I’m reading this for the second time, and I absolutely love it. The small-scale setting, mostly Oxford-based, combined with Pullman’s gift for description and ability to craft unique, interesting characters made it a winner for me. I’m a bit sad that the next book in the series jumps to after the Northern Lights. I’d love a few books exploring that time a bit more.
Reading again, having read 1984 and other books in that vein, I could feel a lot more of the connections and inspiration Pullman has taken, especially compared to reading Northern Lights as a kid.
I quite enjoyed Philip Pullman's series [b:His Dark Materials|18116|His Dark Materials (His Dark Materials #1-3)|Philip Pullman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442329494l/18116.SY75.jpg|1943518], though the third one, [b:The Amber Spyglass|18122|The Amber Spyglass|Philip Pullman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1329189152l/18122.SY75.jpg|1774510] was disappointing (my review here: Evangelising atheism: Philip Pullman | Notes from underground).
Then I found a shop with dozens of copies of the prequel, [b:La Belle Sauvage|34128219|La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust, #1)|Philip Pullman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498930382l/34128219.SX50.jpg|14190696] going cheap -- they'd clearly over-ordered in the expectation of a rush of demand, like the Harry Potter books, but it didn't turn out like that. And if the demand was disappointing, so, to some extent, was the book.
The protagonist is eleven-year-old Malcolm Polstead, an innkeeper's son, who loves to spend his free time paddling his canoe, La Belle Sauvage. He often paddles across the river to a convent of Calvinist nuns (don't ask), who are given a rather …
I quite enjoyed Philip Pullman's series [b:His Dark Materials|18116|His Dark Materials (His Dark Materials #1-3)|Philip Pullman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442329494l/18116.SY75.jpg|1943518], though the third one, [b:The Amber Spyglass|18122|The Amber Spyglass|Philip Pullman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1329189152l/18122.SY75.jpg|1774510] was disappointing (my review here: Evangelising atheism: Philip Pullman | Notes from underground).
Then I found a shop with dozens of copies of the prequel, [b:La Belle Sauvage|34128219|La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust, #1)|Philip Pullman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498930382l/34128219.SX50.jpg|14190696] going cheap -- they'd clearly over-ordered in the expectation of a rush of demand, like the Harry Potter books, but it didn't turn out like that. And if the demand was disappointing, so, to some extent, was the book.
The protagonist is eleven-year-old Malcolm Polstead, an innkeeper's son, who loves to spend his free time paddling his canoe, La Belle Sauvage. He often paddles across the river to a convent of Calvinist nuns (don't ask), who are given a rather mysterious baby, Lyra Belaqua, the later protagonist of His Dark Materials to look after. But others have an interest in this baby, and and clearly do not wish her well.
After prolonged heavy rains the river floods, and Malcolm, aided by fifteen-year-old Alice, the kitchen girl from his parents' inn, rescues Lyra from the flood, and, swept away by the swollen river, decides to take her to her father's house in Chelsea. The six of them (three children and their daemons) have various adventures, with dangers and narrow escapes, en route to London.
It's not a bad story, quite exciting in parts, but after [b:His Dark Materials|18116|His Dark Materials (His Dark Materials #1-3)|Philip Pullman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442329494l/18116.SY75.jpg|1943518] it falls a bit flat. Pullman's world-building seems to slip in a number of places. In His Dark Materials one of the attractive things is the different alternative worlds he creates, with greater or lesser divergences from our world. But in La Belle Sauvage he seems to have grown impatient with it, and the history and geography that Malcolm studies at school seem to be the history and geography of our world rather than of Lyra's world in Northern Lights.
The differences in language are maintained in a perfunctory way, but without consistent explanation. There is an anbaric drill, but no anbaric torches -- everyone uses lanterns. Then suddenly an anbaric torch appears, and one wonders why they didn't use them earlier.
As in Lyra's world they use "philosophical instruments", but in Malcolm's world they are used to achieve "scientific management of resources". which pricks the bubble of illusion. We are back in Will's Oxford, only without telephones and with people having daemons.
