i love these fantasy stories like narnia, harry potter and now the golden compass and its successors of the his dark materials series by philip pullman. thanks to the movie makers or i would not have known this magical book.

click below to goto the download page

the golden compass - download ( northern lights)

the subtle knife - download

the amber spyglass - download

lyra’s oxford - download

Si uite si a doua carte de PHILIP PULLMAN pe care o termin! Si tin sa anunt ca THE AMBER SPYGLASS a fost chiar mai buna decat THE SUBTLE KNIFE! Da, ati auzit bine, am facut o afirmatie ce pana si mie mi s-ar fi parut ridicola inainte sa incep sa citesc cartea de fata.

Trebuie sa intelegeti un lucru in legatura cu ultimul volum al trilogiei HIS DARK MATERIALS: actiunea e intensa, iar cand spun asta vreau sa zic ca e inimaginabil cum de poate un scriitor sa obtina un asemenea efect… e uluitor, ce sa mai ocolim! Pot spune cu siguranta ca acesta este unul dintre cele mai bune fantasy-uri citite anul acesta!

Acum o sa va ofer sinopsis-ul cartii (care o sa va spuna povestea mai bine decat mine) si apoi o sa mai adaug cateva lucruri:

Will este purtatorul pumnalului. Acum, insotit de ingeri, are misiunea de a livra aceasta arma puternica, mortala, Lordului Asriel – la cererea tatalui sau muribund.

Dar cum ar putea sa-l caute pe Lordul Asriel cand Lyra a disparut? Doar cu ajutorul ei poate poate dezlega numeroasele mistere care nu-i dau pace. Cele doua mari puteri ale multor lumi s-au ridicat pentru razboi si Will trebuie sa o gaseasca pe Lyra, fiindca impreuna au de purtat propria lor lupta, o calatorie inevitabila care il va duce pana in lumea celor morti…

Interesant, nu? Hai ca ma las pagubas daca nu v-am facut deloc curiosi )

Si daca veti citi aceasta carte veti mai observa ceva:

1. Cartea e complexa, chiar foarte complexa, lucru ce se datoreaza partial si intinderii destul de mari – varinata in limba engleza are 550 de pagini.

2. Persoanajele – inclusiv cele ce apartin lumii fantastice – sunt atat de bine conturate incat pur si simplu par reale, extrem de verosimile – daca nu ma credeti va trebui sa cititi!

3. Romanul are o nuanta accentuata de basm (adica mai mult decat de obicei in cazul genului fantasy), dar cu toate acestea nu o sa va plictiseasca si in plus intamplarile sunt perfect credibile.

HIS DARK MATERIALS este cu siguranta una dintre cele mai bune serii scrise vreodata, iar PHILIP PULLMAN este un adevarat geniu!

Titlu: The Amber Spyglass

Autor: Philip Pullman

Editura: Scholastic Children’s Books

Editura la care cartea va fi publicata in Romania: Humanitas

Nota data de mine: + + + + + din 5

For those of you who actually follow this blog, and don’t just click on a link that happens to mention Robsten or the Twilight Saga, I’m sorry!  There’s not been much poetry over the last couple of days, but a lot of clicks.

Yes, I like the clicks.  (And, strangely, “Robsten” seems to generate a whole bunch more than, let’s say, “sestina.”)

But I want to explain to you (who may not understand why in the world I write about this stuff) that I truly am interested in a couple of facets of Twilight mania (besides each of Rob’s cheekbones.)

First:  despite all the poetry I’ve posted on this blog, I am mainly a fiction writer, primarily for children and young adults.  As a result, I am fascinated by the question of what makes people read a book again and again.  And I have to say (without mentioning anything about my own experience) that the Twilight mania proves Twilight et al. to be a set of those much re-read books.

It’s a given that books that generate this type of obsessive re-reading are not always particularly “good” books, i.e. well-written.  In fact, many “good” books, that is, really profound, original, heart-wrenching, or poetic books, are not the most dog-eared at the end of the day (or lifetime.)  It’s almost as if such books are too sharp, too bitter, too stinging, to be savored again and again (in the same way that grapefruit is not typically considered a comfort food.)

This is not to say that much re-read books are poorly written!  (Charlotte’s Web and  Harry Potter are much re-read great books.) Only that good writing alone does not make a book a good re-read.  (Nor does a good plot, good jokes, good suspense, even though one or more of these is likely to be present.)

So what does make a book a good re-read?

To me, the distinguishing factor is that the book creates characters with whom readers like to spend time, sometimes, too, a world in which readers like to spend time.

Reading a book is a commitment.  It means hours in which you are not conversing, i-ming, watching TV; hours, in other words, in which you are alone.  Sometimes, in fact, a book is a way to be alone, a path to privacy in a place with hard-to-place boundaries, such as a subway, or, if you are a child, a family dinner.

Because of the inherent solitude of reading, it is important that the main character is good company—fun, cool (but not too cool as to be unempathetic), willing to share confidences.  Being admirable is helpful too, as long as there are also sympathetic and/or humorous failings and idiosyncrasies.  (Sam Vines, Captain Carrot, Granny Weatherwax in Terry Pratchett, even Hercule Poirot in Agatha Christie.)

The world of a much re-read book can, of course, have its dark side.  But it is hard to repeatedly spend time in a world that is overwhelmingly creepy or frightening. (The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, and even Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier, are obvious examples of wonderful books in which the worlds created, or re-created, are just too horrific to motivate re-reads.  On the children’s shelf, similarly, the later tomes of the wonderful, His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman, that is, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, also, with the exception of certain scenes, get both too threatening and rarified for a child’s immediately repeated visits.)

Ideally, the created world, even if dark, has a fun, semi-magical side.  (Hogwarts, obviously; the barn in Charlotte’s Web, Florida, as seen by Carl Hiassen, Discworld, as envisioned by Terry Pratchett.)

Re-reading is a particular practice of the young and the young (or perhaps, immature) at heart who can repeatedly find sustenance in something that’s already well-digested.  (Sort of like baby penguins.)   This may be because the young (and not young, but immature) are themselves subject to (i) so much fluctuation, and (ii) so much beyond their control, that they find special comfort in the predictability of a “known” fiction.   The combination of the familiar with the fantastical may be especially appealing.

