BANNED! The Golden Compass by Phil Pullman
Title: The Golden Compass
Author: Phil Pullman
Series: His Dark Materials Book 1
Publication Info: Northern Lights in Britain by Scholastic 1995, The Golden Compass in US by Knopf 1996
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rating: <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
The Golden Compass, AKA Northern Lights in Britain, is on the ALA’s list of “Most Challenged books of 2007.” The movie brought it to mainstream attention, though the religious viewpoints were tactfully left out. I’ve read the book many times and every time am amazed by the world building and complex storytelling. If you’ve only seen the movie, consider yourself shortchanged. As is often the case, the book is much, much better.
The book is controversial for the way it treats religion. It is my opinion that critics would have a greater impact on teenagers’ beliefs by engaging in an open discussion about the book, rather than dictating “thou shall not read.”
Plot:
In a parallel world, where humans’ souls dwell beside them rather than within them, lives a young girl named Lyra and her daemon Pan. Her mysterious, errant parents dumped her at Oxford College to be raised by the scholars, and she grows up wild, impetuous, and fiercely loyal. Someone is kidnapping children, and when her best friend is taken, Lyra and Pan immediately set off to rescue him. Her mother – glamourous and powerful with a freaky daemon monkey – finds her and whisks Lyra off to a glittering world of high society. Lyra, never having had parents, is immediately enthralled, until certain events make her decide to take off again in pursuit of her missing friend. The gypsies take her to the frozen north where she frees a giant armored bear and orchestrates a revolt in the armored bear kingdom (the girl’s got balls). She collects friends and allies on her journey, with the dangerous child-snatchers hot on her heels. When they find her, Lyra is brought to a secret medical facility where dangerous, perverse experiments are carried out. Somehow, she must find a way to make it out alive.
Discussion:
Pullman’s world building is some of the best I’ve ever read. The not-our-world setting, perhaps Victorian in time, is populated with unique cultures of witches, gypsies, armored bears. Everything from the shape-changing daemons to the Deaths that wait to ferry the souls to the parallel-universe interplay is amazingly detailed. Religion and science intertwine in thought provoking ways, adding layer upon layer to a page-turning heroic journey. This is why the book is controversial, but also why it is so popular. It engages the entire brain – emotion and logic – challenging our beliefs and forcing us to address the interplay of science and religion in our own world.:
The established religion in the book is corrupt: the entrenched forces must be overthrown. But God exists. Angels exist. Life after death – the elisian fields with flesh-tearing harpies – exists. If this is not a great opportunity to discuss religion, I don’t know what is. As John Stuart Mill wrote in On Liberty, the problem with silencing an opinion is that “If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.”
***SPOILER ALERT***
I have one question: no matter how many times I read the series, I am squicked out by the idea that Lyra’s parents are killing children and in the end they are on the GOOD side in the war against heaven. They sacrifice themselves for the good of mankind in the last battle. So, torturing and killing children is justified??? I don’t get it. Someone please explain it to me. This is why I loved the first book, but didn’t connect so well with the second and third ones.
***END SPOILER***
Banned Books Week (BBW) celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them.
Tags: Banned Books Week, His Dark Materials Trilogy, Northern Lights, Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass, Young Adult Fantasy
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October 1, 2008 at 9:15 am
I loved this book – the first time I started I had a hard time getting into it, but the second I tore through it and then went to the bookstore to immediately have nos. two and three. I remember when reading it being astounded (in a good way) that it was marketed for kids, since it dealt with some incredibly heavy issues of religion, conformity, resistance, and morality. It was the sort of book that I wished I knew about when I was a kid, but I still can’t slot it specifically into a “Young Adult” category – I read plenty of young adult books that adults would enjoy, but His Dark Materials is truly a book that I thought was written for adults but kids would enjoy it too. My 2c.
SPOILER BITS!!! As for Lyra’s parents, I thought it was interesting how they progressed as characters and as people, and I tended to think of them – particularly her mother – as a double agent as opposed to a force of evil. But I enjoyed how they progressed as characters, and how Mrs Coulter in particular always left you guessing. But Lyra’s father killing the boy at the end of the (first? second?) left me pretty damned stunned. Perhaps they chose the wrong side initially but once within discovered the wrong-doing, and had to tread carefully to work to end it instead of openly rebel and probably be killed as well. Is very, very tricky, morally-speaking.
