The Golden Compass (Northern Lights)
Philip Pullman’s magnificent trilogy, His Dark Materials, starts out with The Golden Compass (also released as Northern Lights). It has been hailed as one of the best children’s books ever to be published and even for an adult reader this rich fantasy has a lot to offer. This is a complex and adventurous work which is beautifully written and enormously imaginative.
The Golden Compass tells the tale of Lyra Belacqua, a wilful young girl who lives in a parallel universe. In her world everyone has a separate soul called a daemon and they take on the shape of an animal which reflects the personality of the person. She lives in Jordan College, Oxford and the kindly professors keep an eye on her although she frequently escapes their gaze to have mischievous adventures with her best friend Roger the kitchen boy.
Lyra idolises her uncle, Lord Asriel and by spying on him she learns there is a wider world outside the college where a complex battle rages for the future of her world and many others. When a mysterious group known as the Gobblers begin snatching children from the area and her friend Roger is taken Lyra decides to embark on a quest to rescue him into the snow covered Northern wilds where the armoured bears roam. She meets a number of interesting characters along the way and this is an exciting book which forms a terrific opening chapter for the trilogy.
The Golden Compass is a gripping read from the moment you open it with richly descriptive passages, interesting gadgets and a skewed reality which is both familiar and strange at the same time. The characters have a real depth and quality to them and it is easy to engage emotionally with their plight. Pullman is tackling big themes here and while the book works on a pure fantasy level because it is so well written there are also bigger ideas at work. Pullman questions the idea of religion and in particular condemns oppression and the attempt to destroy the innocence of children by imposing a joyless control over them. He isn’t speaking about any specific religion but rather attacking the dogmatic nature of those who seek to control us for their own ends.
The book has sold well over 12 million copies and been translated into 37 languages. Back in 2007 it was voted the best children’s book of the past 70 years by the British public and deservedly so. Despite exploring some challenging themes the book is a deceptively easy read and the flowing narrative encourages a fast pace. There are also elements of horror and Pullman doesn’t shy away from sad or frightening events, something which gives the tale more integrity. In terms of suitability I would guess children aged 12 and upwards would probably get the most from this. You could potentially read it to a younger child but there are scenes which they may find difficult to understand and passages that are liable to scare them.
The Golden Compass is certainly a book which will spark their imaginations and it comes highly recommended, though I’d advise buying the trilogy as a box set because they are likely to want to read the next in the series as soon as they finish this.
