My second semester of college I took a class called Harry Potter's Library. Other than the five HP books, required reading for the class included Tom Brown's Schooldays, James and the Giant Peach and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials.
HDM is a incredible Trilogy of intelligent, controversial literature. Reminiscent of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, Pullman creates a fantasy in which people's souls reside outside their bodies in the shapes of various animals and other worlds can be accessed through complex scientific experiments, or the simple slice of a knife. Children are particularly important characters in all three books.
The first book is called The Golden Compass, the second book is called the Subtle Knife and the third is the Amber Spyglass. The Golden Compass was made into a movie that was released yesterday. After taking the class, I passed the books onto my friends and family. My youngest brother Jesse is very fond of them, and I'm waiting to see the movie with him.
Thanks to Digg.com - I was able to watch the first five minutes, available here http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/video-watch-the-first-5-minutes-of-the-golden-compass.php, but be warned, you'll just start craving the rest of it.
And like every book/movie combination....please read the book. Either before (preferably) or after you see the movie.
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4 comments:
Do you have any concerns with the anti-religion theme of the books? I'm surprised your mom let your brother read the books.
I have heard that they cut a lot of the anti-religious stuff for the movie. After seeing it though I would really like to read the books. Dan Brown books were anti-religious too but they were great books. I'm just not sure why everyone gets so pissed off over a fantasy book.
Jeff: Pullman himself has said that he's against organized religion (my own Catholic Church has murdered, lied, bribed and cheated its way throughout history), but he's spiritual and believes in basic moral obligations. The books do showcase the triumph of good over evil, which was the redeeming grace for the Harry Potter series as well.
In a nutshell - I appreciate His Dark Materials for their literary value. My faith is strong enough that a book won't motivate me to convert, and I respect the genius it takes to create such great books. Pullman's worlds are as intricate and complicated as Tolkien's Middle Earth.
As for my brother, at age 12, he doesn't have the theological/philosophical background knowledge to truly understand the religious references. For example, when reading the Narnia books as a kid, did you independently connect Aslan to God? I'm sure I just thought he was a nice large lion. Most kids interpret things literally.
Dylan: Yup, read the books. The producers left quite a bit out, including the entire end of the Golden Compass.
And yes, I agree with you. I think there are plenty of threats to society that are far more concerning than a few fantasy novels. Shouldn't we be more worried about war, drugs, AIDS, etc.?
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