Lilith

By George MacDonald

In Lilith the aptly named protagonist Mr. Vane follows a specter through a mirror in his haunted library into a fantasy land of the past where he meets Lilith, Adam and Eve, and a host of others. He explores the nature of original sin and redemption. An epic fantasy adventure that shows us what it means to be human.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Start Publishing LLC
• Release date: Mar 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781625587152

George MacDonald

George MacDonald (1824-1905) was a popular Scottish lecturer and writer of novels, poetry, and fairy tales. Born in Aberdeenshire, he was briefly a clergyman, then a professor of English literature at Bedford and King's College in London. W. H. Auden called him "one of the most remarkable writers of the nineteenth century."

Reviews for Lilith

[al9g · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien list MacDonald as one of their influences and it is certainly apparent in his story telling. This book has shades of Narnia and Middle Earth both in it. It is a good story, but it was originally written in 1895 so the syntax and grammar make it a bit cumbersome to read. Still it is worth the read if one can wade through that aspect of it - the story is both dark and haunting and offers insights into MacDonald's theology (he was preacher and theologian as well as a writer) and understandings of the Divine as Mr. Vane (the main character) struggles to understand what it means to be alive, to love, and to be in relationship.

[jaygheiser · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Entertaining read, and clearly an inspiration for Narnia Chronicles and other CS Lewis fiction, and apparently L'Engle, too.

[jenknox · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Starts out great, with lots of promise, then sloooowwwwwly slooooows dooooown to a crawl. Once he goes over to the other side the whole book loses its kick (which happens quite early on). A great idea, but ends up reading like a cross between stereo instructions and sunday school reading material. But the first few chapters are really fantastic...good enough to get it 2.5 stars rather than none at all!

[nillacat · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Similar in theme to Phantastes (redemption, selfless love through service) but more didactically, and treating explicitly biblical mythology. At times it does give some insight into the state of mystic rapture, and the zen idea of "beginner's mind" but on the whole less successfully than Phantastes.

[kronos999_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Though an obvious inspiration, comparing Lilith to the Chronicles of Narnia is like comparing car with a toy model. Superficially, they resemble each other, internally one is obviously far more complex while the other is a children's toy. This is a novel for adults. It makes no attempt to hide the Christian allegory, which I am sure would offend some readers. It also would probably offend some fundamentalist Christians should they stop and think about the message it portrays. It has the internal consistency that Lewis lacks, though is far less an exciting read. This is not an adventure novel. It is a journey into the realms of mysticim disguised as fiction. And it is one of the few books that has truly shifted my paradigm of the universe.If you're looking for a traditional fantasy novel, don't go for this one. If you're looking for something to chew over when it comes to life, the universe and everything, this may be a perfect match.

[lisamaria_c · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This 1895 book was recommended in A Reader's Guide to Fantasy's "Seven-League Bookshelf"--a list of 30-odd books considered the "cream" of the genre. Dante's Divine Comedy is mentioned in the book and I can see similarities with not just Dante but works of Carroll and Lewis. Macdonald was a close friend of Lewis Carroll and saw Alice in Wonderland in manuscript; C.S. Lewis greatly admired Macdonald and named him as one of his most important influences. As with Carroll's Through the Looking Glass and Lewis' Narnia, the narrator of this story steps into another world through an ordinary piece of furniture--in this case a mirror--and there are animal characters, notably a talking raven and a leopard. As with Narnia and the Divine Comedy, this is essentially a work of Christian Fiction, even more allegorical than Narnia as dealing like Dante with the landscape of the afterlife. Although given Macdonald's Universalist beliefs, there is no eternal hell--someday all will find salvation, though in Macdonald's conception it won't be easy.I can't quite say I really liked this. I'd say this hovers between a two and a three star. On one hand, I made it through to the end, it has interesting ideas and historical importance in the fantasy genre. On the other hand, I often found this dull, no characters captured my sympathy or imagination and this just didn't strike me as an outstanding example of the kind of book it exemplifies. This doesn't have the humor, whimsy, wit or charm of Through the Looking Glass or Narnia or the prodigious imagination, unity, beautiful language and architecture of The Divine Comedy. I can't imagine I'll ever reread this, and I just can't see this as being in the same league as Dante, Carroll or Lewis.

[marysneedle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story is steeped in lots of symbolism. Macdonald is a Christian Universalist and as such this story concerns the struggles of life, death and salvation. Being written in the late 1800s this is not an easy read but was well worth the effort.

[Diana Cismigiu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

mmm m