Book notes: The Golden Compass

By Phillip Pullman

I heard great reviews from several places about His Dark Materials trillogy. The first installment The Golden Compass met these high expectations. I don’t read fast and I finished this book in a few days of reading. I had to pick up a dictionary for about a dozen or so of the words, but this is accessible reading for kids.

The story centers on the 11 year old Lyra. After a slow first chapter where Lyra is hiding in a closet overhearing a converation by a group of professors at Oxford (this initially turned my kids off the book), the story moves pretty quick. The quasi-real historical world that unfolds is magical and fun to explore. I didn’t anticipate any of the sudden turns. One of my favorite parts is the “battles” that the rival factions of kids get into: “This rivalry was hundreds of years old, and very deep and satisfying.”

The Church takes a beating. Many of the events in the book are compared to relegious activities, with great effect.

The daemon animal concept is fun. What kind of daemon animal would I have? Most people will want to be a bear I bet. Especially an armored one. :-). I think of mine as a bald eagle, but would probalby end up having some kind of social herd animal, like one of the prarie dogs around Devils Tower. “Yip.”

The book ends on a compelling cliffhanger. I’ll likely read the whole series.