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From: JSidman at aol.com <JSidman>
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 08:56:33 EDT
Yes, the email waves have been quiet. Must be May--that beautiful, frantic month. Here are my two bits on Philip Pullman:
We read the first two books to our children when they were published. The whole family was enthralled with The Golden Compass, and also--in a darker, less satisfying, spookier way--with The Subtle Knife. My husband and I read The Amber Spyglass on our own, and neither of us liked it as well. The pure, bright strain of storytelling so alive in The Golden Compass was fractured into too many parts. My husband reads lots of adult fantasy and says this is common problem--ten different plots lines progressing simultaneously. I also objected to the fractured quality--too many characters to be able to care about any one of them! In fact, the side story of Mary Malone, which really had no relation to the heart of the book, was one of my favorite parts.
But my biggest problem with the A. S. was its preponderance of action at the expense of emotion. The only real soul-changing emotion came at the end in Will & Lyra romance--which, as has been discussed here, seemed almost contrived. (I also didn't buy Mrs. Coulter's change of heart. I wanted her to stay evil. She was such a fabulous villain).
HOWEVER I think my 15 year old son will love this book. The plot line is absorbing, the ideas are interesting (if somewhat disconnected & mystifying), the creatures are fascinating, and there are lots of explosions. And I think this series will live on, because of the strength of its premise and the pure beauty of its first book.
So--a little chattering to fill the void from Joyce Sidman
Received on Fri 18 May 2001 07:56:33 AM CDT
Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 08:56:33 EDT
Yes, the email waves have been quiet. Must be May--that beautiful, frantic month. Here are my two bits on Philip Pullman:
We read the first two books to our children when they were published. The whole family was enthralled with The Golden Compass, and also--in a darker, less satisfying, spookier way--with The Subtle Knife. My husband and I read The Amber Spyglass on our own, and neither of us liked it as well. The pure, bright strain of storytelling so alive in The Golden Compass was fractured into too many parts. My husband reads lots of adult fantasy and says this is common problem--ten different plots lines progressing simultaneously. I also objected to the fractured quality--too many characters to be able to care about any one of them! In fact, the side story of Mary Malone, which really had no relation to the heart of the book, was one of my favorite parts.
But my biggest problem with the A. S. was its preponderance of action at the expense of emotion. The only real soul-changing emotion came at the end in Will & Lyra romance--which, as has been discussed here, seemed almost contrived. (I also didn't buy Mrs. Coulter's change of heart. I wanted her to stay evil. She was such a fabulous villain).
HOWEVER I think my 15 year old son will love this book. The plot line is absorbing, the ideas are interesting (if somewhat disconnected & mystifying), the creatures are fascinating, and there are lots of explosions. And I think this series will live on, because of the strength of its premise and the pure beauty of its first book.
So--a little chattering to fill the void from Joyce Sidman
Received on Fri 18 May 2001 07:56:33 AM CDT
