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italorebelo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
kstephensreads's review
4.0
Read this one with the Literary Life podcast. It is a lovely story, although I admit I felt a bit dazed and lost, like I was floating and disoriented, at times. Perhaps that is part of the point. I read this along with the Literary Life Podcast and enjoyed their discussions- definitely helped me have more appreciation for it.
mcfoster's review
3.0
I started reading this because it was one of the works that inspired C.S. Lewis (and probably the great JRRT as well). It is told in an older style and readers need to be aware of this.
The story follows Anodos, a young man, as he enters Faerieland and explores. It's rather hard to give an outline of the plot, as it is very picaresque and jumps from incident to incident in a rather dreamlike fashion. To a modern reader, it appears haphazard and meandering, with many distractions and sidelines. The characters are also rather flat, the the point of being archetypal. However, the descriptions are luscious and stimulate the imagination, and the themes are very strong. The description of Anodos' fight with the giant is nicely vivid.
I believe that the archetypal nature of the characters and the recurring motifs of the different events and incidents have some sort of psychological significance, and it is very easy to read this work as an allegory of a young man's development of character. Jung and Freud would have a field day with it; indeed, the Shadow is a classic Jungian archetype. The incident where Anodos meets the girl with the globe is possibly a good old-fashioned Freudian metaphor:.
This story may not be to modern tastes, but it could provide a rich source of motifs and inspiration for today's writers.
The story follows Anodos, a young man, as he enters Faerieland and explores. It's rather hard to give an outline of the plot, as it is very picaresque and jumps from incident to incident in a rather dreamlike fashion. To a modern reader, it appears haphazard and meandering, with many distractions and sidelines. The characters are also rather flat, the the point of being archetypal. However, the descriptions are luscious and stimulate the imagination, and the themes are very strong. The description of Anodos' fight with the giant is nicely vivid.
I believe that the archetypal nature of the characters and the recurring motifs of the different events and incidents have some sort of psychological significance, and it is very easy to read this work as an allegory of a young man's development of character. Jung and Freud would have a field day with it; indeed, the Shadow is a classic Jungian archetype. The incident where Anodos meets the girl with the globe is possibly a good old-fashioned Freudian metaphor:
Spoiler
the girl allows him to lightly touch her crystal globe, but under the influence of the greedy, selfish Shadow, he grasps it and holds onto it, despite her pleading and tears for him to stop; ultimately, he shatters the globeThis story may not be to modern tastes, but it could provide a rich source of motifs and inspiration for today's writers.
east_west_home_is_best's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
umbrellatrees's review against another edition
3.0
the world would have been a better place if someone had stopped MacDonald from writing all the poetry in Phantastes
wanderingmole's review against another edition
1.0
Awful! So so boring. Essentially a fairy story for adults.
maczd's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75