I'm really picky on this blog as to what I like. I'm actually usually looking for two things -- at least subconsciously. (Consciously, I just want to have a good time reading.) One is originality of ideas. A few books accomplish this, but are let down by my other criteria, because I also look for good writing. This category branches out into many separate categories: believable characters, gripping storytelling, unpredictable plot, interesting themes. The books that succeed in both originality and structure make my list of Great Books. (Among them, as I've previously noted, are The Eyre Affair, Ender's Game, and Fahrenheit 451.)
The Golden Compass is primarily prevalent in my mind because of one big idea: the daemon, the animal companion accompanying every human in the world of Lyra Belacqua. It's rather like everyone is a Disney protagonist with a constant helper, but it's bigger than that: the daemon is meant to be a physical manifestation of each person's soul, if you believe in that sort of thing. A lot of people had trouble with this idea because it eventually showed itself for what it was: an antithesis to the organized church. Pullman had a lot of problems with the Catholic Church and he didn't hesitate to note them in this book. Still, his political and religious ideas never got in the way of the gripping story, so it never really bugged me.
What is fantastic is that the brilliant idea of the daemon that Pullman had is supplemented by some of the most lyrical storytelling since Tolkien. (Indeed, both authors graduated from Oxford College in England.) Put it this way: I hate description, and every time description came up, I was as amazed as the characters who were describing it. The novel reads, as most good novels should, like a bedtime story, with one scene or montage flowing effortlessly into the next. Similarly, Pullman never comes out and tells you the details of the concepts of his world, like the daemon and the fighting polar bears. He lets such details flow naturally out of necessity of the story. Some of my favorite scenes involve a reveal of another crucial piece of information about Pullman's world, like when Lyra's daemon pulls away from her for the first time.
It's a bit hard to classify this book. It's a road story, but there's never a dull moment on it, for the characters are always meeting some new obstacle or having interesting interactions -- and the road's path is never really clearly defined, either -- so it's not as pedantic as, say, The Lord of the Rings (or, more appropriately, The Road). It's a fantasy novel, because the daemons are too strange to be believed, but it's also a science fiction yarn, with its parallel universes. It's a mystery; by the middle, it becomes a horror novel; and it is above all, only the first part. His Dark Materials continued with two sequels, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. Both of those were interesting: they capitulated on the anti-established religion themes that were only barely present in the first novel; they introduced a couple of new protagonists and climaxed with a re-enactment of the Garden of Eden; they revealed even more about Pullman's strange multiverse. But they got almost too convoluted by establishing so many rules with the universe, and the second book lost focus somewhat by switching point of view to people other than the most interesting main character, Lyra. The Golden Compass is pure unbridled fun -- an adventure that grabs you from the first pages and doesn't let go until the final moments.
On another note, it's kind of cool how many concepts Pullman works in here that have been drastically overused before, but feel somewhat fresh and new here. Obviously there is a new layer to the animal companion gimmick; there are also witches, fighting polar bears, gypsies, Oxford University, and parallel universes. The themes are quite mature, dealing with free will versus the establishment. I was, overall, very drawn in by the whole thing, and you should definitely pick this book up if you get a chance.
No comments:
Post a Comment