J.R.R. Tolkien discussion
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The Purpose of Fantasy
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Thank you very much, Philip. Your book is now lodged on my Kindle. I like the subject of your book and its cover. It looks an interesting read. I expect you have read the essay On Fairy Stories from Tree and Leaf by J.R.R. Tolkien. I think it is really good what he says in it about fantasy fiction, and I find it interesting that he wrote it while he was writing The Lord of the Rings. My own book, Angel War, is rooted in The Bible, and in it I give my version of angel history, and as it involves angels and dragons, it would be classed as a work of fantasy fiction. "Christian science fiction," one reviewer called it. Good luck with your book, anyway.
It's subtitled: A Reader's Guide to Twelve Selected Books with Good Values and Spiritual Depth. The "spiritual" part is not so much religious as about the role of fantasy stories in fueling (or questioning) our inner values of spirit.
It's strongly based in ideas developed by Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Chesterton, and others who saw in fantasy a way to explore philosophical/spiritual ideas in a more creative way than allowed in other forms of writing.
The work looks at a batch of extraordinary fantasy books, some well known (Wind in the Willows, Charlotte's Web, The Last Unicorn, The Silver Chair, The Ocean at the End of the Lane ... ), some less well so (Momo, The Rope Trick ... ), along with some brief introductory chapters about how fantasy harnesses imagination to a purpose (and the confusion over stories that seem to be for and are so enjoyed by children but that are so valuable for adults as well).
“All stories teach, whether the storyteller intends them to or not. They teach the world we create. They teach the morality we live by.”
– Philip Pullman
And fantasy does this especially well, I argue.
Happy to share the book this season. And the price is right!
Happy holidays to all,
-- Phil