Phantastes by MacDonald is an exquisitely descriptive ramble through Fairy Land with a young man called Adonos. It doesn't have as much of a plot as other stories to move things along, but tends instead to take a more leisurely path with stunning views of the sights of Fairy land as well as numerous detours through poetry. Along the way Adonos learns about the people of Fairy land, narrowly escapes the plots of the Ash and Alder, twice frees a beautiful lady, lounges in the library of a palace, battles giants, and takes service as a squire to a noble knight. How he escapes Fairy land and what lessons he learns, I'll leave to the discovery of each reader.
Phantastes is an interesting wander through the realm of Fairy land that I would suggest for ages 14 and up.
I keep hearing about this book but have never read it. Must put it in my tbr pile!
ReplyDeleteI liked parts of it very much, but in the end I was a little disappointed that it didn't go anywhere. It seemed similar to the French tales of knights wandering to find the Holy Grail. Lots of little tales and meetings. No over-reaching plot to hold it all together.
ReplyDeleteStill, love MacDonald.
I felt a little lost after I read this, but I think that I missed something important in it. It is included in one of the Veritas Press Omnibus books, so I'll have to do a re-read at some point and try to discover if there were some hidden gems that remained unexposed the first time around! :-)
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