonald was showing how humans seek impossible ideals of their own creation, instead of seeking what God has created for us. This is emphaisized by the ending in which he senses good is coming, and remembers the beech tree.

Also, while following the knight (who is labled as noble and good), the knight is hoodwinked by evil worshippers. Anodos is not taken in, but sacrifices himself saving the knight. This seems to be an allegory about the necessity to be wise as well as good, and above all we are to be self-sacrificially loving.

Several times Anodos goes through rough discouraging times, and always he finds comfort from someone or some place. This very redemptive theme pops up all through this book.

Through much of the book Anodos has a "shadow" that weighs him down. This probably represents guilt. He finally loses his shadow when someone he wronged previously forgives him.

I will admit, I was not impressed with MacDonald's attempts at verse and song. I mostly skimmed those, and toward the end I skipped them entirely.

At the end it turns out the whole adventure only took 21 days. Anodos recognizes his experience as preparation for life. He knows if he doesn't heed the lessons he learned he will repeat them in his real life. I don't pretend to understand all that MacDonald said in this book, but it's interesting and worth reading.

Also, you can read this book free at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/325 (less)

like · see review

Nov 05, 2009 Jeslyn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Lyrical, mesmerizing "faerie romance for men and women", thus far this story focuses on Anodos and his epic journey through the dreamlike Fairy Land - but if the reader is looking for tiny winged creatures, he will find them only briefly; Fairy Land is populated with numerous inhabitants who are in fact human, and others appear so but with supernatural qualities. Though society (and rampant marketing) have oversold the idea of a benign parallel world of beauty and frolicking sprites, make no mis...more

like 2 likes · see review

Dec 28, 2012 Iain rated it 4 of 5 stars

Might not do a lot for you, but this pushes a lot of my buttons: Victorian literature, pioneering fantasy, carving out the conventions of a new genre and inspiring later authors (notably C.S. Lewis). MacDonald is more well-known for The Princess and the Goblin (which I haven't read), but I recently learned that Phantastes was a formative read for a teenaged Tolkien, so I was intrigued enough to give it a try.

It's the rather strange story of a young gentleman by the odd name of Anodos, who wakes...more Might not do a lot for you, but this pushes a lot of my buttons: Victorian literature, pioneering fantasy, carving out the conventions of a new genre and inspiring later authors (notably C.S. Lewis). MacDonald is more well-known for The Princess and the Goblin (which I haven't read), but I recently learned that Phantastes was a formative read for a teenaged Tolkien, so I was intrigued enough to give it a try.

It's the rather strange story of a young gentleman by the odd name of Anodos, who wakes one morning to find himself in Faerie. Flower fairies, tree spirits both helpful and harmful, knights, giants, elfish dancers at the periphery of your visions… But with an adult spin, or at least late-adolescent, as Anodos pursues and pines after a lady he wakes from her magical slumber.

I really enjoyed the delicate way MacDonald explores the rules of his fairy-land, and makes it feel almost real and concrete. What exactly is the life-cycle of a flower fairy, for example? Neither we nor Anodos quite uncover the whole truth, but we do get some intriguing snippets. It doesn't stand serious investigation but it sustains your credibility nicely.

And I didn't precisely enjoy the morbid subtext of the story, but I enjoyed being weirded out by it. Rather like the poetry of the time, it's a paean to the beauty of unrequited love and the romance of wasting away from a broken heart. We don't get a conventional happy ending, but Anodos declares that "All true love will, one day, behold its own image in the eyes of the beloved, and be humbly glad. This is possible in the realms of lofty Death." Not exactly a positive message! I guess goths in the 1800s didn't have the Cure and the Cocteau Twins, so they had to exorcise their angst via novels like this instead.

If you like the likes of Neil Gaiman and Peter Beagle—or going back a bit, Lord Dunsany and Hope Mirrlees—I think you might enjoy this, if you can manage to chew your way through that dense Victorian syntax. It's like a rich Christmas pudding, full of spices rarely used these days.(less)

like 2 likes · see review

Oct 30, 2011 Ty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: loc-ebooks-ibooks

Great quote from the end: "May the world be brighter for me, at least in those portions of it, where my darkness falls not."

