Monday, September 11, 2023

The Golden Compass (1995)

*Premise spoilers.*

I actually read the His Dark Materials trilogy a couple years ago—in fact, I started the first book right around the time I got one of my cats, because I remember sitting on the floor reading as he got acclimated to his new home—but I never got around to reviewing it. Now that I’m finally watching the TV adaptation, though, I wanted to remedy that. (It’s a vicious cycle: I couldn’t start the show until I read the books, and now I can’t review the show until I review the books! Ayiyi.)

Young Lyra lives in the care of the scholars at Jordan College, generally running amok with her best friend Roger until someone corrals her long enough to give her a lesson. When the rumors of the mysterious “Gobblers” abducting children hit close to home, Lyra ventures out from the safety of the college into an uncertain world ruled by the theocratic Magisterium. She’s determined to root out what the Gobblers are up to and how it’s connected with the “Dust” that her uncle is studying.

I didn’t realize until I started just how tricky it would be to summarize the premise of the book. This is an ambitious, imaginative fantasy that incorporates lots of disparate elements that fit together despite all odds, along with plenty of philosophy and politics woven in. The first thing you need to understand about the fantasy world created here by Philip Pullman is that every human has a dæmon, an externalized soul that takes the form of a talking animal. Children’s dæmons can shift between different types of animals, while those of adults assume a permanent “settled” form. Lyra’s dæmon is named Pantalaimon, and he frequently acts as both a conscience and a sounding board for Lyra. But he isn’t simply her pet or her companion. He is her, and she him. Humans can be hurt by one person’s dæmon attacking another’s, and when a human dies, their dæmon’s body disintegrates. Dæmons are crucial to this society and how people interact with one another, and everyone from scholars to clergy has a deep interest in them.

Aside from dæmons, this world includes all manner of both fantastical and grounded components. We have the armored bears of the North (talking animals who are decided not dæmons) and witches who can fly and perform certain kinds of magic. We have intrepid explorers/researchers and an oppressive religious regime, we have the gyptians (a traveler community that mostly lives on boats) and a Texas aeronaut. We have the golden compass itself, an ineffable object that operates by unknown means but “tells the truth” to those who can read it. We have a central prophecy that promises to propel the story across all three books.

The first book is probably my least favorite of the trilogy, maybe because it took me a while to get into the world and Pullman’s style, maybe because I needed time for the characters to grow on me. But I do like it. I like that Lyra presents as an outwardly unremarkable, maybe slightly bratty kid—shades of Jill Pole perhaps, which works for me. I’m intrigued by the glamorous, inscrutable Mrs. Coulter and her golden monkey dæmon. I like Lee Scorseby the aeronaut, and I love Lyra’s interactions with Iorek Byrnison the armored bear. The way the Gobblers plot progresses is very interesting to me. While I’d still say I appreciate it most for setting up what comes after, there’s a lot to appreciate about it on its own too.

Warnings

Violence, drinking/smoking, mild language, and strong thematic elements (including child abduction.)

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