THE GOLDEN KEY

THE GOLDEN KEY by George MacDonald

If you are a George MacDonald fan you might want to check out Rabbit Room Press's newest release - a graphic novel adaptation of The Golden Key. Confession time, I have 3 George MacDonald books on the shelf that were a part of a curriculum that one of my daughters have read that I have not. Reading this graphic adaptation leaves me thinking that I should pull the original down and read through it. MacDonald has a way of taking the journey of life, the search for wisdom and lifelong companionship, the journey to an eternal realm (Heaven) with our new bodies and meshing it with mythological elements such as fairies, creatures, Old Man of the Sea, Old Man of the earth, etc. I don't find these elements to be pagan. I find them to actually be imagination awakening into what can be in this world and into the next. I believe it was C.S. Lewis that referred to such works as fueling the "moral Imagination." After all we serve a God whose creative abilities far excel what we experience on a daily basis. Since closing the cover, I am finding myself pondering the imagery and trying to unravel the symbolism. There are a lot of components to this story and it is worthy of some time to unpack and examine. I will probably reread the graphic novel, but then reach for the original at some point. Even more interesting to me is that some of the greatest literary giants such as C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton refer to MacDonald as having a life changing influence on their lives. That's quite an endorsement.