Any novels that take place in more than 1 "world"?

[waryan]

Hi there, I know that fantasy, sci-fi genres, etc. will sometimes feature books that take place in one or more worlds with either one or all of them being made up, etc. but I was curious if there is anything that is considered great literature that takes place in more than one world? Either in our world and an imagined one or in several imaged worlds? thanks for your help!

[cyberbob]

Alice in Wonderland, Through The Looking Glass, the JRR Tolkien Series...

I don't know what you consider great literature but if it takes place in a different world then it'll probably be considered Fantasy.

[billl]

Gulliver's Travels does, but maybe not as much as you might want, I don't know.

[Mo Conchis]

The book which I'm currently reading, "The Keep" by Jennifer Egan, does this. One world is the story of a cynical New Yorker visiting his cousin's castle in Europe, and the other world is a guy in prison writing the castle-story in writing class.

It's quite well done and not as annoying as you'd think it would be, as the narrative voice of both levels is quite similar.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Stephen King's Dark Tower series takes place in our world and in his created world.

[JuniperWoolf]

He visits another planet (depending on your interpretation) in Slaughterhouse Five. Then there's Stardust, he goes through a gate to a weird magic world. Oh yeah, The Narrative of Arthur Gordan Pym, he travels to the (south or north, I forget which) pole and it's a strange green "other world."

[Dark Muse]

Most people have already posted the suggestion which immediately sprung to my mind, but a couple of others which I have not seen mentioned:

The Wizard of Oz and The Chronicles of Narnia also Peter Pan

[TheChilly]

Three words: The Lovely Bones.

[AuntShecky]

The Living End by Stanley Elkin (as opposed to the mystery writer "Ellin")

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5489188

Or you could try a less irreligious but still revolutionary
work from the 16th century:

http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/more/utopia-contents.html

[Scheherazade]

His Dark Materials Triology by Pullman

Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion and Endymion by Dan Simmons

[HitlerProf]

Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell, takes a really idiosyncratic approach to this. Each world is a piece of text in another world.

I guess Paradise Lost could kind of be considered here.

The Borges story The Garden of the Forking Paths takes place in one world but is about this idea.

[Big Dante]

Ian Irvine - The Three Worlds Cycle.
So far in it there are 2 quartets and a trilogy.
Each is in a different setting and time.
It's decent fantasy but not what you would consider "great"

[faithosaurus]

Stephen King's Dark Tower series takes place in our world and in his created world.

Love those books.

Hm, I feel like most people got the classics and such. Can't think of any right now..

It's too early to think.

[aliengirl]

Yes sure, you can take "As You Like It"

Or "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as well.