Loved the story, though I need to read it again to understand the deeper symbolism. There was a lot that seemed right out of Book 1 of The Faerie Queen by Edmund Spenser. Also I could tell that certain parts influenced The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis. I read the Project Gurenberg e-text for free and the poetry was not formatted correctly. Otherwise though, the free vers...more

like 1 like · see review

Apr 19, 2013 Kevin Finelli rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review is based on the public domain audio recording by Brad Powers, available at librivox.org

I enjoyed Phantastes on several levels. At the surface, it is an enjoyable fantasy store or fairy tale about a young man who wakes up in the fairy world one day. The story is infused throughout with poetry, including a quote at the beginning of each chapter, and many songs and poems sung or spoken by the characters themselves. For me personally, hearing rather than reading helped me enjoy the poetr...more

like 1 like · see review

Jul 18, 2012 Lindsay rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks, 2012, thought-provoking, fantasy-fairytale

I just don't know where to begin. Well, I guess first to say that now I can understand why and how this book so strongly inspired the likes of C.S. Lewis. It is truly a gem. This isn't your "once upon a time" happy go lucky fairy-tale realm...it's dark, it's thought provoking and yes, while some of the descriptions regarding "fairy folk" as cherub and such, these creatures are truly mischievous and hardly "whimsical". Appearances are deceiving---which, is actually a strong central theme of the s...more

like · see review

Apr 01, 2013 Bryan rated it 3 of 5 stars

In my quest to explore classic literature of all genres, I was particularly excited about this book, being a classic in my favourite genre, fantasy. Having explored a number of fantasy classics from the early twentieth century, I was fairly eager to take my exploration back to the nineteenth century to find out what had started the "modern" phase of the genre. What I found was...interesting.

Phantastes, taken as a novel, is flawed. MacDonald's dense prose, although rising to the level of brillian...more

like · see review

Jul 08, 2012 Robert rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While a great improvement over MacDonald's early poetry, and clearly belonging to the popular literature of its day, there was not a great deal of cohesiveness to the volume.

The book began reading much like Louisa May Alcott's fairy stories. Here is a young man taking a journey through fairy land, which seems to be a forest. But consistency is not MacDonald's strong point. About the only thing he holds onto for very long is the main character himself. The fairies are inconsistent. The journey is...more

like · see review

May 19, 2011 Werner rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fantasy fans who don't mind Victorian diction

Shelves: fantasy

While I read this book several years ago (the 2006 date is a "best guess"), I'd actually started it back in 1990 and didn't finish it at that time. It gets off to kind of a slow start, and one element in the storyline was initially off-putting to me (but no spoilers here!). However, I'm glad I decided to give it a second and fairer chance; it proved to be a solid three-star fantasy that I enjoyed. Basically, it's a coming-of-age tale in a fantasy setting; and it's perhaps the first example in th...more

like 5 likes · see review

May 13, 2011 Oria rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“But Love is such a Mystery
I cannot find it out:
For when I think I’m best resolv’d,
I then am in most doubt.”
(Sir John Suckling)

I have just finished Phantastes and was immediately compelled to put my thoughts to paper. What attracted me to the book was, beside the title, the blurb at the back which said the story is a “fairy tale for adults” and I needed no more persuasion.

The book relates the story of Anodos, a young wealthy man who, on his 21st birthday receives the keys to a mysterious secreta...more “But Love is such a Mystery
I cannot find it out:
For when I think I’m best resolv’d,
I then am in most doubt.”
(Sir John Suckling)

I have just finished Phantastes and was immediately compelled to put my thoughts to paper. What attracted me to the book was, beside the title, the blurb at the back which said the story is a “fairy tale for adults” and I needed no more persuasion.

The book relates the story of Anodos, a young wealthy man who, on his 21st birthday receives the keys to a mysterious secretary which belonged to his father. He opens it and so begins his journey into adulthood. It is really the story of his coming of age through challenges he has to overcome, of joy and love and sadness and despair, for he must go through all of that.
His journey takes him to a fantastic land – he meets a birch-tree that is not really a tree, statues that are not really statues, giants and knights and kind old ladies. He is imprisoned but escapes, he fights for a noble cause and wins, he meets all sorts of creatures, good and evil, all meant to make him understand and learn life’s lessons. Learn that sometimes we do harm and are forgiven by those whom we have hurt, that love can be of many ways, that beauty does not equal purity of soul, and friendship has wonderful rewards. Each adventure is meant to teach him something and he comes out of this experience changed, an adult.