Romance makes a great re-read as well.   First love is a story that has been told again and again and again; is it any wonder that some people don’t mind re-reading the exact same version of it?

Which brings me back to Twilight.

Tomorrow or in the near future (if I get time),  I’ll write about the second facet that I find interesting—that is, what makes people re-see a movie, as opposed to re-read a book.

In the meantime, check out 1 Mississippi by Karin Gustafson on Amazon.

Da, in sfarsit, IN SFARSIT am terminat de citit THE SUBTLE KNIFE al lui PHILIP PULLMAN. Deci, prima impresie: scriitotul asta e genial; iar cartea asta, fireste, e geniala! Acum probabil va aparea o intrebare: „Daca romanul este atat de bun pe cat spui, atunci de ce ti-a luat atat de mult timp sa-l citesti?” Pai, ca sa nu-mi iau injurii de la gurile rele, am sa raspund cat se poate de sincer: am citit primele 20 de pagini din carte acum doua luni si apoi au intervenit alte lucturi; pe urma, cu o saptamana si jumatate in urma am decis sa continui THE SUBTLE KNIFE. Si NU am fost dezamagit! A, inca ceva, recomand varianta cartii in lima engleza (spun asta pentru ca in curand se pare ca va aparea si varianta in limba romana)…

THE SUBTLE KINFE (prefer sa nu fac traducerea titlului; e perfect asa cum este) este cea de-a doua parte a trilogiei HIS DARK MATERIALS, care a inceput cu  NORTHERN LIGHTS (cartea a aparut la Editura Humanitas). Acest volum se contureaza intre trei universuri: universul Luminilor Nordului, care este ca si al nostru, dar diferit in multe feluri; universul pe care noi il cunoastem; si un al treilea, care difera de al nostru, din nou, in multe feluri.

Romanul ne spune povestea lui Will Parry… Cred ca mai bine am sa ofer sinopsisul cartii (intr-o traducere aproximativa), din care o sa intelegeti mult mai bine despre ce este vorba:

„Will are doisprezece ani si tocmai a ucis un om. Acum este pe cont propriu, fugind, hotarat sa descopere adevarul despre disparitia tatalui sau.

Apoi Will paseste printr-o fereastra in aer intr-o alta lume si se trezeste cu un insotitor – o ciudata fetita salbatica numita Lyra. Ca si Will, ea are o misiune pe care intentioneaza sa o duca la sfarsit cu orice pret.

Dar lumea Cittagazze este un loc ciudat si nestatornic. Mortale, Spectre devoratoare-de-suflete ii impanzesc strazile, in timp ce in inaltimi, bataile aripilor capriciosilor ingeri rasuna impotriva cerului. Si in misteriosul Torre degli Angeli salasluieste cel mai mare secret al Cittagazze – un obiect pentru care oameni din multe lumi ar ucide…”

O carte exceptionala, menita sa vrajeasca pe oricine-i cade in mreje… Asta e tot ce mai pot spune!

Titlu: The Subtle Knife

Autor: Philip Pullman

Editura: Scholastic Children’s Books

Continuare: The Amber Spyglass

Both American and Canadian publishing houses have censored The Amber Spyglass.

For some reason, all the blatant atheist lines made it through the Christian filter, but a girl going through puberty, noticing a boy, is strictly forbidden.

How ironic.

They want to eradicate Lyra’s budding sexuality, just as the Church wants to in the book.

It’s almost too ironic.

Serafina Pekkala:

All the history of human life has been a struggle between wisdom and stupidity… the Authority and his churches have always tried to keep [minds] closed.

Chapter 33: Marzipan

UK version:

As Mary said that, Lyra felt something strange happen to her body. She found a stirring at the roots of her hair: she found herself breathing faster. She had never been on a roller-coaster, or anything like one, but if she had, she would have recognized the sensations in her breast: they were exciting and frightening at the same time, and she had not the slightest idea why. The sensation continued, and deepened, and changed, as more parts of her body found themselves affected too. She felt as if she had been handed the key to a great house she hadn’t known was there, a house that was somehow inside her, and as she turned the key, deep in the darkness of the building she felt other doors opening too, and lights coming on. She sat trembling, hugging her knees, hardly daring to breathe, as Mary went on:

American and Canadian version:

As Mary said that, Lyra felt something strange happen to her body. She felt as if she had been handed the key to a great house she hadn’t known was there, a house that was somehow inside her, and as she turned the key, she felt the other doors opening deep in the darkness, and lights coming on. She sat trembling as Mary went on:

Censorship really grinds my gears.

Big fat books this month meant only two were managed rather than the typical three I was plowing through. I lost several days as well due to recurring migraines that meant trying to maintain the complexity of both books plot weaving difficult. Nonetheless they were good reads, completing a recommended series (kind of) while revisiting another that I truly love and had not spent time with in ages.

The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3) – Phillip Pullman
The complex web of concepts and theories spun in the action of the first two books gets even sticker and more entangled by the third and final novel. At times the complexity can be a little challenging trying to determine the intention of the characters, the direction of the plot and guessing the answer to the next pressing question on the quest for the conceptual rewrite of Milton’s ideas. Honestly, I ended the book at a loss how this was youth literature, as although some of the grammar and language use were not particularly challenging the sequencing in this is definitely

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Jules Verne
The god-father of modern sci-fi

As you know, I recently finished His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman. That made me think about the publicity surrounded the movie. The publicity was negative and hence, the movie wasn’t as watched as Lord of the Rings. It was kinda the same with Inheart. It’s a part of a book trilogy and was made into a movie. But like The Golden Compass, it wasn’t watched as much as Lord of the Rings. That made me think about why that was. For Inkheart, I think it’s because it didn’t get as much publicity and the fact that the book series isn’t well know. I say that because I don’t really remember seeing the trailers for Inkheart on tv or in the theaters much. Plus, I never even heard of the series until the movie came out. The same sorta happened with His Dark Materials. However, with His Dark Materials, it didn’t help much that the movie got negative publicity but of the controversy surrounding it. I think that the only reason why Lord of the Rings became popular was because it’s been around for like 50-60 years. Because of that, many people have read the books, and the books/movies didn’t stir up any controversy.

