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His Dark Materials
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From: Jonathan Hunt <jhunt24>
Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 23:26:59
Well, this month has flown by and I wanted to add some comments on His Dark Materials before the month ends- I have read THE GOLDEN COMPASS aloud to three classes of fifth graders now, and have to say that it is a perfect children's book. It does take an advanced independent reader, but even the worst readers grasp the story on their listening level, and are captivated and entralled by it. If we do not immediately understand everything that happens neither does Lyra, and Pullman does a masterful job of constantly restating, summarizing, and synthesizing all the information she learns for our benefit. The book has a perfect balance between dialogue and description, and reads aloud beautifully.
Moreover, THE GOLDEN COMPASS is arguably the single greatest volume of fantasy ever written. The imaginative fantasy concepts, the intellectual dimension of the story, the flawless characterization, and the glorious rollercoaster of a plot mark the book as a masterpiece of fantasy.
Pullman's only rival as a plotter is Tolkien. Tolkien really excels when the fellowship of the Ring is broken, when he can deftly weave back and forth between different characters. Pullman's strength, on the other hand, lies in his ability to sustain an unbearable amount of suspense and tension with a single, continuous narrative thread. THE GOLDEN COMPASS is fraught with danger and menace that comes, in no small part, from the frequent, and often chapter-ending cliffhangers. Consider the following and how they propel the reader through the pages of THE GOLDEN COMPASS-
"Do bring in your guests; I've got something very interesting to show you."
Then, almost when she'd lost interest in them, the Gobblers appeared in Oxford.
She was young and beautiful. Her sleek black hair framed her cheeks, and her daemon was a golden monkey.
. . . but something was following the train of sledges, swinging lightly from branch to branch of the close-clustering pine trees, and it put him uneasily in mind of a monkey.
That was *intercision*, and this was a severed child.
Pantalaimon clutched at her, became a wildcat, hissed in hatred, because looking out with curiosity was the beautiful dark-haired head of Mrs. Coulter, with her golden daemon in her lap.
"My dear, dear child," said that sweet voice. "However did you come to be here?"
Weary and scared, Lyra began to stumble over the harsh and slippery rocks, following the bear, wondering how she could talk her way out of this.
. . . and meanwhile Iorek, knowing nothing about it, was hurrying ever closer toward what she wished she could tell him was a fight for his life.
So Lyra and her daemon turned away from the world they were born in, and looked toward the sun, and walked into the sky.
It is virtually impossible to read to these cliffhangers, and then read no further, and you would be hard pressed to find cliffhangers of equal quality in THE SUBTLE KNIFE and THE AMBER SPYGLASS when the story fragments into different narrative threads. By that point, Pullman relies much more on our interest in the story to drive us through the books.
Well, I do have some more things to say, but will stop here for now . . .
Jonathan
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Received on Tue 29 May 2001 11:26:59 PM CDT
Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 23:26:59
Well, this month has flown by and I wanted to add some comments on His Dark Materials before the month ends- I have read THE GOLDEN COMPASS aloud to three classes of fifth graders now, and have to say that it is a perfect children's book. It does take an advanced independent reader, but even the worst readers grasp the story on their listening level, and are captivated and entralled by it. If we do not immediately understand everything that happens neither does Lyra, and Pullman does a masterful job of constantly restating, summarizing, and synthesizing all the information she learns for our benefit. The book has a perfect balance between dialogue and description, and reads aloud beautifully.
Moreover, THE GOLDEN COMPASS is arguably the single greatest volume of fantasy ever written. The imaginative fantasy concepts, the intellectual dimension of the story, the flawless characterization, and the glorious rollercoaster of a plot mark the book as a masterpiece of fantasy.
Pullman's only rival as a plotter is Tolkien. Tolkien really excels when the fellowship of the Ring is broken, when he can deftly weave back and forth between different characters. Pullman's strength, on the other hand, lies in his ability to sustain an unbearable amount of suspense and tension with a single, continuous narrative thread. THE GOLDEN COMPASS is fraught with danger and menace that comes, in no small part, from the frequent, and often chapter-ending cliffhangers. Consider the following and how they propel the reader through the pages of THE GOLDEN COMPASS-
"Do bring in your guests; I've got something very interesting to show you."
Then, almost when she'd lost interest in them, the Gobblers appeared in Oxford.
She was young and beautiful. Her sleek black hair framed her cheeks, and her daemon was a golden monkey.
. . . but something was following the train of sledges, swinging lightly from branch to branch of the close-clustering pine trees, and it put him uneasily in mind of a monkey.
That was *intercision*, and this was a severed child.
Pantalaimon clutched at her, became a wildcat, hissed in hatred, because looking out with curiosity was the beautiful dark-haired head of Mrs. Coulter, with her golden daemon in her lap.
"My dear, dear child," said that sweet voice. "However did you come to be here?"
Weary and scared, Lyra began to stumble over the harsh and slippery rocks, following the bear, wondering how she could talk her way out of this.
. . . and meanwhile Iorek, knowing nothing about it, was hurrying ever closer toward what she wished she could tell him was a fight for his life.
So Lyra and her daemon turned away from the world they were born in, and looked toward the sun, and walked into the sky.
It is virtually impossible to read to these cliffhangers, and then read no further, and you would be hard pressed to find cliffhangers of equal quality in THE SUBTLE KNIFE and THE AMBER SPYGLASS when the story fragments into different narrative threads. By that point, Pullman relies much more on our interest in the story to drive us through the books.
Well, I do have some more things to say, but will stop here for now . . .
Jonathan
_________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
Received on Tue 29 May 2001 11:26:59 PM CDT
