I just finished reading the His Dark Materials (Golden Compass) trilogy, and I was surprised by how good they were. I'm not normally one to get into the fantasy genre, but the allegorical nature of Pullman's trilogy was pretty fascinating to me. The fantastical elements really played second fiddle to the over-arching themes Pullman tried to expose. Namely, his criticism of Christianity and the Catholic Church in particular. The use of obviously Christian stories and legends to scathingly attack dogma and theology was pretty interesting to me.
In any case, it seems to me that comparing them to Narnia is quite appropriate (even though Pullman apparently hates the comparison himself) - but since His Dark Materials has been labeled by some as the "Atheist Chronicles of Narnia", I thought it would be interesting to see which the readers here in the c0r prefer. Both books were written far above the level of the target audience, and were in fact designed to impart a more subtle, deeper message to older readers.
I haven't read the Narnia books in ages - probably since I was in middle school, but I remember them quite fondly. I will probably be re-reading them this summer in order to juxtapose them more clearly with the Materials saga... but in any case...
Which did you find more enjoyable/interesting to read: the allegorical Christian fantasy-world of Narnia, or the Atheistic saga of trying to destroy God himself in His Dark Materials?
And since this IS the c0r after all, I will leave you with this:
RJT
You'd have loved a class I took on pop culture anthropology this semester - the first three weeks were on this comparison.
Check your PM's in a bit, I'm going to send you something. And for me it's Pullman all the way - at least as an adult. I too have fond memories of reading the Narnia books, but have to admit that now that I'm older and admittedly finding myself in a more naturalist/agnostic mindset, it's hard for me to deny the theistic influence in Lewis' work.
Lebezniatnikov
quote:
Originally posted by RJT
You'd have loved a class I took on pop culture anthropology this semester - the first three weeks were on this comparison.
Check your PM's in a bit, I'm going to send you something. And for me it's Pullman all the way - at least as an adult. I too have fond memories of reading the Narnia books, but have to admit that now that I'm older and admittedly finding myself in a more naturalist/agnostic mindset, it's hard for me to deny the theistic influence in Lewis' work.
See, I don't mind the theistic influence very much - in fact, I find it quite interesting so long as it doesn't become overtly dogmatic. But my knowledge of Narnia is a bit rusty. I did find Pullman's work incredibly spiritual despite it's outright criticism of the Church and Christianity's moral assumptions. Just the character of Lyra alone seemed to embody a lot of the struggle between good/evil, righteousness, etc., that led to the birth of the Church in the first place.
My college roommate still lists several of the Narnia books among his favorites of all-time, and he is incredibly well read. He hasn't, however, read HDM yet, and after I recommended it to him on the basis that it is like an anti-Narnia he flat-out scoffed. He's an atheist himself, but he loves books with that theistic influence for some reason. I think it's the spirituality more than the dogma that draws him in - but I think Pullman found a way to separate the two. In any case, it was a very entertaining read, and definitely a poor life decision to begin reading them two weeks before Finals.
That class, however, sounds fascinating.
PS. I don't think you sent the right link in the PM... all I got was a smiley .gif :)
pkcRAISTLIN
havent read either but am interested in both.
is there an evil black-robed wizard committing dark deeds?
Lebezniatnikov
quote:
Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
havent read either but am interested in both.
is there an evil black-robed wizard committing dark deeds?
It really depends on whether or not you'd describe God as a wizard. ;)
pkcRAISTLIN
what kinda age group is the Golden Compass targeted at? i dont mind juvenile fantasy but i draw the line at like harry potter.
Lebezniatnikov
quote:
Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
what kinda age group is the Golden Compass targeted at? i dont mind juvenile fantasy but i draw the line at like harry potter.
Young adult - but I'd say most of it would fly over the heads of anyone who doesn't have at least a little exposure to liberal arts or philosophy. It gave me a lot to reflect on while reading at least. Narnia was written for a slightly younger audience, but there is still a lot of allegorical stuff in there that only an older reader would recognize. Both series are more than a good yarn - there's a lot of substance to them.
And step off Harry. Those books may have been easy to read and void of any depth, but they were still enjoyable. :o
Silky Johnson
This reminds me that I haven't added the Chronicles of Narnia to my booklist on goodreads. Oh nevermind, yes I did. Guess I only read one.
barbina
His Dark Materials (Golden Compass) trilogy ftw.
I read them in middle school and re-read them in high school.. amazing
You have to read them in 2 different mindsets to fully appreciate the story.. once just as a story and the second time to catch the hidden points that are causing sucha ruckus nowadays :p
cmay119
Disney backed trilogy?
Project-K
quote:
Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
i dont mind juvenile fantasy but i draw the line at like harry potter.
Yes but then sometimes it's just so bad that it becomes good again - like the dungeons and dragons movie.
Sunsnail
I read His Dark Materials in middle school. Really liked it
