Thursday
Fie!
This was going to be a comment on Ben’s post, but then it got really big. So…first off, I have to admit, I have never read His Dark Materials; and I don’t intend to. Pullman’s probably a very good writer (Ben is seldom wrong about these things) but beyond that I have nothing good to say about him and only ill will to direct toward the movie coming out based on The Golden Compass.
See, Philip Pullman takes pride of place on my list of people-who-deserve-to-be-called-louses-and-thrown-out-of-windows. He’s a vile lump of humanity and I would as soon smack him as set eyes upon him. Anyone who calls Tolkien an “imbecile” and “childish” I hold in contempt. And anyone who calls CS Lewis “wicked” and “dangerous” for children to read really should be thrown out a window. Pullman pleads guilty to both charges. If only for that I would thumb my nose at his books, but I did read a lengthy review in Crisis about his work and found myself grimly vindicated in my opinion of the man. Apparently the theme of his work is the evil of authority (the protagonists get to team up with Satan, lucky them). I even got to read the thrilling passage where said proragonists kill God. That was exciting.
I am intrigued by the news that The Golden Compass is going up against Prince Caspian. I sincerely hope Narnia takes the boxoffice by storm and The Golden Compass goes belly up. I don’t think His Dark Materials is as popular a series in the US as it is in Great Britain; however, I have seen it on school bookshelves. Catholic school bookshelves at that. There was no Harry Potter in that library, which probably made them feel righteous. But I couldn’t find the Chronicles of Narnia in there either.
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7 comments:
Ah, I was wondering when this other "shoe" would drop.
;-)
My first serious brish with the "behind-the-scenes Pullman" was THIS. Left me feeling pretty unfriendly towards the man.
I don't have high Caspian hopes, because I thought Adamson's Wardrobe was bland and largely unimaginative.
But I'm pretty sure it wasn't actively bad. Pullman, it's not so clear. (Though Ben certainly thinks Compass isn't in the same boat as his later stuff.)
Never heard of the guy or the series...that being said,I'm all for throwing him out a window.
Didn't know Prine Caspin was coming out, most excellent.
Fair enough. The man is undeniably a slug, but I really did enjoy The Golden Compass as a book. Literarily speaking, the only thing I didn't like about The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass was some of the lamest examples of preachiness I've come across. The guy has a message, and the only way he can find to get it to his audience is to scream it at them. Pretty typical.
I don't own his later books, because I don't want to support them, but I would recomend reading the series even if only to educate youself, because the books easily have enough raw power to challenge Lewis, and one should be prepared. As long as one can resist the urge to burn them every so often. The books have a very strong following among teens who like fantasy in the US, and with the movies, I can only see their influence spreading.
so...since I can't destroy library books, I'll probably photocopy someone else's edition. And then tear out each page after reading it; either shredding, burning, or feeding it to my dog.
why torture your poor dog?
because he likes paper.
YOUR dog? That's a switch...
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