Although the language was not very easy to read (the book was, after all, published in the mid 1850’s) and I found myself going back to re-read certain passages, the story had a melody which made me want to keep going. Imbued with wonderful bits of poetry and very vividly described scenes, it took me to another world where everything was possible and nothing was left to chance, to a land where beauty goes hand in hand with ugliness and where weeping is the companion of laughter. In other words, life.

“Fight on, my men, Sir Andrew sayes,
A little Ime hurt, but yett not slaine;
Yle but lye downe and bleede awhile,
And then Ile rise and fight againe.”
(Ballad of Sir Andrew Barton)
(less)

like 2 likes · see review

Mar 31, 2013 El rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, late19th-centurylit, library-borrow

I like a good faerie story, a nice romp in fairy lands. I especially like reading older fantasy novels to help this graph I have in my head showing the progression and evolution of fantasy in literature. MacDonald's book here, published in 1857, seemed like a good one to pick up - it's an early fantasy novel with an introduction by C.S. Lewis, possibly the world's first MacDonald fanboy (and OMG he drooled all over MacDonald in that introduction), and this MacDonald guy inspired not only Lewis,...more I like a good faerie story, a nice romp in fairy lands. I especially like reading older fantasy novels to help this graph I have in my head showing the progression and evolution of fantasy in literature. MacDonald's book here, published in 1857, seemed like a good one to pick up - it's an early fantasy novel with an introduction by C.S. Lewis, possibly the world's first MacDonald fanboy (and OMG he drooled all over MacDonald in that introduction), and this MacDonald guy inspired not only Lewis, but also Tolkien, and I like him, so.

Here's something I'm not always that great at, and especially right now when I'm sickly: ALLEGORIES. I often suck at reading allegories. When I read Narnia the first time? I was all, "Oh, hey, Aslan the lion is super cute." And then I learned what Narnia and Aslan represented and I was all, "No freaking way!" I had to read it all again to make sense of it all, and even then I was a little skeptical.

I went into reading this knowing a bit about MacDonald and that he wrote these allegorical type things. I was a little hesitant, but open to the idea - so many of these writers (like Lewis) write fantastical allegories and somehow in my head I'm trying to make sense of it all because that's just not how my brain works, I'm too scientific or something. I think there are religious stories and then there are fantasy novels, and I don't always get how they can be one and the same without likely getting into an argument with someone. So it's better to just keep my mouth shut.

Okay, so the story is fine, but man, it really dragged for me. I don't feel it ever really picked up, and maybe that's because I knew that I was being (for lack of a better word) tricked by MacDonald. I knew that what he was writing was not what he was saying and that made me sort of irate. So I tried to put that aside and just focus on the imagery because MacDonald wrote incredible imagery. But that trickery was beneath it and I couldn't get over it.

Plus, there are a lot of songs. Remember Tom Bombadil's songs in Tolkien? Exactly.

Whatever, this just didn't work for me. It's not without merit, though, and clearly a lot of writers I do appreciate, respect, or even enjoy were into MacDonald. I have more of his books that I will eventually read, but I'm not particularly looking forward to it.

Let's put it this way - this book wasn't worth the overdue library fees I accrued by holding onto it longer than I should have. It's just... it was so short that I thought it would read faster and that was definitely not the case.

You can put cheese on broccoli but it's still broccoli, y'know?(less)

like 5 likes · see review

Apr 17, 2013 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-fantasy, philosophy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is a fascinating read. It is somewhere between Pilgrim's Progress, Narnia, and LOTR. It is, however, a much lighter read than LOTR and far more enigmatic than Narnia.
There is a great deal of depth and meaning packed into this. Although I'm sure there is much more, I think this could basically be divided into several main sections or points:
1) The introduction to evil. The main character, Anados, is pursued by the Ash and almost killed by him.
2) The depiction of the fool in Proverbs. He is l...more

like · see review

Oct 30, 2011 Sienna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

A lovely philosophical fantasy — one of the earliest I've read — that has aged pretty well. Appropriately, the language strays into overly flowery territory, even for me. In some respects this works, particularly where descriptions of the natural world are concerned, but in others, most noticeably the frequent song-poems, it gets a little grating. Our hero's name, Anodos, derives from the Greek for an ascent or way up, and MacDonald skillfully shows that to ascend does not limit us to uphill cli...more

like · see review

Jul 08, 2012 Andrew rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am so glad that I added this book to my Kindle. I loved MacDonald's Curdie stories, but not the more involved At the Back of the North Wind, so I was not excited about Phantastes. But I was well-rewarded for trusting recommendations for this one, which features an adult, albeit a young man, getting to know the wild ways of Fairy Land. Tolkien's short story, "Smith of Wooten Major", sketches adventures like this, but MacDonald brings the whole adventure to life. Much beauty, much poignant sadne...more

like · see review

Jun 15, 2012 Caleb rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, favorites

