Agreed….
June 28th, 2007 by Kathleen Bolton
Philip Pullman’s children’s book NORTHERN LIGHTS (called the Golden Compass in the U.S.) has been named the best children’s book published in the past 70 years and been awarded the Carnegie Medal. Though I wouldn’t envy the task of the selection committee–the last decade or so really has been a golden age in children’s literature–Pullman’s book stands out.
I remember when Therese lent me her copy of the NORTHERN LIGHTS trilogy. I picked it up expecting a light diversion for a few nights, certainly didn’t think it would be anything special. How wrong I was. By turns elegant and funny, horrifying and spectacular, the book grips from page one. I devoured it in a day or so, then inhaled the next two. By the end of the week, I’d become a Pullman devotee.
I’m very much looking forward to the film version. Hopefully New Line has taken as much care with Lyra as Warner Brothers has with Harry Potter. Something tells me they have.
I only read these for the first time in the last year, and while I loved the first and second, I was deeply disappointed with the third. I hated the ending (seriously — I had a very violent reaction to it, in that I wanted to throw the book across the room) and was left incredibly confused by the allegory and theology. The latter could be attributed to the fact that I read it fairly quickly, but when discussing it with friends, no one could adequately explain it to me, which makes me think that a lot of people didn’t get it.
Am I alone in this?
Also? I have heard that the film will avoid most of the religion and theology and I wonder how the heck they will accomplish that. But I’m still very excited to see it. :>
You’re certainly not alone in your reaction to the books, Lacy. Many readers dislike the ending of The Amber Spyglass and not all readers are glowing in their praise of the trilogy. I’m pretty ambivalent about these books myself. There are many aspects of Pullman’s storytelling that don’t work well for me, but one has to be impressed by the boldness of his vision.
I agree about Spyglass. I think Pullman had too many threads and ideas going to pull it altogether in the last book (wasn’t it a Paradise Lost retelling?) and the ending certainly was a bummer, but I respected that he didn’t go for an “easy” ending.
The movie trailer looks terrific. Let’s hope they can pull the whole thing off.
I agree with the verdict that the third book was a disappointment. Still, I loved Pullman’s concept and his brilliant creativity.