Sorry, Harry Who?...
His Dark Materials is fantasy fiction that puts J.K. Rowlings efforts firmly in context as well written but largely unoriginal children's adventures. Pullman's trilogy is startlingly original, hugely varied and has that rare quality of feeling like a tale that needs to be told. Drawing on philosophy, theology, theoretical science and Darwinism, Pullman explores themes as varied as the nature of the soul, ethics and sin, growing up, parenthood, love, sex and sexuality, parallel worlds, God and conciousness. The books might be aimed at young teenagers but I've yet to meet an adult who's read them and not been blown away.
To try and summarise the story without making it sound like common or garden fanstasy hokum is a tall order but I will attempt to do so with as few spoilers as possible. I will treat all three books as the same story, as to read one without the others is not only pointless but impossible once you've taken the plunge! In a nutshell, it follows the final years of Lyra Bellaqua's childhood and her maturing into a young woman. During this time she slowly discovers that she has a birthright; a grand task to undertake in order to save, well, just about the most fundemental thing you can think of. Theres a clue in that ambiguous statement but I won't spell it out - part of the beauty of this trilogy is its ability to evoke genuine awe and wonder as Pullman applies ingenious twists to cliched 'save the world' themes. Along the way Lyra meets a host of wonderfully realised characters, from talking bears to wholly beleivable clans of witches, to evil megalomaniacs and femmes fatales. Her most important companion is a boy called Will, with whom she completes her journey into adulthood.
The story skips between parallel worlds in a way that is satisfactory both scientifically and aesthetically. Lyra's universe is a sensuous, rich tapestry of victorian innovation that never stopped, in a geographical world that mirrors our own. Infact Lyra's home town is Oxford, and many locales will be familiar to visitors of the city. It is fabulously timeless - inventions such as film projectors and discoveries such as electricity are given wordy Victorian-esque equivalents. Vocabulary is given a subtle spin - chocolate is chocolatl, trousers are trous - such subtelties are reminiscent of Tolkein's attention to detail and immerse the reader, completely. The most intriguing tweak of Lyras world is the existence of daemons - anthropomorphised animal manifestations of ones soul. The animal reflects the character - a sailor has a seagull daemon, a loyal servant has a dog daemon, and so on. These daemons are able to change their form up until their human couterparts mature - a clever metaphor for the forming of ones principles and the solid conclusions we reach as we grow up.
Will comes from our universe but soon finds himself in an eery, deserted seaside town after stepping through a strange portal. Where Rowling is happy to throw an idea into the frey and leave it there, Pullman prefers to justify all such fantastic storylines with science, philosophy and circular plotting. This makes the whole tale seem utterly beleivable and so much richer, without diminishing the readers sense of awe. It is in this ghost town that Lyra and Will meet, and their lives and futures begin to merge.
A central theme to the story is the study and exploitation of Dust, a mysterious substance that eludes great minds in all the parallel worlds. There are those who think it's fundemetally important and those who thinks its the root of evil, and each explanation is given a 'real' foundation - particle physics, religion, conciousness - the implication being that all explanations are just different definitions for the same thing, an idea that rings true with many issues in the real world. As the story unfolds the reader learns more about the nature of Dust, with many truly satisfying revelations towards the end that will have your eyes popping out of your head! Pullman has been equally lauded and criticized for his handling of religion (another key theme) in His Dark Materials. Personally I found it brave and commendable that he challenged traditional, religious views in books aimed at young people. Far from blasphemous, I found his ideas to be refreshing and cleverly conceived, sugegsting recontextualisation rather than reformation is required.
I got so much out of His Dark Materials its difficult to stop writing about them, but equally difficult to know which bits to write about! I have tried to concentrate on the feelings it evoked rather than plot specifics because it really is a story that is best approached with no expectations as to storyline. Imagine trying to explain the esssence of Lord of the Rings through a plot summary - it simply wouldn't work! So many highlights spring to mind, though, and I'll share just a few - like the genuinely terrifying foray into the underworld, or the Matrix-like thrill of an imminent and fundemental discovery by an ordinary person. The richly detailed ecosystem of a gorgeously alien universe, and the heart breaking, bitter-sweet conclusion - any book for kids that makes a 24 year old nearly cry is onto something!...
I admit I am one for making grand statements in my reviews, but this one I mean 100% - these books are among the best fiction I have ever read. I was effected for a week once I'd finished the story. I was, and still am, utterly amazed at how Pullman acheived such a collage of ideas. Compellingly beautiful and reassuringly optimistic, it's a story about understanding and love. His Dark Materials is a classic legend for the 21st Century and leaves no aspect of modern, theoretical thought unexplored.
[BBC.co.uk]
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