by Mr Bultitude » October 3rd, 2009, 5:01 pm
Well I just finished the book last night, after about a week of sometimes slow reading. I have mixed feelings toward it...I feel like he has some profound things to say in it, and for the most part they are understood, but his way of getting them said is sometimes unwieldy and not as beautiful as it would be in the words of a better novelist.
I wasn't sure there was going to be a coherent storyline and theme as I was plodding through the first half of the book; it seemed a lot like the ambling dreamscape of his Phantastes. But after a while you realize that there is some dramatic tension, from the introduction of the Little Ones and Lilith herself. Even still, his ability to spin action into plot is lacking, and seems somehow off, and perhaps this is intentional, as it's obvious that the action is entirely secondary to Mr. Vane's impression of the action and the world about him.
It's readability notwithstanding, there are some very heavy theological ideas here, and I would love for there to be a discussion of them on the forums here. For instance, MacDonald's ideas of heaven, hell, and redemption, at least as portrayed in this book, appear unorthodox, but still have a truth about them. I personally am always captured by the idea that in God's universe anything is possible, so long as it isn't contrary to his nature, and I get that feeling from Lilith--that its rendition of the afterlife and our redemption reverberates with my perception of the coming Truth.
Would love to hear other's thoughts on this work.