Lilith: First Impressions.

Perhaps the reviewer of nonfiction prose writing may be presumptuous enough to write a review of a book after only the first reading, and perhaps even pull it off. The fiction reviewer: never. He is neither qualified to do so, nor able to swing it. So I will postpone writing a review on Lilith till a much later date, but I can give you my impressions. After visiting the Grand Canyon one time I am not qualified to give tours. I know nothing of its’ complex geology, the name’s important rocks, the habits and habits of wildlife. I could, however, give you my impression of the place. I could tell you how beautiful it was, what I thought especially pretty and worthwhile of what I saw. Nothing more. What follows is the report of an enthusiastic vacationer, no more qualified than anyone else who has passed through a MacDonald novel. Yet, for those who have yet to vacation there, it may be worth the time to write my own travel brochure.
A novel may indeed be more than just entertaining, but it must at least be this. Lilith is much more, but it excels at giving the reader a pleasurable read. The fantasy captured me from nearly the first page and held me in a state of thralldom until the very last paragraph. Page turning is certainly a low virtue, one shared with the cave man, but a virtue none-the-less. MacDonald does not only feed us suspense, he gives us myth. It is a kind of joy. Perhaps MacDonald’s elocution is not perfect, but the poetry he breathes is powerful. And his poetry, like most good poetry, breeds delight in its’ reading.
Not all though, care for the highly fantastic and allegorical type of writing Lilith is. If one has a taste for allegory or fantasy, you will most likely not be disappointed in Lilith. I have just stated Lilith is allegorical, but perhaps this is not the clearest statement. Maybe myth comes closer to the mark. There is many things in Lilith one is apt to pin as allegory, but there is much more. Symbolism runs wild throughout Lilith. The world Mr. Vane stumbles into is not only parallel to reality but is, in a sense, the same world he always populated, and much more. Or, in other words, it is not an exchange of reality, but the extension and explosion of reality. It becomes the magical, living organism we call myth, and Lilith is as gripping a myth as I have ever read.
I will not defend the genre of myth or fairy tales in my little brochure. Tolkien has done this admirably enough in his essay “On Fairy-Stories.” There he not only defends the fairy tail but extols its virtues and merits. Lilith is a specifically worthy Fairy-story, worthy of reading in spite of several serious blemishes. No, to an enthusiastic first look there were no aesthetic blemishes; they were both doctrinal. Unfortunately Lilith is tainted by the doctrines of universal salvation (including the devil) and free will. In addition the wrath and just punishment of God is mostly left unmentioned. However, in the face of such grave errors, I would still strongly recommend Lilith to any discerning reader.
So much is explored and revealed in Lilith one probably will not look at the world (physical and spiritual) the same way after its reading. MacDonald is a master in manipulating types and archetypes. He will play with your preconceptions, and if you listen, he will show you the other side of your ideas. Although MacDonald may be said to play with reality, through that play and confusion he presents a better and more stable reality in place of what was before. His explorations of death, a major theme in Lilith and MacDonald, are masterful.
Yet, do not take my word for it. Go there yourself, read Lilith.