George MacDonald
1895
5/5 stars
The protagonist, known only by his last name of Vane, follows a raven through a mirror to another world. There he meets the original Adam and Eve, Adam's first wife Lilith, and the Little Ones -- children living in the forest under the care of a young woman named Lona. Vane becomes involved in protecting the children from the Bad Giants, and of overthrowing Lilith from the city of Bulika. Vane must make difficult choices and overcome temptation in various guises before he can lay down to sleep, and awake in perfect life.
This allegorical fantasy is darker and deeper than his first, Phantastes (1858), and can be obscure in it's meaning. McDonald's main points seem to be that, to a Christian, death is actually life, that one must work hard for salvation, and that, though all will be saved eventually (he was a Christian universalist), God's punishment can be severe in the meantime. However, these themes do not override the story, and are there to be found if one is looking, but can mostly be ignored if the reader is only interested in the fantasy itself.
The prose is typical of a Victorian author, in that it is often dense, but generally lovely. The plot itself is dark and makes the reader uneasy throughout. The story is interesting, often gripping, and has several nice twists. It's certainly not light, fun reading, and is not always enjoyable; given that I would not recommend it universally. It is, however, an excellent example of both Victorian fiction and Christian allegory, and the reader interested in either or both of these genres will find Lilith to be a gem.
Read as part of the Classics Club. My explanation is here.