Is it just me, or does this remind anyone of Dust from the His Dark Materials trilogy? It reminded me of the auras I’m using in my writing… I guess now I have a scientific basis on that part.

But seriously; this looks a LOT like Dust…

I just finished reading The Amber Spyglass, the third book in His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman. Now that I’ve finished the trilogy, it made me think about movie version of The Golden Compass. Anyway, I’m kinda torn about how the movie was criticized as being atheistic. Well, in terms of the movie being faithful to the book, I wish that the ending of the book was included in the movie. I also wish that the fight between Iorek and Iofur was put back where it was supposed to be and that the whole spiel with the witches council was also put back in. Now, as for the movie being “atheistic”, I really don’t get why it could be construed as being atheistic. Because it’s not like the Magesterium is a religion. I consider it to be more like communist or dictatorial regime. And that it’s not just the Catholic Church that can be considered to be dogmatic and that tried to “eliminate” heretics. There are other religions that are dogmatic and whatnot. Anyway, that’s just my opinion.

you might recognize the first book in this trilogy called “the golden compass”.  if you don’t mind outright atheism, then this is a lovely selection.  the atheism doesn’t get really gory until the last book.  i couldn’t put this series down if not for the sheer fact of wanting to see how the heck it ends–the story steps all over hallowed ground so you may find yourself holding your breath and trying to look away.  

his dark materials

fantasy aspect gets an A++.  there’s also a lot of physics stuff in there that gave the geek in me some heart palpitations.  ahem, just be opened minded when it comes to the religious stuff (don’t worry, it’s not preachy–things just sort of are the way they are).  it’s a really great adventure but i thought it ended on a very sad and lonely note.  and i don’t think i would have felt so lonely if there had been a stronger, more just perception of God or religion–and i’m not even a really religious person.

movie notes:  it’s such as shame that they’re not going to make the last two.  i read somewhere that the church had so many people boycott the golden compass which caused it to tank at the box office which led to the last two movies not being made, boooooooo!  i don’t know how much truth there is in that, but it sure would have been super to at least see the other two.  humph!

“ZOMG!!! I’M THE CHOSEN ONE!!!!”

How many times have I heard this in literature? Let’s see… in Harry Potter, The Lightning Thief, the His Dark Materials Trilogy, and about thirty other books. I think that the idea is very appealing, especially because it gives you a sense of destiny and prophecy.

My main characters are both chosen ones, in a sense… They’re both chosen by the rulers of their realms. Lify’s sent to Earth to recover a very important energy. Trinn, however, would have been sent in Lify’s place, but the ruler of Lify’s realm insisted that Lify be the one to recover the energy. Trinn’s ruler sends him anyway, but tells him that he’s banished. One reason to stay in school. So, yeah, they’re both chosen ones, and really, they’re the only ones who can complete the quest.

In the Harry Potter series, starting in the later books, the themes of prophecy are presented. What’s funny is that Harry’s very conflicted over his sudden responsibility: finishing off Voldemort. He’s also a little happy; girls are suddenly interested in him (“But I am the Chosen One.” xD). 

In the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (Rick Riordan), the main character, Percy is a “chosen one”… But so are Thalia and Nico. Basically, they’re all children of “Big Three” gods (Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades). That means that they’re extremely powerful and attract monsters like crazy. There’s also a prophecy considering the next Big Three child to turn sixteen. The fate of the world depends on this person’s choice. Thalia drops out in the third book (By the way, Rick Riordan, that was AWESOME!), and Nico, well… things weren’t going too well last time I saw him (I’m on Battle of the Labyrinth; no spoilers, please!) Nico did also have a sister, Bianca, but she was killed in the third book (which leads up to why things aren’t going so well for Nico). You’re always on your toes in the series, which I like. The prophecy gives a sense of a race against time. 

One thing, though, bothered me about the third book; there was almost no reference at all to the prophecy. It was almost as if, because Percy heard it a book ago, he had completely forgotten about it. :/  So bring it up every once in a while.

Who makes the prophecy? Is it a professor or other adult? Or is it a peer of the protagonist? 

Is the protagonist upset about the prophecy? Concerned? Delighted (o.O)? Or undecided?

Is the protagonist capable of his/her duties as defined by the prophecy? Both my angel and demon are capable of the quest, but they have to search for how to do so. 

Please, please, with butterbeer on top–DON’T OVERUSE PROPHECIES. I was trying to get through a King Arthur book, and might have enjoyed it had it not been for Merlin’s incessant prophecy-making. Here’s an example:

Knight: “Let’s ride on my horse to pick up my date for the prom.”

Merlin: “Alas, you will fall deeply in love with that woman, and enjoy many meals with her, but in the Land of Light and Darkness, you will discover an earth-shattering truth about her and yourself. When the final battle is fought, a woman will stand by your side. You will enjoy a Sausage McGriddle afterward.”

…except imagine that happens every SINGLE time ANYONE does ANYTHING. Don’t let your readers become victims of… Boredtoomanypropheciesitis. You, as an author, can take steps to prevent this. Don’t let your book be set down because of poorly-timed and annoying prophecy-making. o_O

We’ve already covered one of the most awkward conversation topics ever, so now let’s cover the other: religion. I’m not going to discuss it or anything , just give some examples of how it’s used in literature. So here we go:

In Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, I understand that religion plays a very important role in the story, something about a new, cavalier religion conflicting with the main Ozian religion. In fact, Elphaba’s father (err… not quite her father; there’s an affair… her mother’s husband), Frex, is a reverend (I’m pretty sure). I haven’t even read the entire first chapter, so don’t throw tomatoes at me if I’m wrong.

Religion in literature can inspire some churches to boycott films or books. Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy greatly concerns religion, especially the Adam and Eve storyline in the Bible. In The Amber Spyglass, the main characters kill the Authority (which is generally considered to be God), and this upset many churches. One thing that I thought was funny is how no one ever was concerned with the trilogy like that until the movie was made. Sadly, due to boycotting, The Subtle Knife won’t be made into a movie anytime soon. ;_;

When Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was first released, it sparked a controversy. In fact, kids weren’t allowed to check it out of their school libraries. When I suggested that we read it in our groups at school, my teacher told me that we couldn’t because of possible complaints. Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code also has some controversy surrounding it. Nonetheless, all of these books are really great reads.

