From: Susan Daugherty <kdaugherty>
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 11:36:15 -0500

On the strength of this discussion, I checked out THE GOLDEN COMPASS again and reread it. I was amazed that it didn't seem very familiar. I don't know if that speaks to problems with the book or with me. I read it carefully this time looking for the various things that people brought up.

Even though I enjoyed it, I didn't feel thrilled by its depths. I also had trouble totally identifying with Lyra, who though a strong female character and totally intrepid, just didn't strike me as a real human being. Maybe she was a little too fearless. Sometimes she was described as feeling a certain way, so I went with that, but I didn't really feel that she felt that way. The part about separating from your daemon was excellent though.
 Then I did feel that Lyra was feeling physical and mental pain at being separated from him.

As I think about this book, I can't help comparing it to my reaction to CLOCKWORK, by Pullman. That book had a very folkloric feel to it; this may be his greatest strength. In folklore, you also don't get that far into the character's feelings, they are meant to stand for something rather than really be someone. (In my opinion.) To me, CLOCKWORK was a superior book and really scary. But I didn't identify with the characters in it either, the way I expected to with Lyra.

I have appreciated other fantasy series where I identified more with the main character; off the top of my head I can think of three that strike me as great, the authors being Tolkien, LeGuin, and Lloyd Alexander. I think Harry Potter IS actually good enough to be considered a hero I cared about.

I will definitely now read THE SUBTLE KNIFE though because I still want to see how Pullman continues, and with all your comments it will be more interesting to see if I agree or not with what has been said.


Susan
Received on Fri 18 May 2001 11:36:15 AM CDT