Lilith

When I was 2, my wonderful grandmother visited our little postwar stucco bungalow out on the fringes of our little former lumber town.<br /><br />My grandmother believed in magic - White Magic. Back then she was like a Fairy Grandmother to me...<br /><br />One day during her visit, she took me by the hand and led me down to our unfinished basement. All she said to me was - ‘Today we’re going to visit the Zoo.’<br /><br />And she somehow, within my own private tiny toddler’s headspace, had suddenly transformed our little subterranean storage room - cluttered with bric-à-brac - by her very words, into a magical and mysterious Zoo.<br /><br />And just like the early and somewhat naïve Carlos Castaneda - self-hypnosis can work wonders - I SAW the wild animals in their exotic cages all around me!<br /><br />George MacDonald here conjures up a COMPLETELY FANCIFUL world for us too, in the bric-à-brac of an old, old house.<br /><br />Cause it’s a feeling that’s replete and satisfying in life, to live close to a Deep, Bottomless Well of the Spirit in a palatial mansion on a princely property! <br /><br />So infers George MacDonald in Lilith.<br /><br />But his lucky hero inherits both...<br /><br />Well, in part only - for the mansion is a bit dark and decrepit. And it’s haunted. By unearthly beings.<br /><br />AND by a Secret World that dwells in a real spiritual opening. <br /><br />A secret world far more MYSTICAL - in the traditional sense - than Neil Gaiman’s! <br /><br />For MacDonald TRUSTS in Divine Providence.<br /><br />Just like I trusted my grandmother - and everyone else - when I was a kid. No wonder the Lord tells us to be like these little ones...<br /><br />It works wonders. It will take you back to that simple, first, miraculous and supernatural ORDINARINESS of MacDonald’s world.<br /><br />Now - follow MacDonald’s hero as he chases after his own familial White Rabbit - right Through the (Spiritual) Looking Glass, to a place of deep sleep and his soul’s ultimate replenishment. <br /><br />And we’ll ALL be in that place someday, with Faith.<br /><br />Such a world as this 19th century Scottish Man of the Cloth, the author, must have mentally envisioned, mayhaps, as he trudged the dreary miles to visit his snappish and dour parishioners on many a gloomy Highland day. <br /><br />Dreaming of the Rest that comes after a long life of labouring duty...<br /><br />And a Duty to which he, an eternal dreamer, was so temperamentally ill-suited!<br /><br />But his gloom is our gain.<br /><br />And THAT’s getting older for you - a time when shifting slivers of fitful dreams flit over our half-lit neutral autumnal mindscapes - like morning mist.<br /><br />But it gets even better as we age further - when we recover, as MacDonald does for us, our True Second Childhood - IF our dreams are born in a Milieu of Love.<br /><br />And we, the readers, find that WE are the ones who have been blessed in heaping, overflowing good measure, as we reap the reward he - along with our own daily acts of charity - have sowed for us.<br /><br />The reward of a bottomless reservoir of an endless wealth of imagination.<br /><br />And as it was for the young C.S. Lewis, discovering fantastical new worlds in MacDonald’s magical tales in his gloomy, grimy Irish preteen years, so it will be for us.<br /><br />Especially in the Great Beyond...<br /><br />So Five Gorgeous, Mystcal stars for this one!

I was torn between 4 and 5 for this one(at first). I love it in many ways and give it 5 stars. Some will probably find it a little harder to read but that's more due to the time in which it is written and it's slightly dated style. I'm not sure that "relax" is the right word here but "relax" into the book and "experience it". This book is in my opinion amazing. I got it out of the library and still would like to find a copy available locally.<br /><br />Great book. <br /><br />UPDATE:<br /><br />I have since bought the book. It has stayed with me since the first reading and given me not only an amazing read but food for thought and insight into not only the ideas dealt with in the book, but myself.<br /><br />From the opening scenes of this book (in an old and somewhat mysterious library apparently "haunted" by a raven looking man in tales, possibly the old librarian) I was pulled in. I followed the thoughtful yet enthralling story from start to finish and then tracked down a copy of the book for my own library.<br /><br />My highest recommendation for this one 5+ stars. It gets listed among my favorites.

