The Golden Compass, Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition (His Dark Materials, Book 1)(Rough-cut)
by Philip Pullman
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Book Summary Information
Author: Philip PullmanBrand: Dutton
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Deckle Edge
Published: 2006-10-24
ISBN: 0375838309
Number of pages: 432
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Book Reviews of The Golden Compass, Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition (His Dark Materials, Book 1)(Rough-cut)
Book Review: INTIMATIONS OF MORE TO COME
Summary: 5 Stars
Enthusiasts for Pullman's Dark Materials series be warned - this is not a new addition to the canon but just `Northern Lights' retitled for some reason. Newcomers to Pullman, be advised that I am among your number. I knew his name and nothing else, I saw this book in Powell's bookstore in Portland OR, I decided it was time I knew more about such a famous author, I quite enjoyed and quite admire this book, but something tells me this is as far as Pullman and I are going to be travelling together.
What age-bracket will The Golden Compass suit? I had chiefly heard Pullman discussed as a writer of children's literature, and when I saw editorial reviews certifying him as `for all age-ranges' I took that as standard puffery and waited to see for myself. In the event I classify this book as for children and `young adults'. I myself am no spring chicken these days, but there are plenty of books that I would have enjoyed as a `young adult' that I still enjoy. Tolkien is an example, and if I see anything unfamiliar by Clark Ashton Smith I pick it up, although he does not belong in heavyweight company. So, viewing this book as children's literature there is no way I can award it less than 5 stars. Fantasy-literature for grownups is another matter, Tolkien is in another league of creativity, Stapledon is probably in a league entirely of his own, and Pullman can be spared comparison with them.
Everything here is very professional, but I found that it was the parts with the strongest purely human interest that engaged me most rather than the special world of human beings paired with familiars or the northern lights and whatever is associated with them, or even the distantly glimpsed alternative universe. The really affecting incident is the story of Tony Makarios, which hit me at just the moment to make its impact. A few days ago, a young soldier was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan. This young man was a dog-handler, and his brave devoted dog could not live without him and died of a seizure. It was with this event in mind that I read about Tony Makarios. Otherwise it was the professionalism that impressed me in particular, but even here I felt that it would all have been better as a film, something that I gather has been done. It would be hard to imagine better narrative technique than you will find here in the battle-descriptions (especially the one in Bolvangar at the end of the second section), and the descriptive power is exceptional, but it was all so well done that I wanted it on screen.
I wonder whether Pullman had Wordsworth's Intimations of Immortality in mind when he describes the change in the human-familiar relationship that comes with the transition from childhood to adulthood. (From memory) `Shades of the prison house begin to close/About the growing boy.' As I said above, there is literature that I would have enjoyed then that I would still enjoy to this day, but while I do enjoy and appreciate this book, it is not really in that category, whatever that says about either the book or me. The ending, with its nice narrative twist that good storytelling should always have, tells us to expect more, and of course by this date the expectation has been fulfilled. For all I know Lyra and some of the others may be going on to some form of immortality, and if so it would make a nice change from the hackneyed religious version, but I doubt that in my own remaining lifespan I am sufficiently curious to find out.
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Summary of The Golden Compass, Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition (His Dark Materials, Book 1)(Rough-cut)
Published in 40 countries, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy--The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass--has graced the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Book Sense, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. In 1996, The Golden Compass changed the face of fantasy publishing, and 2006 marks its 10 Year Anniversary--and an opportunity to celebrate with a deluxe hardcover. Pullman created new material just for this edition (archival documents, scientific notes and "found" letters of Lord Asriel) which has been illustrated and handlettered by renowned British artist Ian Beck and will be included in the back matter. The deluxe edition also features Pullman's own chapter opening spot art. A quality collectible--with the enticement of never-before-seen new material--for Pullman fans.Some books improve with age--the age of the reader, that is. Such is certainly the case with Philip Pullman's heroic, at times heart-wrenching novel, The Golden Compass, a story ostensibly for children but one perhaps even better appreciated by adults. The protagonist of this complex fantasy is young Lyra Belacqua, a precocious orphan growing up within the precincts of Oxford University. But it quickly becomes clear that Lyra's Oxford is not precisely like our own--nor is her world. For one thing, people there each have a personal daemon, the manifestation of their soul in animal form. For another, hers is a universe in which science, theology, and magic are closely allied:
As for what experimental theology was, Lyra had no more idea than the urchins. She had formed the notion that it was concerned with magic, with the movements of the stars and planets, with tiny particles of matter, but that was guesswork, really. Probably the stars had daemons just as humans did, and experimental theology involved talking to them.Not that Lyra spends much time worrying about it; what she likes best is "clambering over the College roofs with Roger the kitchen boy who was her particular friend, to spit plum stones on the heads of passing Scholars or to hoot like owls outside a window where a tutorial was going on, or racing through the narrow streets, or stealing apples from the market, or waging war." But Lyra's carefree existence changes forever when she and her daemon, Pantalaimon, first prevent an assassination attempt against her uncle, the powerful Lord Asriel, and then overhear a secret discussion about a mysterious entity known as Dust. Soon she and Pan are swept up in a dangerous game involving disappearing children, a beautiful woman with a golden monkey daemon, a trip to the far north, and a set of allies ranging from "gyptians" to witches to an armor-clad polar bear.
In The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman has written a masterpiece that transcends genre. It is a children's book that will appeal to adults, a fantasy novel that will charm even the most hardened realist. Best of all, the author doesn't speak down to his audience, nor does he pull his punches; there is genuine terror in this book, and heartbreak, betrayal, and loss. There is also love, loyalty, and an abiding morality that infuses the story but never overwhelms it. This is one of those rare novels that one wishes would never end. Fortunately, its sequel, The Subtle Knife, will help put off that inevitability for a while longer. --Alix Wilber
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