It’s funny; Twilight never sparked controversy, even though it contains several anti-feminist themes and many sexual references. And it’s still considered appropriate for elementary school children. Hm.

The novel I’m writing right now contains a lot of religion. I don’t really refer to the Bible, Torah, or Koran at all (well, I do mention them on the first page, but it’s not really all that important). However, I do play around with good and evil. I do include angels, demons, and worlds after death in my novel.

I don’t think that there should be any controversy surrounding books. After all, they’re just books. It’s not like they’re causing kids to go out and kill their Bibles, or use witchcraft on their ministers. Just let it go.

One thing I hate is when the readers always guess that the hero will wind up with the heroine. If it’s going to happen, make it less obvious. I want to have to dig to figure out who the protagonist ends up with; I don’t want it to be a match made in heaven, either.

In Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, the heroine, Lyra, has no love interest until the third book, and even then, you can’t even remotely guess who it is in the first book. I confess, I thought that Lyra was going to end up with Roger… And she doesn’t. She falls in love with a dashing guy from our time period, Will Parry, who she meets by accident in the second book.

But do you know what makes me pull at my hair and congratulate the author at the same time? Will and Lyra don’t end up together. They live in two different worlds, and Will would die of sickness if he stayed in Lyra’s Oxford, just like his father. And the same would happen to Lyra if she lived in Will’s Oxford for too long. They can’t go back and forth, either; all doors to other worlds must be shut, unless a single Specter will roam free. So they will never, ever physically see each other ever again, even through everything they’ve been through. So they agree that, every Midsummer Day, they will sit on the same bench, but in different worlds, at the same time. It’s a very bittersweet ending.

In my novel, I try not to make it obvious that the hero and heroine will fall for each other; I make them originally crush on humans. In fact, I don’t even actually come out directly and say that the angel likes the demon at the end. Still, I’ve had this conversation before:

Me: “I have a female angel and a male demon–”

Person: “So it’s a forbidden romance?”

I tell you, that (along with people announcing that my definition of God and other worlds after life doesn’t agree with theirs and not liking my work because of it) is one of my top pet peeves when it comes to my writing. So I try to make it less obvious that the angel and demon end up together.

I liked it in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, when Harry likes Ginny. I think that, up until that book, many people thought that Harry and Hermione were going to somehow wind up together. Plus, they’re such a cute couple.

His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman

I’ve not updated this blog for a while, but I’ve been busy organising myself to go back to the States to stay with my parents over the summer.

But I’ll save that for another time. Recently, I think two days ago, I finally finished Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. I know I’m a few years behind the times in reading it, but at least I have now.

Well, what to say about it? Through all three novels, Pullman creates imaginative and plausible worlds, with a surprisingly mature theme revolving around religion and consciousness. Having seen the film of The Golden Compass, I wasn’t particularly impressed by the story, but it can very easily be said that the books are much better than their cinematic adaptations.

One of the most endearing things about these books is the entire concept of daemons. In one of the many worlds described in the trilogy, souls live on the outside of the body in the form of animals. This idea appeals to all readers, since it makes them wonder what form their own daemon would take.

Pullman does a very good job at explaining his complex ideas surrounding consciousness, souls and death. He comes up with some clever concepts that are entirely plausible, with such things simply being invisible to the eyes of most people.

One criticism that I can make about this book is the link between the first and second book. Having read the first book, it seems that the storyline is a little weak and insignificant, especially compared to the more epic and groundbreaking second and third books. However, it does introduce the main ideas gently, developing them in a way that most readers, even children (which we must remember is the chief audience), can understand. The problem with the first book is that it’s not particularly engaging. I personally found the main character, Lyra, irritating to read about, and I had little sympathy with her. I just continued to read the book to find out more about the major concepts that Pullman hints at.

I was certainly not disappointed. With The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, these concepts take on a huge significance to storyline, and this is the most appealing thing about the trilogy. It can be enjoyed by anybody; the characters and daemons will appeal to children, and the complex ideology embedded throughout will interest most adults in a similar way to The Da Vinci Code.

It is fair to say that the second and third books are much more exciting than Northern Lights (The Golden Compass, as it’s called in the USA). That isn’t to say that Northern Lights isn’t exciting, but the significance of the events that take place is not immediately obvious. Readers must read on through the trilogy to find out what they mean, which creates a fun sense of discovery.

The novels are thought-provoking, emotion-inducing, and mostly fun to read. The legendarium provides readers with plenty of things to discuss since there are many instances where events are open to interpretation. I can definitely recommend this book to readers of all ages, since it will make anybody think about the world and humanity in an entirely different way. I would rate the trilogy as a whole as a 5/5.

In Lyras Welt lebt jeder Mensch mit seinem Dæmonen zusammen, ein Tier welches ein Leben lang mit ihm verbunden und vergleichbar mit seiner Seele ist. Als plötzlich immer mehr Kinder entführt werden, kommt Lyra hinter die erschreckende Wahrheit: Das Magisterium versucht, die Kinder von ihren Dæmonen zu trennen. Lyra begibt sich auf die Suche nach den Kindern – und entdeckt einen Zugang zu einer anderen Welt. Hier trifft sie auf Will, dessen Vater vor zehn Jahren verschwand. Will hat selber erst vor kurzem den Zugang zu dieser Welt entdeckt -er selber kommt wiederum aus einer anderen, nämlich unseren. Doch hier nimmt Will die Spur seines Vater wieder auf, und auch Lyra erfährt mehr über ihre Eltern. Und noch etwas erfahren die beiden: Ein Krieg steht bevor, der die gesamt Weltenordnung für immer verändern könnte. Und Will und Lyra besetzen in diesem Krieg die Schlüsselpositionen. Und es geht um Staub, denn der mystische Staub ist überall, und ohne ihn kann nichts existieren -der etwa doch…?

