Lilith, by George MacDonald
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Lilith, by George MacDonald
Ebook PDF Lilith, by George MacDonald
Lilith
Lilith, by George MacDonald- Published on: 2015-11-07
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.00" h x .69" w x 6.00" l, .91 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 306 pages
Amazon.com Review "Lilith is equal if not superior to the best of Poe," the great 20th-century poet W.H. Auden said of this novel, but the comparison only begins to touch on the richness, density, and wonder of this late 19th-century adult fantasy novel. First published in 1895 (inhabiting a universe with the early Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, and Oscar Wilde--not to mention Thomas Hardy), this is the story of the aptly named Mr. Vane, his magical house, and the journeys into another world into which it leads him.
Meeting up with one mystery after another, including Adam and Eve themselves, he slowly but surely explores the mystery of the human fall from grace, and of our redemption. Instructed into the ways of seeing the deeper realities of this world--seeing, in a sense, by the light of the spirit--the reader and Mr. Vane both sense that MacDonald writes from his own deep experience of radiance, from a bliss so profound that death's darkness itself is utterly eclipsed in its light. --Doug Thorpe
About the Author Michael Phillips has written four dozen books, most of them novels, with sales totaling over five million copies. He also has edited George MacDonald novels for today's reader, including, The Curate of Glaston. He and his wife make their home in Eureka, California.
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134 of 135 people found the following review helpful. A bridge between worlds By A.J. The arena of twentieth century British Christian fiction, which includes authors from Chesterton to Auden to C.S. Lewis, appears to owe a great deal to George MacDonald, whose Victorian fantasy as demonstrated in "Lilith" has a primitive and dark undercurrent. Nightmarish yet optimistic, "Lilith" is possibly the most vivid life-after-death parable since Dante's Divine Comedy.The protagonist and first-person narrator is an excitable man named Mr. Vane who lives in an old house that has been in his family for generations. One day he notices an odd creature making its way through the library; this turns out to be the birdlike Mr. Raven, who introduces him to a mysterious world beyond a magic mirror stored in the garret of the house. A more modern author might be tempted to give this world a name to distinguish it from the real one, but to MacDonald it is merely an extension of Mr. Vane's conscience.Mr. Vane is understandably frightened of but fascinated by this world. Part of it appears to be a realm of the Dead where skeletal apparitions dance and fight as though they were still living; part a forest where stupid, brutal giants and innocent, benevolent "little ones" share their habitats; part a murky moor where leopardesses roam in search of babies to eat and enchanting women are to be found. At the center of this world, embodying its evil, commanded by an entity known as the "Shadow," is the demon princess Lilith, a direct allusion to the Assyrian goddess and to the legend of Adam's first wife.As a guide to this netherworld, Mr. Raven acts as a kind of Virgil to Mr. Vane's Dante; the structure of the story has a vague analogy to the sequence of Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. Mr. Vane's role is less clear; he could be considered a crusader against evil or an emissary of the living in the land of the dead. However, I wouldn't want to restrict my interpretation to a religious allegory because the novel works as pure mythology, although supplementary to Judeo-Christian theology.For all his antiquated, overly formal prose, MacDonald displays a very poetic sensibility for symbolism; for example, he personifies the sun as "he" and the moon as "she," as if they were a married pair of celestial luminaries. There is also an implied notion of a library as a gateway to the imaginations of the innumerable deceased, which is a comforting thought that connotes potential immortality through the written word. If nothing else, "Lilith" functions as a bridge between two enduring traditions -- imaginative classic literature and twentieth century fantasy.
80 of 82 people found the following review helpful. a tale rich in paradox By A Customer Rich in symbolism, steeped in paradox, this is a tale of a man's journey and his coming to terms with the frailty of humanity when it is seen in the light of God. MacDonald never hides the basis of his paradigm--that there is a God who loves us, who knows better than we do what is best for us--rather, he weaves it into a rich tapestry of adventure wherein key characters make known the paradox that is at the heart of Chrisitianity: he who would be first must be last. This is not an easy read. And, truly, anyone who is not willing to accept that an author may expound his faith through the words and deeds of his characters--indeed, through the fatherly nature of the narative itself--will little likely enjoy reading this tale. But to those who are ready to dive in to the heart of a realm of paradox in an attempt to better know the God that MacDonald worshiped, this may very well be a life-changing story. I am not a man given to favorites. But no other work has colored my life so beautifully as MacDonald's LILITH. And no other story is more dear to my heart.