As my brother accurately described it, it starts out as a sort of Christian acid trip/Alice in Wonderland type experience. For the first half of the book you have almost no idea what is actually going on, but it's worth sticking it through because later it all falls into place. The story takes it's premise from an old Jewish myth about a companion named Lilith whom God gave to Adam before Eve. She was an angelic being, not human, and couldn't reconcile herself to the vocation of bearing Adam's children to populate the earth. They had a single child together before their relationship was abandoned and Lilith was replaced by a more fitting companion taken from Adam's side. Because of Eve's later fruitfulness Lilith bore an eternal hatred towards the human race. Most of the myth remains in the background however and the story centers on a man who stumbles through a mirror into an alternate realm where Adam, Eve, and Lilith continue to carry out their perpetual feud. The climax of the story involves Adam, the Father of mankind, and Mara, the Lady of Sorrows, leading Lilith grudgingly toward repentance. A parallel plot line involves the main character slowly learning how little it is he actually knows about what he has hitherto simply called "reality." Only after he willingly choosing to lie down in the House of the Dead is he able to rise to a fullness of life of which he has never before even dared to dream.<br /> C.S. Lewis has been quoted as saying that this book "baptized his imagination," and for good reason. The writing style leaves something to be desired (it is heavy and plodding in places), but the sheer myth of it is amazing. In my opinion, the entire story was worth the final few chapters which turn out to be a glimpse of what earthly life will be like after the resurrection of the dead. It is absolutely beautiful in its description. If you have yet to long for the world to come, this story may help take you a long way down that road. And, better yet, teach you to look for the glimpses of the heavenly kingdom which even now break through into the present world. Here is my favorite passage along those lines from Lilith:<br /><br /> <br />"Now and then, when I look round on my books, they seem to waver as if a wind rippled their solid mass, and another world were about to break through. Sometimes when I am abroad, a like thing takes place; the heavens and the earth, the trees and the grass appear for a moment to shake as if about to pass away; then, lo, they have settled again into the old familiar face! At times I seem to hear whisperings around me, as if some that loved me were talking of me; but when I would distinguish the words, they cease, and all is very still. I know not whether these things rise in my brain or enter it from without. I do not seek them, they come, and I let them go.<br /><br />"Strange dim memories, which will not abide identification, often, through the misty windows of the past, look out upon me in the broad daylight, but I never dream now. It may be, notwithstanding, that, when most awake, I am only dreaming the more! But when I wake at last into that life which, as a mother her child, carries this life in its bosom, I shall know that I wake, and shall doubt no more.<br /><br />"I wait; asleep or awake, I wait.<br /><br />"Our life is no dream, but it should and will perhaps become one."

I have an enormous respect for George MacDonald. His books such as <b>At the Back of the North Wind</b>, <b>The Princess and Curdie</b>, <b>The Princess and the Goblin</b>, <b>The Day Boy and the Night Girl</b> and even <b>Alec Forbes and His Friend Annie</b> were among my childhood favorites--they were magical and my first brushes with fantasy at 8-10 years old. He was an exceptionally gifted and inspired writer of the 1800's. I even respect his history as a clergyman who loved god but left off being a preacher because he believed, against the tenets of his times, that everyone was capable of redemption. Plus, he was Scottish. You know? :)<br /><br />But Lilith has been extremely difficult for me to get through. Lilith, the biblical Adam's 'other' wife, is basically damned and evil and vile because she's a <i>really bad mother.</i> (And I mean really bad, the characterization of which is misogynist in itself.) Almost worse, the main character's attraction to another <b>disturbingly child-like</b> girl is based solely on her having an intensely devoted mothering nature. This was "good". Anything else is "bad". <br /><br />Perhaps this is all because it's the first time I've attempted one of GM's books after leaving behind my childhood religion. Perhaps I'd find myself reacting the same way to any of my old favorites, at this point in my life. I find that despite my respect for him, I can't <b>not</b> mention the sexism inherent in it, even though he's a man of god from the 1800's--what else could you expect? I know he wasn't more misogynist than his contemporaries--and considering his many, many books from the feminine perspective, I suspect he was actually less so than most! But it's still worth mentioning to the modern reader that the preconceived notions of womanhood, especially <b>motherhood</b>, that this book is based on are absolutely revolting. <br /><br />It's pretty and romantic only if you are capable of completely divorcing the notion of womanhood and motherhood from any real, live woman. From humanity, from being capable of developing and living by our own moral compass, from the concept of self-determination.

