CCBC-Net Archives
thoughts about the Amber Spyglass
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Farida Dowler <fdowler>
Date: Thu, 10 May 2001 10:57:23 -0700 (PDT)
Like others, I thought that AMBER SPYGLASS did not live up to the promises made in the first two books. I would have recommended that Pullman take even more time and make HIS DARK MATERIALS into a quartet. (There would have been roars of impatience, but well worth it.) Here are some of my initial reactions I had last summer, when AMBER SPYGLASS was released:
1) In THE SUBTLE KNIFE, John Parry swears to Mr. Scoresby that he will put Lyra under the protection of the subtle knife (p. 216), and then Mr. Scoresby tells John, "If you break that oath, whatever remains of me will pursue whatever remains of you, and you'll spend the rest of eternity wishing you had never existed" (p. 300). Then, p. 321 reads "He
[John Parry] was painfully aware of the oath he'd sworn to Lee Scoresby, and he hesitated before he broke it; but break it he did." Yes, Lyra ends up being under the protection of the subtle knife, but there is no allusion to the oath and the breaking of it (John Parry telling Will to bring it to Lord Asriel) in THE AMBER SPYGLASS.
2) In THE SUBTLE KNIFE, Seraffina P. vows that one of her arrows will find its notch in Mrs. Coulter's throat. SP's breaking of that arrow in THE AMBER SPYGLASS seems to be an indication that Pullman wrote himself into a corner. (Think of Chekhov's axiom that if a gun appears in the first act, it must go off in the second act.)
3) At the end of AMBER SPYGLASS I don't get the sense of a new world order. Lyra is wiser, but seems almost too wise, despite all that she has been through. (I am thinking in particular of when she tells Will that their love for each other should not prohibit them from having a fulfilling, loving relationship with someone else. Maybe this reveals too much about me, but I was not able to see that kind of long-range understanding of human beings at 12, or 21, for that matter.) With all of the passing between the worlds, I am curious about the timespan of the trilogy. In AMBER SPYGLASS, I remember something about "weeks" having passed. It seems that Lyra has been 12 for a very long time.
Other things I had problems with, such as Lord Asrael's use of Roger's energy to open the gate between the worlds, and the romantic relationship between Lyra and Will (I thought the touching of each other's daemons was more powerful and romantically charged than their covering each other with kisses) were addressed by others, so I won't go into them here.
In the end, THE AMBER SPYGLASS did not seem to be about Mary Malone's amber spyglass at all, but about Lyra's and Will's journey through the valley of the shadow of death, and the realm of death itself. (Applause to Eric Rohmann for capturing that understanding so well on the jacket cover!) I cried when Lyra separated from Pantalaimon, but promised her daemon she would find him again. Lyra may be a cunning liar (did anyone think then that Asrael was "The Father of Lies?!"), but she keeps her promises. She is True North.
Farida S. Dowler Children's Librarian
Bellevue Regional Library Tel:425E075 1111 110th Ave. NE Fax:425E0$62 Bellevue, Washington 98004 Email:fdowler at kcls.org
"Does the walker choose the path, or the path choose the walker?" SABRIEL by Garth Nix
Received on Thu 10 May 2001 12:57:23 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 10 May 2001 10:57:23 -0700 (PDT)
Like others, I thought that AMBER SPYGLASS did not live up to the promises made in the first two books. I would have recommended that Pullman take even more time and make HIS DARK MATERIALS into a quartet. (There would have been roars of impatience, but well worth it.) Here are some of my initial reactions I had last summer, when AMBER SPYGLASS was released:
1) In THE SUBTLE KNIFE, John Parry swears to Mr. Scoresby that he will put Lyra under the protection of the subtle knife (p. 216), and then Mr. Scoresby tells John, "If you break that oath, whatever remains of me will pursue whatever remains of you, and you'll spend the rest of eternity wishing you had never existed" (p. 300). Then, p. 321 reads "He
[John Parry] was painfully aware of the oath he'd sworn to Lee Scoresby, and he hesitated before he broke it; but break it he did." Yes, Lyra ends up being under the protection of the subtle knife, but there is no allusion to the oath and the breaking of it (John Parry telling Will to bring it to Lord Asriel) in THE AMBER SPYGLASS.
2) In THE SUBTLE KNIFE, Seraffina P. vows that one of her arrows will find its notch in Mrs. Coulter's throat. SP's breaking of that arrow in THE AMBER SPYGLASS seems to be an indication that Pullman wrote himself into a corner. (Think of Chekhov's axiom that if a gun appears in the first act, it must go off in the second act.)
3) At the end of AMBER SPYGLASS I don't get the sense of a new world order. Lyra is wiser, but seems almost too wise, despite all that she has been through. (I am thinking in particular of when she tells Will that their love for each other should not prohibit them from having a fulfilling, loving relationship with someone else. Maybe this reveals too much about me, but I was not able to see that kind of long-range understanding of human beings at 12, or 21, for that matter.) With all of the passing between the worlds, I am curious about the timespan of the trilogy. In AMBER SPYGLASS, I remember something about "weeks" having passed. It seems that Lyra has been 12 for a very long time.
Other things I had problems with, such as Lord Asrael's use of Roger's energy to open the gate between the worlds, and the romantic relationship between Lyra and Will (I thought the touching of each other's daemons was more powerful and romantically charged than their covering each other with kisses) were addressed by others, so I won't go into them here.
In the end, THE AMBER SPYGLASS did not seem to be about Mary Malone's amber spyglass at all, but about Lyra's and Will's journey through the valley of the shadow of death, and the realm of death itself. (Applause to Eric Rohmann for capturing that understanding so well on the jacket cover!) I cried when Lyra separated from Pantalaimon, but promised her daemon she would find him again. Lyra may be a cunning liar (did anyone think then that Asrael was "The Father of Lies?!"), but she keeps her promises. She is True North.
Farida S. Dowler Children's Librarian
Bellevue Regional Library Tel:425E075 1111 110th Ave. NE Fax:425E0$62 Bellevue, Washington 98004 Email:fdowler at kcls.org
"Does the walker choose the path, or the path choose the walker?" SABRIEL by Garth Nix
Received on Thu 10 May 2001 12:57:23 PM CDT