53 of 54 people found the following review helpful. Haunting story, influence on Lewis and Tolkein is obvious By Julie Brennan I would give 5 stars, but for the fact that MacDonald's writing can get a bit hard to follow - others have said this better than I. But the story has stuck with me long after I finished the book. I have read C.S. Lewis' Pilgrim's Regress many times, and I can see the influence of MacDonald on his writings. The Madeline L'Engle quote on the back cover says it beautifully: "Surely, George MacDonald is the grandfather of us all - all of us who struggle to come to terms with truth through fantasy."I want to address comments by the reviewer who felt the worldview was "clearly Universalistic" and not appropriate for Christians. I almost didn't finish the book based on his comments, but I am glad now that I did and could form my own impressions.His statement is pure projection from my observation. Up until the end, free will determines whether a person is "good" - and that is the free will to be willing to die - completely - before one can became "changed" by God. I even re-read the ending to see if I could find out why this reviewer posted this, and I cannot.He also felt Lilith's repentance was forced. Was Paul's conversion on the Road to Damascus voluntary, or forced? Was Jonah's repentance forced? The repentance of Lilith was not forced any more than these examples. But (I am putting my impressions of what the allegory means) God was fed up with the damage she was causing, and intervened to stop her evil. She had a choice to either repent, or to be destroyed. It was the end of the line, so to speak. She very nearly chose destruction.Finally, he states that MacDonald believes Satan will eventually repent. I believe he refers to Chapter XL in the scene where Lilith is afraid to lie down and sleep the sleep of death - which is really living (dying to self - and it takes time to perfect us to life) - she fears the return of the Shadow. From [...]"When the Shadow comes here, it will be to lie down and sleep also.--His hour will come, and he knows it will.""How long shall I sleep?""You and he will be the last to wake in the morning of the universe."And a bit later, as the sun rises and the Shadow is forced to depart: "It is the great Shadow stirring to depart. Wretched creature, he has himself within him, and cannot rest!""But is there not in him something deeper yet?" I asked."Without a substance," he answered, "a shadow cannot be -yea, or without a light behind the substance!"I feel the reviewer has placed a negative theological interpretation that may or may not be what was in MacDonald's mind. There is no mention of how the Shadow will come to his hour, or what will happen when his hour comes. One would have to infer that.At the end, Mr. Vane does wake up from his dream, and realizes it was a vision. This WAS a vision, not direct theological text.I completely agree with him that the most important theme to a Christian is that true life is reached through death to self. About two thirds of the way through the book, I almost quit. Mr. Vane's repeated pig-headed refusal to "die" to his self, his headstrong following of his own will in spite of disastrous results, reminded me of how hard it is to die to our selves, even as we know we MUST, that we cannot enter into life without that self death. The point where I stopped was a point where Vane was metaphorically saying, "Okay, I know now that I am Yours, and I will need to face this death to self, but let me exercise MY will and do what my nature wants to do just this one more time before I give in." My discomfort with this may very well be the fact that Christians face this choice all their lives.The theme of whether we are predestined to salvation / repentance or exercise free will is a huge theological issue that is about as understandable as how God can be three but one or how he could be timeless, omniscient, omnipresent, etc. I believe it is one of those issues we must take on faith, that our human understanding cannot fully comprehend this aspect of God, so it is fruitless to argue. MacDonald's allegory, I feel, beautifully represented both of these spiritual principles in comfortable proximity to each other. People who feel strongly polarized to one or the other may be uncomfortable with and criticize this proximity.I agree one should not read this *for* theology (get that straight from your Bible), but I disagree that it is "unbiblical."I hope that helps anyone else interested in MacDonald's writings and their influence on generations of writers after him.
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