I've had Phantastes on my TBR list for a couple years now but didn't feel up to the challenges until the Literary Life Podcast tackled it. I didn't really even know what it was going to be about when I started and was quite excited to learn it was a questing story and would work as my travel/adventure classic.
In Phantastes, Anodos goes on a journey to fairy land and back and on his journey he learns what it is to grow up and to be a man. Of course, there's a bit more to it than that but it definitely covers the travel part. He meets people and sees things (and doesn't see others) and makes mistake - after mistake after mistake and you start thinking, "is he EVER going to make a good decision?" I won't spoil it by answering that question.
Full truth, I do not think I would have finished this without the handholding of the podcast. Or I might have pushed through to finished it out of stubbornness but not gotten much out of it. I don't dislike fantasy novels but they aren't what I normally gravitate to and I was out of my element in this one. It's a bit ramble-y and confusing at times but mostly, its just challenging. I didn't often see the metaphors and ideas that became pretty clear once pointed out to me. I don't blame MacDonalds for that though. I guess I'm just more on the Princess and the Goblin side of the MacDonald learning curve. I started okay, struggled from 20% on to about 60%, then got really into one section and read quickly, then got confused again and then suddenly it was over and I wasn't sure what had just happened. Once I listened to the rest of the podcast and realized I wasn't as far off with my later understanding as I expected, I felt a bit better. So I'm glad I gave it a try and learned something along the way; I just don't think I'll be moving on to Lilith anytime soon.
Phantastes in my Back to the Classics Travel Book selection.
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