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PHANTASTESWritten by George MacDonald
We always judge fiction by the quality of the world that is created before us. Can we see the old woman peeling potatoes? Do we hear the kids laughing down the street? Is the wind playing with our hair as we turn the pages? C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien are always high on the list of world-creators, yet it’s quite possible that George MacDonald surpasses them both. Lewis even wrote: “I have never concealed that I regarded MacDonald as my master, indeed I fancy I have never written a book in which I did not quote from him.”
In 1858 the Scottish Pastor wrote one of his first novels: Phantastes, A Faerie Romance. It is the story of Anodos who, after the death of his father, finds himself in possession of a desk. Inspecting the desk he finds a secret panel behind which lives a beautiful Fairy. Through a trick that is common only to the genre of fantasy, he is suddenly found in the Fairy world, where trees are people, people are at least part fairy, and the fairies are sprites who do nothing except what pleases them. Anodos is a young man who is compelled to treat this new world with nothing less than the most scientific manner, but try as he might, he cannot remain untouched by the beauty and adventure to be found in this land. Phantastes is much like a dream: It follows only the slimmest line of logic, and when you have read a portion you remember only vague pictures and feelings. You were captivated by the world, and now that you are out of it, you must remind yourself that it was only a book…Or was it?
George MacDonald is a gifted writer. His grasp of language is beyond any other writer in memory. With the first few words he catches your imagination and lets you tap into his:
“I awoke one morning with the usual perplexity of mind, which accompanies the return of consciousness. As I lay and looked through the eastern window of my room, a faint streak of peach-colour, dividing a cloud that just rose above the low swell of the horizon, announced the approach of the sun.”While there might not be loads of wise lessons taught in this book, the language alone is enough to make it well worth your time. Don’t ever pass up an opportunity to get lost in the world of George MacDonald’s Phantastes. The Fairies are waiting, and the trees are anxious to meet you.
- Melissa Miles
February 2003
February 2003
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