Phillip Pullman

William Ansley · 18 Apr 2001, 12:33 · from urth-v0030.mbox · original

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From: William Ansley <wansley at warwick.net>
Subject: Re: (urth) Phillip Pullman
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2001 12:33:54
Message-ID: <urth-v0030-0314 at digest.urth.net>
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I have read them. First, let me say that I like children's books. (Probably=20
because I have a childish personality, err... I mean childlike sense of=20
wonder.) I am also a big fan of the Harry Potter books, although I don't=20
understand all the hoopla.

As far as the Pullman books go, I thought _The Golden Compass_ was=20
wonderful. The writing is superb, the characterizations excellent and the=20
plot fascinating. Practically the only reason this is considered a=20
children's book is that the protagonist is a eleven-year-old girl. In=20
nearly every other way, this book is on an adult level.

_The Subtle Knife_ is just as good, but it leaves you with an uneasy=20
feeling that Pullman will not be able to pull off a satisfying conclusion.=20
And he does not. In spades.

In _The Amber Spyglass_ the whole works just blows up in your face. The=20
plot clanks; endless needless complications and characters are introduced.=20
The characters, at least some of them, including major ones, start acting=20
unlike themselves. And Pullman evidently regards the success of the first=20
two volumes in the series to be a license to turns parts of the third book=20
into a virulent anti-Catholic screed (thinly disguised but unmistakable). I=20
consider myself agnostic, but this aspect of the book made me=20
uncomfortable. A certain anti-church bias is evident in the first two books=20
as well, but nothing like what comes out in the third.

In short, I might recommend this series on the merits of the first two=20
volumes, but only to someone who is not likely to be offended by a very=20
anti-Christian message. (This seems to be a real bugaboo for Pullman. He=20
apparently gave an interview some time ago in which he attacked C. S. Lewis=20
and the Narnia books, which garnered him much ill will from their fans.)

William Ansley

At 11:12 AM 4/18/2001 -0400, you wrote:
>alga,
>
>You're thinking of the right person; his series is titled
>His Dark Materials, and comprises three volumes:
>_The Golden Compass_; _The Subtle Knife_; and
>_The Amber Spyglass_.
>
>It's been strongly recommended to me by my book-
>seller and by other friends, though not with the  . . .
>fervor . . . that Harry Potter seems to engender.
>
>Mark Millman
>
>
>At 10:33 AM 18-04-01 -0400, you wrote:
>
> > Is Phillip Pullman that children's-book
> > writer. The Golden Somethingorother?
> > I've noticed his name and thought I
> > might look into him, maybe at the li-
> > brary. What are the names of the books
> > in the trilogy? (Too lazy to consult
> > Amazon.)
> >
> > -alga
>
>*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/
>ranjit at moonmilk.com

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/

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