109 reviews for:

The Princess and Curdie

George MacDonald

3.86 AVERAGE

brookhorse's review against another edition

4.0

Re-read this for the first time in many years since my childhood! This was a lot more of an adventure story and a little less of a fantasy than the previous book, in my opinion. I missed some of the wonder and magic of the previous book, though there were certainly bits of surreality for me to enjoy, such as the Avengers/the Uglies. The Christian analogy comes through even stronger in this book, but you know what? I don't even mind, because God is an old granny and Jesus is a pigeon. Plus, MacDonald's ideas about belief are rather reasonable, and I didn't feel overly preached at. Not quite as lovely a book as the first, but still a very enjoyable read.

_kaylee_m_'s review against another edition

4.0

It's not the most beautiful, polished writing, and the plot is kinda rocky in places. But. I'm enchanted with the religion of these stories. It's Narnia before Narnia was written, only I swallow this better than C. S. Lewis.

Enough backstory is given that you could read this as a stand alone book if you want. I'd still say to start with The Princess and the Goblin though.

Not sure how much sense these quotes make out of context, but they are profound within the story:


' " But if you want me to know you again,
ma'am, for certain sure," said Curdie, " could
you not give me some sign, or tell me something about you that never changes—or some other way to know you, or thing to know you by?"
" No, Curdie; that would be to keep you from
knowing me. You must know me in quite an
other way from that. It would not be the least use to you or me either if I were to make you know me in that way. It would be but to know the sign of me—not to know me myself." '

*****

'All the uppermost rooms in the palace
were left to her use, and when any one was in need of her help, up thither he must go. But even when she was there, he did not always succeed in finding her. She, however, always knew that such a one had been looking for her.'

bookishlybeauty's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.5

jassmine's review against another edition

2.0

I loved the first book [b:The Princess and the Goblin|444381|The Princess and the Goblin (Princess Irene and Curdie, #1)|George MacDonald|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348689290l/444381._SY75_.jpg|3193161] as a kid and then had a major disillusionment with it on a re-read as an adult. I still decided to read the second book in the series because that was the whole reason why I re-read the first book and I was curious. This book isn't really problematic in the same way the first book is problematic, but it's really boring. This is just very thinly veiled Christian messaging and... I mean, if I wanted to read that I would have just picked up the Bible, probably Evangelium according to John, because that one is actually entertaining to read. Or Narnia books... though, I am a bit worried about that re-read now too. I thought I would write more detailed review for this book, but you know what, I don't really want to waste my time on that...

Also, dogs die in this one...

Listened to this free audiobook, it's not the best I listened to from LibriVox, but it was fine: https://librivox.org/the-princess-and-curdie-version-2-by-george-macdonald/

elizabeth159's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.0

booksny's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Some parts of it were still an entertaining read, but the plot was oddly all over the place

allaboutfrodo's review against another edition

3.0

I recently read MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin for the first time and was delighted. I eagerly took up The Princess and Curdie but alas was extremely disappointed. This one is dull and preachy, with a truly depressing final page. I will not be visiting this one again.

chrisannee's review against another edition

3.0

MacDonald's children's princess was so fun and childlike that I decided to pick up the sequel. It didn't quite work because the Princess is somewhat like Peter Pan, in that it's impossible to imagine her grown up. And, even if you manage to accept that, the metaphorical ending is somewhat shattering---metaphorically. But read MacDonald's other stuff for kids to your kids... especially when they're young. Especially if you love Lewis and want them to love Narnia.

ianlukemorel's review against another edition

4.0

I am a sucker for books like this and I can’t exactly pin what “this” is. It’s something about the heavy allegory, whimsical monsters, childlike resolution and adventuresome spirit of books like this one, Dawn Treader, Silver chair and a handful of other books that really draws me in. I’m uncertain that this is a “good book” (whatever that may mean) but it did completely capture my imagination and make me feel a little more enchanted in the Taylorian sense of the word.

brianna2626's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0