His Dark Materials, von 1995 bis 2000 von Philip Pullman veröffentlicht, gliedert sich in drei Bände – Der Goldene Kompass, Das Magische Messer und Das Bernstein-Teleskop. Hauptsächlich geht es in den Büchern um eine große Frage: Was ist Staub, woher kommt er und was bedeutet er?

Staub (in Wills Welt, also unserer, auch Schatten oder Dunkle Materie genannt, in der Welt der Mulafa Sraf) scheint dort zu entstehen, wo bewusstes Leben existiert. Er ist allgegenwärtig und entsteht beim Menschen vermehrt beim Eintritt in die Pubertät. Staub scheint ein eigenes Bewusstsein zu haben und hält die Dinge im Gleichgewicht. Ohne Staub würde kein bewusstes Leben bestehen und eine Vernichtung des Staubs das Ende dessen bedeuten. Für die Oblationsbehörde, in Lyras Welt das verschärfte Äquivalent zur christlichen Kirche, ist Staub gleichbedeutend mit der Erbsünde. Da Staub also ab der Pubertät auftritt und die Dæmonen der Menschen bis zur Pubertät noch ihre Gestalt ändern können, ab diesem Zeitpunkt aber eine feste Gestalt annehmen, ist dies für die Behörde der Anlass, die Kinder von ihren Dæmonen zu trennen, um sie von der Erbsünde zu befreien. Das Gegenstück zur Oblationsbehörde bildet in His Dark Materials Lord Asriel, der diese insofern indirekt bekämpft, indem er einen Krieg gegen den Allmächtigen, gegen Gott, beginnt, um so eine Republik des Himmels zu gründen.

His Dark Materials handelt also von höchst philosophischen Grundfragen (Existiert Gott?) und scharfer Kirchenkritik. Die Kirche ist ohne Umschweife das Böse in den drei Bänden und Gott wird sogar direkt bekämpft.

“Niemand würde mich ermahnen, verdammen, loben oder bestrafen, weil ich brav oder ungezogen war. Der Himmel war leer. Ich wusste nicht, ob Gott tot war oder ob es ihn je gegeben hat. Ich wusste nur, dass ich frei war und einsam. [...] Und da nahm ich dass Kruzifix vom Hals und warf es ins Meer. Aus und vorbei, endgültig.”

Die Figurenzeichnung in den Büchern ist im Grunde relativ einfach gestrickt. Jeder hat hier seine Aufgabe und seine Funktion und man weiß eigentlich sofort recht eindeutig, wer auf welcher Seite steht. Auffällig ist aber, dass es in Pullmans Universum nur zwei Arten von Menschen zu geben scheint: Die Christen, oftmals gleichbedeutent mit der Behörde und somit von Grund auf Böse, oder die anderen, die zumeist wissenschaftliche Berufe ausüben oder auf eine andere Art durchaus gebildet sind. Die Kinder sind neutral und stehen auch dem Tod des Allmächtigen recht gelassen gegenüber.

Von Band Eins bis Drei lernt man in den Büchern einerseits mehr über Staub und seine Bedeutung, andererseits lernt man aber auch mehr und mehr Welten kennen. Während Der Goldene Kompass hauptsächlich in Lyras Welt spielt, springen Will und Lyra in Das Bernstein-Teleskop schon fast von Welt zu Welt. Und so hat die Trilogie ihre Stärken auch ganz klar im ersten Band, in dem Pullman sich scheinbar noch die Zeit genommen hat, den Leser in die Geschichte einzuführen. Lyra und ihr Dæmon, sowie die Beziehung der Menschen zu ihren Dæmonen werden intensiv vorgestellt, und das ist auch gut so, denn nur so kann man sich die Qualen vorstellen, die die Kinder bei der Trennung von ihren Dæmonen erleiden müssen -wie z.B. bei Billy Costa ausführlich beschrieben. Je weiter die Geschichte fortschreitet, desto undurchsichtiger wird das ganze, und so hastet man im dritten Band von Schauplatz zu Schauplatz, von Schlacht zu Schlacht, von einer Wendung zur nächsten. Sicher, nach und nach macht jeder Nebenschauplatz irgendwo mehr oder weniger Sinn, doch der Lesefluss leidet darunter um einiges.

Die Chroniken von Narnia wurden von C. S. Lewis, einem engen Freund von Tolkien geschrieben. So findet sich in diesen Büchern einiges, was einem aus Herr der Ringe bekannt vor kommt. Doch bei Lewis wurde diese Geschichte um eine immense christliche Ebene erweitert, die den Leser mit der Holzhammer-Methode missionieren will. Pullman widerum sieht seine Bücher als Gegenentwurf zu Narnia, und das merkt man auch. Sicherlich sollte man die Bücher nicht nur lesen, weil man überzeugter Atheist ist oder eine starke Abneigung gegen die Kirche hat. Eine gewisse Distanz zu selbiger oder aber die Fähigkeit, Fiktion also solche nicht all zu ernst zu nehmen, schadet allerdings auch nicht.

His Dark Materials ist also auf der einen Seite ein epischer, teils recht düsterer Fantasy-Zyklus mit verschiedenen Welten, Wesen und großen Schlachten. Auf der anderen Seite aber ist es auch eine recht schonungslose Abrechnung mit der christlichen Kirche. Gegen Ende wird es – zumindest habe ich es so empfunden – leider etwas undurchsichtig und man weiß nicht immer, wer was warum tut, aber wenn man vielleicht entweder aufmerksamer liest oder die Bücher ein zweites Mal zur Hand nimmt, sollten sich gewisse Fragen beantworten. Empfehlenswert? Der Goldene Kompass ja (dessen Verfilmung ohne Vorkenntnis des Buches leider etwas verwirrend ist), die weiteren Bände immer um eine Kleinigkeit weniger, aber eigentlich immer noch.

Did you ever notice that some of the most exciting new writing these days is for younger readers?  Some of my best finds recently have been in the Young Adult section of the library.  The obvious example is the Harry Potter series, of course.  Those were just good reads, plain and simple.  And somehow they managed to capture the imagination of an entire generation.  (and their parents, aunts, uncles etc.)  Love it or hate it for its possible atheism, Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” series (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass) is a fantastic fantasy series; well-written, thought provoking, and emotional.  It even made me cry.  Neil Gaiman writes fantastic stuff for younger readers: Coraline, The Graveyard Book, and MirrorMask to name just three.  I also very much enjoyed Libba Bray’s “Gemma Doyle” series: A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing.  I’m finding a lot of empowered women in these books, which I very much like to see.