This is by far one of the darkest books I've ever read. Coming from a Christian minister, I would expect the book to be a bit preachy. I found, however, that the story is way more of a dark fairy tale set in a somewhat biblical world, with faint biblical themes. It's hard, of course, not to be a bit biblical, considering some of the main characters are Adam, Eve, and Lilith (the first wife of Adam). MacDonald writes this story in a way that truly makes them characters in a book, rather than bible superheroes here to promote proper Christian morals and whatnot. I'm an atheist, and never once felt uncomfortable, or as though I were being read a story from a minister.<br /><br />MacDonald uses amazing imagery when it comes to the world around Mr. Vane, the stories protagonist. At times things can be so beautiful, you wish you were there to see it, and then take a turn. There is a moment in the book where Mr. Vane is surrounded by flying, lit skulls, swirling around him in the black of night. MacDonald gives life to these skulls with an almost morbid reality. <br /><br />In short, this book is for everyone. If you have thought about giving it a go, don't let the religious undertones keep you away. It is a fantastic roller-coaster ride through what is living, what is good and evil, and what is hell. It will challenge even the most creative mind, and I dare you to read it and not think at least once, "Wow, I wish I had thought that up."

Written as a fantasy novel with much spiritual wisdom and insight;<br />George MacDonal in his companion of "phantastes", again achieved to render with "Lilith" a remarkable piece of literature which will hunt relentlessly your dreams and don't have mercy for the boundaries of your imagination!!!!<br /><br />In brief a few words about MacDonal himself: A poet, Scottish author and a Christian minister.<br />he lived from 10 December 1824 to 18 September 1905....<br />A prolific writer and after an exciting and eventful life with much sufferings and the lost of several of his children due to sickness, it is said that his writings has became the major influence in the life <br />of such remarkable authors as J. R. R. Tolkien, G. K. Chesterton and several others.....<br />C. S. Lewis wrote that he regarded MacDonald as his "master".<br /><br />The novel itself deals with themes like death, redemption and the eternal struggle between good and evil, also the development of us human beings and the real meaning of reward and punishment.<br />Let me insert the remark that I had goosebumps and tears following MacDonalds awesome fantasy tale and narration.....<br /><br />Here some excerpts which will speak for themselves.....<br /><br />"My boy, I answered, " there is no harm in being afraid. The only harm is in doing what Fear tells you. fear is not your master!<br />Laugh in his face and he will run away...."<br /><br />"....But there is a light that goes deeper than the will, a light that lights up the darkness behind it: that light can change your will, can make it truly yours and not another's --not the Shadows....."<br /><br />A rewarding and an exceptional reading!!!!<br />My full recommendation with five stars to you all.....<br /><br />Dean;D<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

George MacDonald is one of the most severely underrated authors of all time. A contemporary to Lewis Caroll and major influence on C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, this man’s imagination apparently knew no bounds and that is incredibly apparent in his masterpiece, Lilith. Narrated by a nameless everyman figure, it follows his adventures in a world he discovers after inheriting his father’s house and many unsettling circumstances there, leading him to a mirror which reveals another realm. Incredibly complex, this story is really more like a series of events that the narrator witnesses in this realm, all leading down to a confrontation with Lilith, the legendary “first wife” of Adam in various cults of Jewish faith. Ultimately, it is a story of the nature of evil and the hope of redemption but it is packed with literary allusion and stunning imagery that the reader will not soon forget. Written with a deft wit and a finesse for the subtleties of human nature, MacDonald deserves to be in the ranks of he highest of fantasy and allegorical writers rather than collecting dust at the bottom of knowledge’s shelf.

