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lonelyfangirlirl's review against another edition
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
kassy25's review against another edition
3.0
Good story from George MacDonald. While I didn’t hate it I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did the princess and the goblin!
fell4's review against another edition
3.0
2. 5
This is a queer little book, but such a fun telling of the journey!
This is a queer little book, but such a fun telling of the journey!
kc_renee's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
briannabrennan's review against another edition
5.0
A Beautiful and mystical read. Loved the appearance of grandmother from “The princess and the goblin”, she was always my favorite character. Definitely somewhat philosophical for a children’s story, and I feel like I should go through it again more thoroughly sometime to catch those subtleties
brucefarrar's review against another edition
5.0
Fascinated by a tale told him by his great-aunt about a golden key hidden by the fairies at the end of the rainbow, a boy sees a rainbow in the woods at sundown, and goes to investigate. Fearful that the three bears of her story book are at her door a girl escapes from her bedroom window and runs into the woods. Thus Mossy the boy and Tangle the girl embark on their adventure in Fairyland.
Their fairy tale quest is also a surreal and metaphysical tale of recurring existence, filled with hints of Christian metaphors. Three times is often the charm for MacDonald beginning with the reference to the folktale Silverhair (more commonly known now as Goldilocks and the three bears). The protagonists, Mossy, the boy and Tangle, the girl, encounter three men in various stages of their lives: old, young, and infant. These men or boys aid them on their way. Mossy and Tangle themselves also experience these three ages, but like their three guides, it’s not necessarily in the usual chronological order, indicating that the fairyland through which they journey is outside the bounds of time and space. It is a place of reoccurrence and resurrection and also one of separation and reunion. And as Yolen points out in the afterword, it’s also “an extended metaphor of life and death.”
Their fairy tale quest is also a surreal and metaphysical tale of recurring existence, filled with hints of Christian metaphors. Three times is often the charm for MacDonald beginning with the reference to the folktale Silverhair (more commonly known now as Goldilocks and the three bears). The protagonists, Mossy, the boy and Tangle, the girl, encounter three men in various stages of their lives: old, young, and infant. These men or boys aid them on their way. Mossy and Tangle themselves also experience these three ages, but like their three guides, it’s not necessarily in the usual chronological order, indicating that the fairyland through which they journey is outside the bounds of time and space. It is a place of reoccurrence and resurrection and also one of separation and reunion. And as Yolen points out in the afterword, it’s also “an extended metaphor of life and death.”
jayme's review against another edition
5.0
This is my favourite fairy tale of all time. I read it in an anthology of Victorian fairy tales (that I can't find to rate right now) and it immediately won me over. I can't remember a single other story from the anthology. It has such a strange and beautiful flow to it, I find it hard to describe, but can't recommend it enough. Six stars!
rachela1eaf's review against another edition
5.0
I always adored this book as a child. The surrealism was entrancing to me then, and it still is now. I was afraid that in re-reading it I'd find it more logical, find some sort of straightforward sense to it that would ruin the magic--but I didn't really. It was just as mysterious and meandering as the first time I read it. This is the one time that MacDonald's abrupt ending really does work. Such a lovely experience.
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