by deadwhitemale » November 17th, 2009, 6:32 am
I love both books, but I love bits and pieces of both better than either book's whole, if that makes any sense. I think I would give a slight edge to Phantastes, because of how moved I was by what I think is its thirteenth chapter, "The Tale of Cosmo" (a.k.a. "The Woman In the Mirror"), and by one other part I can't describe without major spoilage. On the other hand, that whole part where Lilith begged Adam to fetch the sword that the angel had once guarded Eden with was also very moving.
BTW, I have at least once had the unhappy experience of having to explain to someone, after referring to Lilith in passing, or quoting a line from it, that, no, the title character is NOT the heroine of it. In one case it was online, someone who posted under the name "Medea" (after the mythical sorceress and murderess of her own children, though she played a partly sympathetic role in the myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece). I had no wish to mislead her, and had to tell her frankly that this book was not the place to look for a feminist icon.
DWM
"It is when we try to grapple with another man's intimate need that we perceive how incomprehensible, wavering, and misty are the beings that share with us the sight of the stars and the warmth of the sun." -- Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim(1899?)