I just finished reading this book: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. It's technically a piece of young adult literature, but it's incredibly rich and complex, and not exactly light fare. I loved it so much that when I was down to the last thirty pages, I had to go out and get the next book in the trilogy (The Subtle Knife) so I wouldn't have to agonize about what happens next.
It's got a brave young female hero who travels from London to the North Pole wearing furs and eating raw seal kidneys, armored polar bears, magical animal daemons which are part of each human being, sharing their feelings and thoughts and able to change their animal shapes, the aurora borealis, a hot air balloonist from Texas, and more. A grand quest, good versus evil, and coming of age, all between the pages of this book! As much as I love the ever-popular Harry Potter series, I daresay The Golden Compass is better, more imaginative, more creative and otherwordly. It has a cult following, but is nowhere near as popular or well-known as Harry Potter. Perhaps because the protagonist is a girl and not a boy? Hmm.
No comments:
Post a Comment