October 1, 2008 at 9:16 am
P.S. when I saw your title line I was about to get really up in arms, thinking some fool in Seattle had banned the book. I was ready for the petition, the sandwich board, the whole nine yards :)
October 1, 2008 at 9:47 am
i just finished the series (literally wrapped book 3 this past monday) and feel somewhat that books 1 & 2 are the rite of passage for the fortunate opportunity to read book 3.
the torturing of the children is a tough read, whether it’s the Oblation Board, Mrs Coulter’s church-created employers, or Lord Asriel. but, i think there is a correlation to the rather lewd emotional ploys that — ahem– some major religions use on youngsters just as their developing. the book shows physical torture; the aforementioned groups use emotional turmoil (you’ll never see your parents again if you die without being saved; you’ll go to hell; sex is wrong; someone else knows what is best, don’t trust your instincts). or, maybe that’s just the leftover feelings of someone raised southern baptist?
either way, i truly loved the series and while it is great for young adults, could also be interesting and compelling for most adults, especially those regaining their spirituality after over doses of controlling, patriarchal religions.
i found your site via twitter and was thrilled to see book 1 reviewed! i’ll be back for more!
PS: i only read the series because a pledge sister from college was up in arms about convincing others to boycott the movie. i mentioned it to a client who had purchased the 3 books during a recent trip to London; she loaned’em to me. funny how energy works that way, isn’t it?!?
October 1, 2008 at 9:49 am
Haha. Somehow I don’t think Seattle gets too many petitions for banned books. But I don’t really know. I read book 1 and 2 before book 3 ever came out. And let me tell you, it took a LOOOONG time to come out. Since book 2 ended on a cliff, I was not amused. book 2 actually gave me nightmares. I’ve read the series 3 or 4 times.
I completely agree with you on Mrs. Coulter’s character growth. She changed over the course of the trilogy and it was fascinating and compelling to watch. Lyra’s dad, on the other hand, seemed to have set out with purposes of overthrowing heaven and didn’t change. The actions he perpetrated (end of book 1), were gruesome and he never regretted them. (IMHO)
October 1, 2008 at 9:52 am
Kenya – yes, banning books only makes people want to see what all the fuss is about. :D The books are great reads for adults too. I think they’re categorized as YA simply because the protagonist is 11. Pity, because everyone should read them. What’s your twitter name?
October 1, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Oh, His Dark Materials trilogy is one of my favorite series, books of all time. I remember as soom as I finished reading The Amber Spyglass, I sat down and I thought to myself “wow, these are as good as LoTR” , which is incredible in itself, specially if you consider the target audience.
*SPOILERS*
Now, for mrs Coulter and Lord Asriel – I don’t think they are ever redeemed. I think what they did in the past was never regretted and I didn’t see their actions in the final books as an attempt of redemption. I thought it was just a final act of courage, They are on the GOOD side but they are not necessarily good, I think it was one of those grey areas of literature.
*SPOILERS END*
This series is amazing. Everyone should read it. : )
October 1, 2008 at 2:40 pm
This book was good. But I think the other two in the series is much better. Overall this series is one of my favorite trilogies.
October 2, 2008 at 5:39 am
I loved this series Ciara and I was also disappointed by the film, althought I thought Nicole Kidman made a chillling effective Mrs. Coulter.
Perhaps the ending would have been to sad for the younger audience targetted.
Thanks for bringing up te fact that people had wanted to ban this, I had no idea.
How sad.
IMO, it is a little violent for younger children but for young aldut (and this old mom) it is a fascinationg and rich story. And so well written. Very inspiring to me.
And I know my boys can’t wait for me to let them read it.
October 2, 2008 at 8:46 am
I bought this series for my 13 y.o. for Christmas last year, and still refuse to see the film until we’ve read the books.
October 2, 2008 at 10:04 am
Ana – I liked HDM way better than LOTR. Was never able to get through LOTR in fact, but perhaps it is because I was trying to read it at too young an age. early middle school I think. As a Black and White thinking, Grey is a difficult concept for me to reconcile. lol.
Aymless – you liked books 2&3 BETTER??? Why, may I ask?
MC – Kidman did an admirable job, and her monkey was terrifying. I honestly liked the job they did with the film – lovely to watch, good acting – but (as is the case with film) they left out so much that it fell flat. Similar to Harry Potter. I wonder how people who haven’t read the books responded ot the movie.
Christine – and how did she like them? or has she not read them yet?
October 2, 2008 at 12:58 pm
She hasn’t read them yet. I should get on her case. That’s what mom’s are for, right?
June 13, 2009 at 10:36 am
[...] The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. This fantasy novel says much about friendship and loyalty, but it also says plenty about not [...]
June 30, 2009 at 4:52 am
iHAVEN’T READ IT YET BUT I WOULD LIKE TO!!!
June 30, 2009 at 6:59 am
Northern Lights*
September 20, 2009 at 11:31 am
i saw the movie and loved it , almost wanted to go to that paralell universe and have my demond beside me .
will read the book soon (: