Have you ever picked up a book, read a couple of pages or chapters, then within that short amount of time been able to predict the entire plot and/or ending? I have. It sometimes feels like I've read many books before that I have in fact not. Sometimes it's nice to have a change of things, to pick something up to read, or watch something on TV for you "rent-the-movie-for-the-book-report" folks out there, and have everything that happens be entirely unpredictable. And right when you think, "HA! Nice try _________________ I have you now!" They throw something so unbelievably unpredictable you giggle
with excitement. That was EXACTLY (more or less) how I felt when I read George Macdonalds Phantastes.
Truth be told I never had a single moment where I even tried to predict what would happen next. Anyone who has read Phantastes will know exactly why.
Please excuse my overuse of examples, but here is one more: Have you ever had a dream? But not just any dream, one that stirred your emotions every which way and back again, and so much happened, but the moment you gained consciousness, despite extreme efforts to return to that place, you could not remember any bit of it, or if you did, it was only like a small handful of pictures. I have. That is as close to describing Phantastes as possibly I will ever get.
The story is considered a "Coming of Age" story for the main character named Anodos, but I really found very little of that when I read it. It was like literaturical (<--real made up word meaning: having to do with literature) symphony. The main character journeys from one dream like scenario to another, none of them seeming to really overlap. One thing that DOES remain consistent is his desire for his "white" or "stone" lady. This portion of the tale forms a kind of Pygmalion like story, he sung her into life, but try as he might, he cannot attain her. Just like in the dreams that you wake up from but cannot remember, there are certain parts that just struck you as so beautiful, you tried to find them again. You might even recall succeeding, but once you found it, something about it changed significantly, and you can never recall it being the same as it once was.
This story goes through several different levels of "dreams" which I shall list here:
Rational, meaning that quite a bit of it made sense and even seemed possible when you awake, such as a conversation with someone.
Trapped, meaning you suddenly find yourself in a place that you can't quite explain very well how you came from a place that was safe and even almost happy, to this place that is dark and desolate.
Consistent, which I have previously explained regarding the White Lady
Picturesque, meaning it was just the site of beautiful things
Nightmare, the portion that has you running, though you don't know what from, you hide in the shadows only to discover that that is exactly where it is, or where the atmosphere is dark, cold, windy, and there is a seemingly never-ending pit right close to you, and against all your efforts, you fall in.
There are many, MANY more aspects to this book that I am just not literaturically (gonna use that in daily sentences from now on) capable of describing.
Despite the fact that C.S. Lewis is significantly more renowned, MacDonald can possibly be attributed much of C.S. Lewis's inspiration for fantasy writing.
This book is a fantastic read! I can not describe it to you well enough, but I suggest you pick up a copy (I believe there is a free edition available on Google books) as soon as you can. It is one of the most interesting reads I have ever encountered!
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