Very enjoyable, a great page-turner, the 500+ pages were devoured in no time. Although ostensibly a children's or young adult's book, it has enough complexity and depth of character that it can be read by anyone with no problem. And although it is a prequel, I don't think that it is necessary to have read the Dark Materials trilogy in order to understand everything in this book; it's so long since I read those that I'm sure I've forgotten more of it. Lyra is a central figure in those books, but it is obvious enough from this one that Lyra has an important figure and the details are not so relevant.
Very enjoyable, a great page-turner, the 500+ pages were devoured in no time. Although ostensibly a children's or young adult's book, it has enough complexity and depth of character that it can be read by anyone with no problem. And although it is a prequel, I don't think that it is necessary to have read the Dark Materials trilogy in order to understand everything in this book; it's so long since I read those that I'm sure I've forgotten more of it. Lyra is a central figure in those books, but it is obvious enough from this one that Lyra has an important figure and the details are not so relevant.
Review of 'La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One (Book of Dust Series)' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This is the beginning of a new trilogy that takes place in the same universe as His Dark Materials, and either you don't need me to tell you how wonderful that is or you should go read His Dark Materials right this second, what are you still doing here?
The only reason I didn't read this straight through in about two days is because I was trying to slog through the goddamn Dispossessed.
This is the beginning of a new trilogy that takes place in the same universe as His Dark Materials, and either you don't need me to tell you how wonderful that is or you should go read His Dark Materials right this second, what are you still doing here?
The only reason I didn't read this straight through in about two days is because I was trying to slog through the goddamn Dispossessed.
When Philip Pullman’s new trilogy was announced, he told us it wasn’t a prequel, but the first book, The Belle Sauvage, is definitely a prequel to His Dark Materials. If you haven’t read the original books I would do so first, as even though this story happens before, there are certain things revealed that I would consider spoilers.
This is the story of how Lyra ended up at Jordan College, via a biblical scale flood and the rise of the Magisterium. Malcolm Polstead is the son of a landlord and is generally a well-liked boy among those who visit The Trout. He learns a lot by listening to conversations, those drinking at the pub rarely pay attention to a boy. He learns that the nuns are looking after an infant, a little girl who is attracting a lot of attention.
The child is, of course, baby Lyra and if you’ve …
When Philip Pullman’s new trilogy was announced, he told us it wasn’t a prequel, but the first book, The Belle Sauvage, is definitely a prequel to His Dark Materials. If you haven’t read the original books I would do so first, as even though this story happens before, there are certain things revealed that I would consider spoilers.
This is the story of how Lyra ended up at Jordan College, via a biblical scale flood and the rise of the Magisterium. Malcolm Polstead is the son of a landlord and is generally a well-liked boy among those who visit The Trout. He learns a lot by listening to conversations, those drinking at the pub rarely pay attention to a boy. He learns that the nuns are looking after an infant, a little girl who is attracting a lot of attention.
The child is, of course, baby Lyra and if you’ve read His Dark Materials, you know all about the prophecy and why people might want to control her. Malcolm becomes quite fond of Lyra and when Oxford floods, he rescues her in his canoe, The Belle Sauvage of the title.
It shows a little of the growing relationship between child and daemon, Pan must grow and learn as much as Lyra. She babbles away to him, teaching him to babble back, which is part of how we learn to speak. Baby daemons also present themselves as baby animals, Pan is so cute.
I was a little bit irritated that Alice was repeatedly referred to as being there to take care of the baby and that Malcolm wouldn’t be able to. However, I did have to remind myself that Malcolm is pretty young and Alice was older, and maybe it was more that than their gender dictating the parenting skills.
Malcolm’s schoolmates are encouraged to tell on anyone who might be doing or thinking anything heretic, the Church setting up an organisation reminiscent of the Hitler Youth. It didn’t really expand on anything about Dust, I expect that is coming later, it felt like things were moving into place for the events of His Dark Materials.
I don’t think it was as good as the original trilogy, it is more of an adventure with a hint of subtext, rather than exploring the big themes of this series. I did enjoy it though and it’s nice to have a bit of back story to a much-loved character. I am most excited about reading the books that are set later on, when Lyra is older.
