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My favourite genre is fantasy. I read a lot of fantasy growing up, probably due to looking for books similar to Harry Potter, and I still read a lot of fantasy now. There’s so much to love about it; here are five reasons why you should read it too.
1. Expand your imagination
Fantasy encourages imagination. The same can be said for science fiction, but sci-fi is still grounded in reality. Even if it takes you to an entirely different world, the logic of that world is the same as ours. Fantasy allows everything to be imagined, giving the author complete control and creativity. There are no restrictions except those the author has created.
“It’s been said that science fiction and fantasy are two different things: science fiction, the improbable made possible; fantasy, the impossible made probable.” – Rod Serling (The Twilight Zone, “The Fugitive”)
Elements that are imaginative are wondrous and exciting, especially if it’s not something you would have imagined yourself. Fantasy lets you see into others’ worlds, and consequently into their minds.
Not only does imagination create fantastical elements, but it also helps us learn problem-solving skills. Our world and the technology available to us are developing quickly, yet there are still issues we have to contend with and new ones arising in response to the way we live and affect our environment. Developing imagination encourages people to approach problems with a creative mindset and invent innovative solutions.
2. Escape reality
I’m sure most people have heard of escapism. The best way to escape reality is with fantasy. Depending on the subgenre, you can find stories with only a few elements that are fantastical, or stories that have an entirely fantastical setting.
“I have claimed that Escape is one of the main functions of fairy-stories, and since I do not disapprove of them, it is plain that I do not accept the tone of scorn or pity with which ‘Escape’ is now so often used. Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?” – J.R.R. Tolkien
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with escaping into a book. It doesn’t mean you can’t deal with reality or that you would rather another life over your own. Escapism can help you forget your problems while you deal with someone else’s, allowing you a respite from confusion and stress in your life. It also allows you to have experiences you never could in real life, and therefore contains an aspect of wish-fulfillment.
3. Comprehend reality
“Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It’s a way of understanding it.” – Lloyd Alexander
I mention fantasy as a way to escape reality, but fantasy also helps us comprehend reality.
The best fantasy stories have metaphorical parallels between fantasy and reality, and help us understand things that happen in real life through a fantastical lens. Through fantasy we can deal with real issues in a context that isn’t as impactful upon our lives and therefore isn’t as frightening or daunting. We can analyse and deconstruct issues that are dealt with in stories and apply what we learn to our own lives. For example, fantasy might explore the consequences of living under the rule of a corrupt government, or how to optimise teamwork to achieve a goal, or confront issues that offend you, or recognise when someone needs help.
4. Empathy
Many of the ways we comprehend reality through fantasy are explored through characterisation and character development. The more relatable a character’s experiences, the more the reader is going to hope for them to succeed. That’s not to say that characters shouldn’t be flying around on dragons, but that their terror of heights, and their exhilaration once they’re used to flying are what’s relatable. Emotions are what connect readers to stories. Dragons are not; they’ll help make the story exciting, but they won’t be what reaches readers hearts. Not unless the dragon is in pain, or missing someone, or relieved to be set free. Fantastical elements can be the device from which emotions are created.
Sometimes we can’t explore all our emotions in real life, but we can in another. Fantasy explores healthy ways of coping with emotions – ours and others. In fantasy we see characters in all kinds of situations, and as we are encouraged to relate to them through emotions we become more empathetic to their plight. Fantasy encourages you to care about those in different situations to you because behind all the magic and dragons and make-believe fantasy is fundamentally about humanity.
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” – Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird)
5. Hope
Sometimes reality can bombard you with all the bad happening in the world. Fantasy inspires hope, especially in trying times. If a character can cross the world, traversing arid deserts and frozen mountains to save humanity, you can make it through your test tomorrow! Fantasy teaches us that things will get better and that through the ups and downs there’s always hope. It teaches us to dream big. It teaches us that we can achieve more than we think. And it shows us that the strength to change our reality is inside us.
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.” – J.R.R. Tolkien (The Fellowship of the Ring)
Those who don’t read fantasy sometimes look down on it and don’t consider it to be educational. I strongly disagree, because there are more lessons to be learnt than what you learn in school, or what you can dissect in a classic. Fantasy books carry life lessons that it would take you a long time to learn yourself through life experiences. Just as you can learn from real people, so too can you learn from characters.
I believe everyone should read whatever books they want to. My reading tastes vary, but fantasy is still my favourite. I don’t think there are good or bad books to read because everyone has their own opinion. A book you dislike could be inspirational and treasured by someone else. I’ve read books I’ve considered good, and books I’ve considered bad, but I can’t say there’s ever been a book I haven’t learnt something from.