Odd.<br /><br />MacDonald seems to discover the story he wanted to tell partway through, which triggered a sense of discontinuity between the story I thought I was reading and the story I turned out to be reading, ten or twenty chapters in. <br /><br />Some hopes the early chapters inspired were not fulfilled by the later chapters.<br />Some horrors sprang upon me, unexpected (but not unwelcome) in an otherwise whimsical book.<br /><br />Don't read MacDonald for his plots, or his writing style. Read him for his characters, the curiosity of his images, and the well-phrased philosophic observations sprinkled throughout his tales.

I'm a fan of George MacDonald for his fantasies and for his children's books. His two older fantasies, Lilith and Phantases, are difficult to read and they're difficult to pigeon-hole. But why do we even want to pigeon-hole things in the first place? Oh, right. Marketing.<br /><br />Anyway, like I said, Lilith is not the easiest book to read. Perhaps it's partially due to the era MacDonald was writing in, but he certainly isn't pandering to the lowest denominator here. The story is a haunting tale of a man named Vane who travels to another reality where he learns about life and death and sin and redemption. That's the nutshell. The name Lilith, which refers to one of the characters in the story, is also the name given to Adam's first wife in traditional Jewish folklore (I think, if I have my facts straight).<br /><br />Part horror, part romance, part fantasy, part theological treatise, and part philosophical musing, Lilith has to be experienced for any true fantasy connoisseur. I won't guarantee that you'll like it, but I guarantee there are shining jewels in it that'll make you think or, at the least, make you uneasy.<br /><br />By the way, reading Lilith (and MacDonald's other fantasies) makes it fairly easy to see his influence on CS Lewis' fantasies. MacDonald is very much a thinker's fantasist. I'm combing through my memory files but I can't think of many who fall into that category (and they seem to become fewer and fewer, the closer the date approaches 2012). Voyage to Arcturus springs to mind, as well as Lewis's Space Trilogy, which I've always thought of as more fantasy than sci-fi, Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday, The Silmarillion. What others would qualify?<br /><br />Anyway, Lilith: difficult, maddening, puzzling, but definitely worth it.

This was an interesting book to read after David Lindsay's <i>A Voyage to Arcturus</i>. Both deal with fantastic travel (<i>Lilith</i> with inter-dimensional travel, <i>Arcturus</i> with inter-planetary travel) as a means of religious and spiritual discovery. Both drag you on a harrowing journey, where many questions go unanswered. <i>Lilith</i>, however, is blatantly Christian. It is fun to read a fantasy novel that illustrates the milestones of Christianity, particularly Creation and the Resurrection, using quirky versions of Biblical characters. The Narnia series,which was hugely influenced by MacDonald, handles these ideas more elegantly through allegory and better writing, but <i>Lilith</i> is still an interesting read.<br /><br />The book is focused on death: living is life in death, every immoral action is a new death, death is actually life, etc. These philosophies are often delivered gravely by a talking raven, and in a confusing semantic manner similar to any other talking animal in a Lewis Carroll story. This gets a bit tedious and confusing,because MacDonald's writing juggles between clunky and to-the-point and lushly poetic. However, there were enough monsters,beautiful ladies,and mutilations to balance this out. <br /><br />The Narnia series has always been very important to me, so it was fun to read a book that so directly influenced C.S. Lewis. Hidden mundane objects in country houses used as portals to another world, speaking animals, fantastical Christian allegory-it's all in there. However, I don't think <i>Lilith</i> was intended as a children's novel, and it is interesting to see the contrast between these two books and and how each distilled their theological fantasies*. <i>Lilith</i> is mildly gothic, but certainly not as terrifying as Lewis's <i>The Last Battle</i>,which is downright apocalyptic.<br /><br />Personally, I imagined this book's world through a filter of cheesy BBC video quality, like the music video for the Cure's "Charlotte Sometimes" or an episode of Doctor Who. That's just me. I think it's because there is a lot of wandering through a British country house in the beginning.<br /><br />Anyway.<br /><br /><i>Lilith</i> is worth the read if you're a fan of C.S. Lewis and would like to see a direct influence. It's got some beautiful,solemn,creepy bits, and good descriptions of hideous beings. If you're remotely Catholic, it might freak you out a little. It triggered my ingrained Catholic terror of the afterlife. So I suppose this was a good choice for Lent. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />*It's an experience similar to reading Lewis's Narnia series v.s. his Space Trilogy.