Next time you feel like you’ve seen and read it all, take a peek into the YA section-I’m sure you’ll find something worthwhile.

What would Jane say?  Come on, she’s a governess!  Of course she’ll like books for younger readers.  Anything that keeps young people reading is a-ok by Jane.

Coming up?  A review of Down River by John Hart.  Another ebook that’s kept me company on the bus this past week.

In the last couple of months I have turned into a voracious reader – all thanks to Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. I loved reading as a kid, devouring 2-3 novels a week during the summer holidays, but the habit sort of fizzled out once I got into college and then into professional life. Not that reading was completely ruled out but now it was restricted to 4-5 novels a year and that too each novel took me a couple of months to read by which time I had forgotten half of the characters and their mortality rate.

I inherited His Dark Materials from my sister’s collection with the recommendation that these were novels that were integral to the neo-classical genre and a must read. This coming from my sister who rarely showcases her likes or dislikes piqued my curiosity and got me to start off on this. This brought back my old habits. Three books back to back were finished in no time and a regret that there were no more in the series to pursue.

My verdict of His Dark Materials series (Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass) – One of the best grown up fantasy adventures ever written. The contents of the books may be somewhat controversial to those who swear by organised religion and the diktats from above that bind them, but the subtle meaning in the books drive home the point that there’s more to life after all. No more metaphors or dragging reviews and giveaways. Just go read it.

Besides the His Dark Materials trilogy, I also had an unfinished Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy omnibus with me. This book that I picked up from Sankar’s at the Bangalore Airport in 2006 had been a stutter and stop read. I had just about made it to the last novel i.e. Mostly Harmless and the short story before it which was ‘Young Zaphod Plays it Safe’ when I stopped short of completing it about a year ago. The book was just lying there unfinished. After Dark Materials I made it a point to complete this at the expense of mundane news and TV serials.

I would say that my new found interest in books is due to the fact that there is hardly anything worthwhile paying on TV nowadays. Now that the reading bug has bitten me I don’t see it disappearing anytime soon. Right now, I am onto the complete and unabridged Sherlock Holmes series. This is another book that I picked up at a book sale in 2005 (I don’t remember the book seller). It included the adventures, memoirs, return of Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of Baskervilles all in one book with the original Sidney Paget illustrations. All this for Rs. 350. Quite a steal, but it lay unread on my table for sometime. Sherlock Homes was a hero to me as a kid and I had read some of the short stories that appeared randomly in assorted sets of books. Long forgotten, I turned to my complete Sherlock Holmes volume and I am now in the middle of it trying to figure out the Adventure of The Man with the Twisted Lip.

Thank god for literature. In the event of an electric storm we still have a lot to look forward to.

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

This trilogy, comprised of The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, follows the fantastical adventures of Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry as they weave their way through a labyrinth of epic events and trials. When I first read the series, admittedly, I gave up well before the midway point of The Subtle Knife– disappointed by the turn of events within the overarching story.

The Golden Compass, the first book of the trilogy, is by far my favorite of the three. This story takes place in a fantasy world much like our own; Lyra is from a place called Oxford, where she lives with the scholars at Jordan College. Not far into the story her best friend, Roger, is kidnapped by the Gobblers (a group of people who have been stealing children from the streets) and the course of the novel more-or-less follows her struggle to rescue him.

This first novel, aside from hints of deeper intrigues to come later, is very much your typical fantasy novel. The world that Pullman creates is one that is a blending of physics, science, and religion. Lyra’s world is a place where magical happenings and armored bears run hand-in-hand with zeppelins, guns, and aeronauts. By far the worlds of His Dark Materials are the most rich and well-done aspects of the series. The settings and technology have a very Steampunk vibe– from anbaric lanterns to hot-air balloons, the technology Pullman creates is truly magnificent.

The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, take the series in another, but not unexpected direction. In The Subtle Knife, Lyra meets Will Parry, and the two of them soon find themselves with the ability to move between different worlds and dimensions. At the same time, the reader is able to put together some of the more vague events of the first book: Lord Asriel and his war against the Almighty, Mrs. Coulter and the Oblation Board, and so on. It is in these two books that most of the controversy surrounding the series manifests itself. While I was not particularly unsettled by the blatant bashing of organized religion or the idea of battling the Almighty, I can certainly see where others might feel uneasy. Philip Pullman surely is not the first literary figure to take such a stance within his writing and certainly will not be the last.

Actually, I found many of the strange twists and turns of the storyline to be quite entertaining and even unexpected. The merging of scientific ideas, physics, theology, and fantasy were all very fascinating in so far that they were put together in such a way I have never seen before.  The series is beautifully crafted and Pullman is a master at creating enduring characters and worlds.

So, here is my advice if you are planning on reading the series. Go into it with an open mind. If you are looking for a light, harmless, and conventional fantasy adventure this is not it (this is part of the reason I did not finish the series the first time I started it).

Next month, I will be moving away from the fantasy theme that has been prevelant in my reading towards more variety. On the list? Memoirs of a Geisha, The Hellbound Heart, and Mansfield Park.

On His Dark Materials, the great love story:

I have been putting this off for some time now because, truthfully, no amount of words could express just how much I loved His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.

Before reading this trilogy, I wasn’t sure how I would respond to something that had been labeled children’s literature.  After reading The Golden Compass it was abundantly clear that I could at least greatly enjoy reading children’s lit.  Yet it wasn’t until about somewhere towards the end of The Subtle Knife that I learned it was within the realm of possibilities for me to actually love this trilogy.

A brief summary for those of you who may not be familiar: The Golden Compass (or Northern Lights) opens up set in an alternate universe similar yet incredibly different from our own.  The most noticeable difference is that people’s souls take the visible form of talking animals, called daemons.