This mythopoetic literature as C. S. Lewis called is one of a kind. Full of winding tales and poetry this book is simply beautiful and MacDonald at his best. Lewis loved it. I loved it. You'll love it.

like 1 like · see review

Jun 19, 2011 Lucy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ever and anon. Gazing wondrously. Signifying assent. Holding in durance. Adventuring overthrow. Perilous endeavours. Withal.
If this is the sort of thing you like, this book is for you. Other reviews tell you the plot; I didn't find it as overtly Christian as many have. It's a good read for a wet Sunday once you get past the language. Look out for the calceolaria fairy, the wicked ash and gymnastic goblins - I found these elements of whimsical fantasy more to my taste than the heavy allegory of...more

like · see review

Oct 18, 2009 Hilary rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: grown-up-books, fantasy

Am ever in the process of reading this book and I have always loved George Mac Donald's writing but just can't seem to get through it-I know it was a huge impact on the writing of C.S. Lewis but still...still trying to finish it!

like 1 like · see review

Feb 10, 2013 Pavel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fairy tale can often express truth about human soul much stronger than any realistic story and MacDonald is master in creating such myths. Christian version of much younger and much more brutal Book of Lost Things by J. Connoly.

In Czech: Síla MacDonalda je v jeho schopnosti vyjádřit fantastickým příběhem daleko hlubší skutečnost, než na jakou se zmůže mnohý realistický román. Hrdina přichází z normálního světa do Pohádkové říše a zde se setkává se stromy, skřítky, rytíři, obry i s krásnými paním...more

like · see review

Jan 09, 2009 Adam Kranz rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: antiquarian-prose, magical-connective-fantastic-lit, favorites

While his style may not be for everyone, and perhaps is something that requires a bit of indulgence, I loved it, and would list it among my favoritest of books. It was a very perfect Romantic Period book, similar in that way to Narcissus and Goldmund, which is an even more perfect book of Romanticism, though not of the period itself. Every little natural thing is personified in every description, the narrator falls in love with every girl he sees, he dreams, he meets cosmic mothers, he is deceiv...more

like 2 likes · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (117)

More editions...

Genres

Fantasy

271 users

Classics

20 users

Literature

16 users

Christian Fiction

15 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

13 users

Fantasy > Fairy Tales

13 users

Christian

11 users

Religion

7 users

Literature > 19th Century

6 users

Adventure

6 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

The Wood Beyond the World
by William Morris
Descent Into Hell
by Charles Williams
Manalive
by G.K. Chesterton
The Worm Ouroboros
by E.R. Eddison
Poems
by C.S. Lewis

About George MacDonald

George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.

Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and Madeleine L'Engle. It was C.S. Lewis that wrote that he regarded MacDonald as his "master": "Picking up a copy of Phantastes one day at a train-station bookstall, I be...more

More about George MacDonald...

Books by George MacDonald

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Phantastes, a Fae...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Phantastes, a Faerie R...

“It is by loving, and not by being loved, that one can come nearest the soul of another; yea, that, where two love, it is the loving of each other, that originates and perfects and assures their blessedness. I knew that love gives to him that loveth, power over over any soul be loved, even if that soul know him not, bringing him inwardly close to that spirit; a power that cannot be but for good; for in proportion as selfishness intrudes, the love ceases, and the power which springs therefrom dies. Yet all love will, one day, meet with its return. ” — 78 people liked it

“And her life will perhaps be the richer, for holding now within it the memory of what came, but could not stay.” — 21 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Phantastes
avg rating	preview: Phantastes Goodreads rating: 3.99 (2866 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/174948.Phantastes?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327629648l/174948.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/174948.Phantastes?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Phantastes by George MacDonald[/url]

Phantastes

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website