Review Detail

Upon reading Philip Pullman’s "The Golden Compass" my first thought was that I have to find me an armored bear. My second thought was how this book is jam packed with such high concept ideas for a young adult book.

First there’s the whole issue with religion in Pullman’s world. The Church is way out to get everybody, and I imagine some people have had issues with this in the past. Pullman never implies that all religion is this way. Instead he sort of relives how the church acted during the Spanish Inquisition. I’m sure some people got their feathers all ruffled up by this though.

The next detailed concept is that of essentially having a physical manifestation of your soul in the form of an animal that is invisibly linked to your being. At face value, these daemons could be looked at as just a fun pet that goes everywhere with you, but they’re so much more than that. The final form your daemon chooses reflects overriding characteristics within yourself, for example people within the service industry tend to have dogs as their daemons with their intense loyalty to serve a master.

That brings up the whole class issue that’s consistently present within this book. The book has a middle of the 20th century feel to it, with clear distinctions between who and what an individual with power, money and influence should look like. This might go over the heads of younger readers, but it’s so there! This really resonates with the 1% theme that is present in American politics.

Finally, the most detailed and confusing yet utterly fascinating concept of all is that of Dust. Scientifically, Dust consists of elementary particles that can’t be broken down into any simpler form. The Church is convinced that Dust is the source of sin, but it’s clear that Dust also has a part to play in the connection between a human and his or her daemon. Pullman’s description of just what Dust is remains confusing throughout the novel until the very end, and I’ve heard a lot of complaints about that. I think, however, this confusion only increases the mystery of the particles as readers are just as in the dark as main character Lyra is about Dust, and we only find out more concrete details about these particles when Lyra does.

While some people find it off-putting, I think it’s the intricate detail of Pullman’s world in "The Golden Compass" that makes Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy so unique. And despite whether or not we can grasp the concept of Dust, we’ve all wondered just what our daemon would be. (I’m keeping my fingers crossed for puppy or koala bear).