The main character is Lyra, a precocious young girl who one day saves who she believes to be her uncle from being poisoned.  Soon after, her best friend Roger is kidnapped by “loppers” who, as rumor would have it, kidnap kids and take them to the North (pole) for weird experiments.  Lyra vows to save Roger and embarks on an adventure to do so that eventually takes her all the way to the world of the dead.

But more rests on Lyra’s shoulders than just the fate of her friend.  In fact, unbeknownst to her, the fate of entire worlds rest on her actions and the actions of another: Will, who is introduced in The Subtle Knife.

Words could not express how much I loved this series, so don’t be surprised if this is a pretty rambling post.  At the conclusion of The Amber Spyglass I hugged the book close to my chest, infinitely sad that it ever have to end (not to mention, sad too because of the bitter-sweet ending!)

I think it’s interesting that much has been made of the controversial religious aspects of the trilogy when it seems to me hardly anyone talks about what I thought was the central theme of the book.  It wasn’t God, it wasn’t religion, and it wasn’t even childhood, though those things do play a major role.  It was, simply put, love.  If nothing else, His Dark Materials is a love story.

And I’m not talking about the very real, heartrending love between Lyra and Will.  I’m talking about love as a force that drives most of the the plot and the action of the books.  Lyra’s quest to save her friend, a quest which takes all the way to the world of the dead speaks very clearly about the love that exits between friends.

Then there is complicated adult love (Mrs. Coulter and Asriel), love between mother and daughter, father and son, mother and son (Mrs. Coulter and Lyra, Will and his father, Will and his mother), and innocent romantic love (Lyra and Will).

The “temptation” that occurs in The Amber Spyglass is nothing more than a simple love story.  It is a description of what it’s like to feel that little prick in your heart for the first time, the glory and the pain.  It’s the story that tempts Lyra to see what’s already in her own heart – love for her own companion.  It’s the story that essentially saves the world from destruction and gradual disintegration.

But there’s more.  His Dark Materials is about love of life over fear of death, and knowledge over ignorance.  His Dark Materials invites us to remember that this life is beautiful and that we should take joy in being a part of this grand universe: the air, the trees, the grass, the clouds, the wind, the dirt, the mountains, the animals, us.  We are apart of one another, made up of the same atoms and that is a beautiful thing.  Flesh, Pullman says, is a gift and we should glory in it – not be ashamed of it.

*spoilers ahead!*

Of all the characters, I thought Mrs. Coulter and almost to the same extent Lord Asriel, was the most complicated.  She lies so well that I was often confused about what her actual motivations were.  The ending of course validates her love for her daughter, but I thought it unclear as to how much that love motivated her previous actions.  Did she really set out from the beginning to protect Lyra or was it all a lie as Lord Asriel assumes?  And just what would she have done when she reached for her gun if they hadn’t been interrupted?

As for Lord Asriel,  I found him the most inscrutable, which I suppose is very true to his character.  One of the weaknesses of the series is that it’s never really explained why he sets out to destroy the Authority or how he even gets the power to build the army that he does.

I also found it interesting how Will and Lyra in many ways mirrored Lord Asreal and Mrs. Coulter.  Both Will and Asreal are fierce warriors, and both Lyra and Mrs. Coulter are accomplished liars.  What was fascinating was that, through Will and Lyra you could see how Lord Asreal’s and Mrs. Coulter’s relationship might have been if maybe they’d trusted a litle more and been less cold and calculating.

And isn’t it funny how, in the end, both of these couples who mirror each other in so many ways, must part just as soon as they acknowledge that love?  Lord Asreal and Mrs. Coulter through death; Will and Lyra through the inconvenience of having to live in different worlds?  Perhaps, Pullman’s point here is that love is not easily found but it’s easily lost.  And that we should cherish every day we’re allowed to bask in the gift of love, even if it’s just for a moment.

In the end, after all the battles and all the journeys – the world is not saved through might and great thinking.  It’s saved through love.  Lord Asreal and Mrs. Coulter defeat Metatron through love.  Only that could have forced them to do what they did.  Love for their daughter and love for each other.  Finally, Will and Lyra stop the departure of dust with their love.

*spoilers ended*

So I could talk about the religious elements in the trilogy – the God, the Regent, the angels, the sin – and about what that all means, but I won’t because to me all that is incidental, though never uninteresting.  I don’t know Pullman’s mind but I suspect that he didn’t set out to write a political book so much as he did a love story.

Or maybe his intention was to do both.  I don’t know.  All I know is that I adored this trilogy.  It broke my heart (I cried and cried at the end!), but all great love stories do, if only because they have to end.

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Yearling Books / May 2003
$22.50

So I just finished reading the Amber Spyglass a couple of hours ago.  For those who don’t know this is the 3rd book in the His Dark Materials series (the Golden Compass was the 1st and they made a movie from it but mutilated the story in the process of adapting to protect America’s religious sensibilities, but that’s an issue for another post).  I was given the series as a gift a couple of years ago and I’ve rather enjoyed reading it over the last couple weeks, but that is not why I am writing this.  

I was looking up something about the book and I discovered that they censored the American version of the book and it made me very sad for America and very angry.  Based on what I could find online they censoring they did was very minor, but still I’m unhappy about this.

In the orginal UK version of the book Lyra, the 12 year old protagonist of the series describes her sexual awakening like this: “Lyra “felt something strange happen to her body. She felt a stirring at the roots of her hair: she found herself breathing faster.” 

In the US version they changed it to “Lyra felt something strange happen to her body. She felt as if she had been handed the key to a great house she hadn’t known was there, a house that was somehow inside her, and as she turned the key, she felt the other doors opening keep in the darkness, and lights coming on.”

