My interest in The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman was piqued by my son-in-law Jonathan who had passed along a warning. This warning was making its way around the internet telling people that a certain author was hell-bent (if you'll pardon the expression, it seems uniquely appropriate here) on turning people away from God and His church. This is NOT an urban legend and is verified on Snopes at this address. While I would agree after having read the book, that it has some powerful images and language in it, it is not anti-god any more than most science fiction and the "church" that is cast as a nemesis is a church that doesn't exist, a catholic church that was never split by a protestant reformation, and one that exercises more power than most governments. For example, it has the final say on any scientific breakthrough making the determination that the new knowledge or technique is from god or from the devil. If from god, then it can be used and the scientist is praised. If from the devil, the technology or knowledge is forbidden to be further discussed or used in any way. The scientist is, of course, killed after appropriate torture to ensure that all his or her accomplices are apprehended. Many of us would protest against such a church if it existed today. Furthermore, the persons determined to bring down the church are represented as near or completely mad - hardly the message one fears from an atheist.
As for the book itself, I found it intense, exciting, well-paced, and thoroughly fun except for the ending which is a horrific let down. Now it's obviously the first book of a trilogy but I expected a little more wrap-up and a little less setting the scene for the next book. One can almost see the author putting a sheet of paper in the typewriter and saying, "I'm tired of this book. Let's tie up all the loose ends and get on with the next book."
One of the interesting devices in the story is that the humans of the Compass's world have their souls or "daemons" outside their body in the form of some animal. Children's daemons vary forms according to their emotions/needs while an adult's daemon has settled into one form. You can see after this post, that my daemon is an ocelot and by clicking on it, you can verify or negate that selection of daemon based on what you know of me. I hope at least somebody tries it out. You can also go to the movie's website and get your own daemon.
I understand the movie opens Dec. 7, 2007 and there should be lots of previews and advertising before then. I hope the movie ends better. From the trailer on the movie's website it looks like they've kept fairly true to the book.
Steve and I tried it. Steve was apparently a Gibbon and I was a Lynx. Steve's making fun of me that, with my distaste for cats, that my daemon was a cat. Oh well. We noticed that the traits listed didn't seem to go together. Like being finicky and flexible at the same time. Kinda odd. Anyway... Arnold, you said yours was an ocelot, but on the post it shows a wolf... which one's right?
ReplyDeleteThat confuses me unless the people who take the quiz somehow influence what my daemon is. When I first put it on the site, it was definitely an ocelot but now it looks like a wolf.
ReplyDeleteWell Dad, it is showing as a moth when I load it up. Maybe you are just a child at heart and it has to fluctuate with your needs :)
ReplyDeletePhilip
I've read the whole trilogy and while it isn't my favorite, it is still really good. The other books are a little more anti-religion and anti-traditional religion (a homosexual angel couple and an old, decrepid, senile god are coming up) but I don't read fanatsy to come up with my religous views.
ReplyDeleteI'll try out the daemon thing in a minute.
I sent something back to Jonathan about the warning. I think that a good analogy would be that this book is no more dangerous to a Christian than the Chronicles of Narnia are to a Jew. I have known Jews who read Narnia as a child and then when they found out how much christian theology was packed in there were somewhat offended.
ReplyDeleteThe later books do get a bit more subversive. God and Jesus make appearances, though as twisted from my understanding of them as the church of the compass world is from any we know. (Oh, and Snopes gets it wrong, nobody kills God, he dies of old age. And they do unlock heaven/hell which it is being a matter of perspective, but no one is forced to leave.)
I think it's mostly just a secularist's riff on what could become of religion with ultimate power, and how negative God can seem if we push as hard to put a negative spin on the scriptures as we usually do to put a positive spin. But it speaks quite strongly of love, spirituality, honesty, fidelity, etc.
Lee