PHANTASTES... a Fairy Romance for Men and Women is the first work of fiction by George MacDonald. Phantastes, greatly influenced fantasy authors of later generations indlucing C. S. Lewis.
PHANTASTES... follows a young man, Anodos, who is pulled into a dreamlike world where he hunts for his ideal of female beauty. Anodos lives through many adventures and temptations until he is finally ready to give up his ideals. Only then does he learn the truth about what he has been searching for.
In this story 21-year-old Anodos awakes one morning to find he has been transported to Fairy Land, a magical land of "bewildering loveliness," inhabited by ethereal beings of great beauty and dark creatures of menace. Traveling through the land to find his way home, Anodos pursues mysterious maidens, discovers a hidden palace seemingly made for him, and ponders the nature of reality. Very philosophical with lush, complex, beautiful language (if a bit moralizing), this book was light on plot but dense with poetry.
MacDonald, the father of fantasy who deeply influenced Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Madeleine L'Engle, Charles Williams, and practically every current fantasy author, crafted this tale of a man's adventures into fairyland which is worth rereading many times over. The story is feels like a collection of short episodes as Anodos travels further and further into fairyland and simultaneously into the fantastic depths of his own soul. Creative like few others, I highly recommend this as a truly great book.
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