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A review by juushika
Lilith by George MacDonald
3.0
Following a phantom, an average man is pulled into a strange world--one ephemeral and magical, where issues of salvation are not theoretical but are instead a literal battle and quest. Lilith is a direct allegory of Christian Universalist salvation, laid atop strange magics and stranger symbolism. Over landscapes effervescent and transcendent, shadowed and looming, the beginning of the book is more of a ramble than a journey; at his best MacDonald is deeply evocative, and while the book's internal mythos can be arbitrary it is just as often inspired and provoking. But as the book continues and develops direction, it sours. I love the compelling and flawed characters, but often felt as if I wasn't intended to: Lilith's desire for self-determination is sympathetic and inspiring, and then roundly condemned. The book's unique and delicate internal mythos is occasionally at conflict with and often trampled by the appearance of literal Christian figures and messages.
Lilith ends with the same beautiful imprecision with which it begins, which salvages some things. I admire MacDonald, and parts of this book are captivating; I even enjoy it thematically. But this is story made slave to allegory, and while it is somewhat too subtle to be preachy and works in bits and pieces--the fantastic landscape, the larger-than-life characters, the echoing of damnation and salvation in the threat and beauty of the setting--it crumbles as a whole. It pains me to rate this book relatively low, but it simply never clicked for me; I much prefer The Golden Key for its more delicate, less precise balance of the fantastic and symbolic, and I don't recommend Lilith.
Lilith ends with the same beautiful imprecision with which it begins, which salvages some things. I admire MacDonald, and parts of this book are captivating; I even enjoy it thematically. But this is story made slave to allegory, and while it is somewhat too subtle to be preachy and works in bits and pieces--the fantastic landscape, the larger-than-life characters, the echoing of damnation and salvation in the threat and beauty of the setting--it crumbles as a whole. It pains me to rate this book relatively low, but it simply never clicked for me; I much prefer The Golden Key for its more delicate, less precise balance of the fantastic and symbolic, and I don't recommend Lilith.