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Earlier this month I started reading the “His Dark Materials” trilogy, by Philip Pullman. I’d heard a lot about these books (”adults Harry Potter”), but most recently the news about the play (On, but sold out, at the National Theatre) had resparked my interest.

The three books, “Northern Lights” (”The Golden Compass” in the US), “The Subtle Knife”, and “The Amber Spyglass” makes for an imposing set of books, but well worth the effort, for adults and children alike. The three books are based in a number of Universes, including our own, and charts the story of Laura as she leaves her home of Oxford, on a series of adventures, first to the Artic (Northern Lights), then to parallel Universes with Will in the second and third books.

What strikes me so much about the books is the breadth and scope of Pullman’s imagination. From the outset of Northern Lights, it’s clear that he has visualised a fascinating world, and the reader cannot help but be drawn into it. As the trilogy progresses, and other worlds come to light, the scope becomes grander and more sinister. Laura and Will are bound together, and must seek answers to many riddles, not least the nature of ‘Dust’, the purposes and intentions - sinister or otherwise - of Lord Asriel and Mrs Coulthier.

Most impressive of all, and the subject of both praise and criticism alike, is Pullman’s attack of Christianity, covering God’s death (and God’s clear relief at the prospect), which is bound to upset many. In one of the articles I read, brought about by the plays seemingly enthusiastic reception, Pullman is accused of cowardice in not naming “Allah” as one of “the Authority’s” many names. He’s promised to address this in future reprints, however it’s good - I believe - that such topics are addressed head on in an engaging way in what is clearly a childrens novel.

Whilst the books narrative moves at a sometime painfully fast pace, the issues - not least the death of God - are impressive in their breadth: Love; Parental abandonment; determination; the nature of a soul; responsibility to others, to name but a few. That Pullman carries it off is stunning, and in such an enjoyable and emotive way. Many disagree, but banning the books (as some schools/shops in certain parts of the world want to do) seems counter-productive: It’s small minded and reminiscent of the bigotry of the middle-ages, and avoids the issue rather than addressing it properly.

I loved the concept of a daemon: people in Laura’s “Northern Lights” world all have a daemon which is the embodiment of their soul in the form of an animal. Childrens daemons shift between creatures, but as peoples nature settles, so does the shape of their daemon. Whilst at times it becomes a rather crude means of putting across a persons personality, it’s more often a wonderfully eloquent device for depicting complex emotions.

The speed with which I read a book is often a good indicator for how much I enjoy a book. Crime and Punishment took about three months, but I completed this trilogy in about a week: Even with skiing going on, I was reading these books at every opportunity I had.

In summary, I loved these books, and they are rightly third in the BBC’s Big Read top 100. Adults and children alike can enjoy these books, and I’d heartily recommend them to others to read for a beautiful story arc that really is stunning in it’s telling.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 23rd, 2004 at 1:29 pm and is filed under Books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.