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A review by amandagstevens
Lilith by George MacDonald
5.0
What to say about this book? Well, it's the darker companion to [b:Phantastes|174948|Phantastes|George MacDonald|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327629648s/174948.jpg|2206809]. It's an immersive fantasy dream-experience that transcends plot (though it has one). It's a Christian exhortation to the reader: die to self if you would live forever. It is by turns odd, humorous, witty, sweet, downright chilling, and glorious. It's often a blend of [b:The Pilgrim's Progress|29797|The Pilgrim's Progress|John Bunyan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1405982367s/29797.jpg|1960084] and [b:Alice in Wonderland|13023|Alice in Wonderland (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, #1)|Lewis Carroll|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1391458382s/13023.jpg|2933712], but I love it more than both those books put together.
Lilith begins as a man called Vane steps through a mirror into a vividly detailed fantasy world. His guide is an old librarian who, in the alternate realm, appears as a raven and offers him both practical advice and spiritual challenges (and their arguments on metaphysics, not without wordplay, leave no doubt as to MacDonald's influence on [a:Lewis Carroll|8164|Lewis Carroll|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1192735053p2/8164.jpg]). Midway through the book, Vane's path crosses that of Lilith--yes, the same Lilith who, in Jewish mythology, was the rebellious first wife of Adam, replaced with Eve.
As anyone who knows MacDonald will expect, the journeys of Vane and Lilith each illustrate the Christian's journey to redemption. He writes said journey with so many layers--of justice, mercy, sorrow, love for fellow man, willful sin vs. ignorant sin, mysteries vs. revelations of God. If all that sounds preachy, well, I never found the book to be so. I walked in the protagonist's footprints, saw the fantasy realm as he saw it, felt the pricking of his heart in my own.
MacDonald wrote with a profound awareness of eternity I've never found in any other writer (except perhaps in the song lyrics of Rich Mullins). That bright and beautiful view is perhaps at its most resplendent in Lilith.
Lilith begins as a man called Vane steps through a mirror into a vividly detailed fantasy world. His guide is an old librarian who, in the alternate realm, appears as a raven and offers him both practical advice and spiritual challenges (and their arguments on metaphysics, not without wordplay, leave no doubt as to MacDonald's influence on [a:Lewis Carroll|8164|Lewis Carroll|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1192735053p2/8164.jpg]). Midway through the book, Vane's path crosses that of Lilith--yes, the same Lilith who, in Jewish mythology, was the rebellious first wife of Adam, replaced with Eve.
As anyone who knows MacDonald will expect, the journeys of Vane and Lilith each illustrate the Christian's journey to redemption. He writes said journey with so many layers--of justice, mercy, sorrow, love for fellow man, willful sin vs. ignorant sin, mysteries vs. revelations of God. If all that sounds preachy, well, I never found the book to be so. I walked in the protagonist's footprints, saw the fantasy realm as he saw it, felt the pricking of his heart in my own.
MacDonald wrote with a profound awareness of eternity I've never found in any other writer (except perhaps in the song lyrics of Rich Mullins). That bright and beautiful view is perhaps at its most resplendent in Lilith.