Now this is a very minor change, and some might even argue that the metaphor in the American version is more fitting, but what I am wondering why was it necessary in the first place.  For some reason America is a very prudish society and we feel it necessary to protect are kids from “objectionable” content.  Now the book was aimed at young adults (as well as adults who I feel can enjoy reading the series too) who I feel should be mature enough to handle this content,  but I feel that any kid who is mature enoughto get through the books should be able to read them unedited and unrestricted.  Now I’m all for protecting them form hardcore things (my next book to read is Choke by Chuck Palahniuk and it’s way way way too dirty for kids to even look at) but I also think that a kid should be able to read what they want and what they feel is interesting, especially in an era when kids read way too little.  I just looked at a list of the 100 most banned books of the 90s (The List of Most Banned Books) or the era in which I grew up and I read more than a few of the books on the list as a kid.  More specifically I read all of these sometime before I entered high school:

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
• Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
• A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Now I don’t feel that reading the 10 or so books a kid adversely affected me in any fashion.  If anything reading books that might have a controversial subject only made me a better person and didn’t damage my fragile childhood psyche.  Actually I don’t think kids really even notice most of the things adults find questionable in these books.  I can specifically remember reading The Giver and never noticing and communism, if anything the Giver says that communism is bad and fails because the society has not emotion or passion.

Anyways that’s the end of my rant, I was only going to tweet about my anger at this censorship, but then I started this blog and it got out of hand.  So what about all of you (not that I think many people are reading this) what do you think?  Is necessary for America to be as prudish as it is about such things (especially when it comes to sex) or should we take a closer look at what our first amendment really says?

Re-read. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (2000)
His Dark Materials, Book 3

Length: 520 pages
Genre: Young-Adult Fantasy

Started: 26 March 2006 / 31 January 2009
Finished: 10 April 2006 / 15 February 2009

Summary: Lyra is held in a captive sleep by Mrs. Coulter, and Will must use all of his courage and cunning, as well as the knife that can cut between worlds to save her. Mary Malone has escaped from the Oxford police into a strange new world that will teach her more about Dust than her scientific researches ever could. Meanwhile, powerful forces are marshaling on either side of the battle lines of Lord Asriel’s war against the Authority – angels, witches, armored bears, several branches of the Church, and other sentient beings from a variety of worlds are all racing to find Lyra – for with her goes the fate of the world.

Original Review: A lot going on in this book, none of it typical kiddie-lit fare. Really interesting cosmology/theology, too, although there were one or two details that were a little muddled/underexplained. But the cosmology is not what gives this book (this series, really) its power. I don’t know if it was the writing or if it was the performances on the audiobook (probably both – I’d have to read it on paper to find out, but the performances are uniformly excellent), but this book (series) grabbed my emotions and didn’t let go. In the same way that the first book made me hold my breath from suspense, this one absolutely took my breath away from heartbreak and actually made me cry – not once, but at least twice. It’s a rare book that has the power to do that, and combined with the imaginative and original plot, the self-consistency of the cosmology (not always present in scifi/fantasy), and the sweet, funny, moving, and honest writing, this series is not to be missed. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Thoughts on a re-read: Well, it turns out that it was (mostly) the audiobook that made me cry. Mostly. I don’t know if it’s because I read much faster than I listen, and audiobooks force me to linger over the sad moments, or the actors for the audiobook of the His Dark Materials trilogy were just that good, or what, but on a re-read, this book didn’t make me cry nearly as hard as it did the first time around. We’re talking big ol’ racking sobs the first time around, versus a little bit more sniffly than can be accounted for by allergies alone this time. Maybe it’s just that I knew what was coming.

I’m also really, really still impressed with the texture and complexity of the worldbuilding. Pullman puts together history, physics, religious theory, evolution, anthropology, and probably several other fields of study into a single cohesive unit that’s so well built that it actually seems not only plausible, but likely. If someone where to tell me that hey, this isn’t just a fantasy novel; Dust is real, and this is really how the universe works… well, I don’t think I’d be particularly surprised. That’s just one of the reasons that this series is up there on my all-time favorites list. I think I said it best the first time: with “the sweet, funny, moving, and honest writing, this series is not to be missed.” I love these characters, love the message, and just plain love these books.

This Review on LibraryThing | This Book on LibraryThing | This Book on Amazon

Other Reviews: Ticket to Anywhere, Bending Bookshelf
I know more people have this have read and reviewed this book. If I missed yours, please leave a comment with the link and I’ll add it in.

First Line: In a valley shaded with rhododendrons, close to the snow line, where a stream milky with melt-water splashed and where doves and linnets flew among the immense pines, lay a cave, half-hidden by the crag above and the stiff heavy leaves that clustered below.

***SPOILER ALERT***
For those of you that have read the book, help me put to rest a long-standing argument with some of my friends:

On stuff I read or tried to read this first full week of February:

This week, I have three words for you: The. Amber. Spyglass.  Yup. I finished it!  And oh, what an amazing, amazing book.  You know when you read a book and you’re so dazzled by it that every time you think of it afterwords you see little sparkly stars of happiness before your eyes?  Yes, that’s how great Philip Pullman’s book was.

I won’t get too far into what I liked about it, otherwise this update will end up being a novel-long review.  Let’s just say I’ve got a whole lot to say about this book and the series, and virtually all of it is good.  I’m so thankful that I read Pullman’s His Dark Materials series.  It has so many wonderful elements – the philosophy, the action, the adventure, the creativity, the struggle, the happiness, and especially the love.

Whew! Ok,  I’m stopping otherwise I’ll never stop.  I’ll try to post my review of the series as a whole sometime next week, although I have to write my review for The Anglo Files by Sarah Lyall first.  I’m so slow about these things.

Anyways… so what else did I read this week?  Honestly, hardly anything besides The Amber Spyglass.  I tried to get a little further into Peter Straub’s Ghost Story, but I kept falling asleep on it.  All told, I think I got in all of two pages so nothing new to report there.

Last weekend, I made it to the third part of Roberto Bolano’s 2666 “The Part About Fate.”  I’d been really involved with the book until my attention got diverted by The Amber Spyglass on Monday.  Now that that’s finished, I’m actually looking forward to getting back to 2666.  Bolano is weaving an interesting spell with these parts.  It’s like a song that starts off quietly and unassuming, but beautifully so that you can’t help but wait to hear what comes next.  The denouement, I suspect, will be beautiful.

I’ve also started reading two nonfiction books: The Great Derangement by Matt Taibbi and The Stuff of Thought by Steven Pinker.  Taibbi’s book has proven to be especially useful this week.  The second chapter of The Great Derangement, “Congressional Interlude I, or Inside the Halls of Derangement,” gives the reader a peek at what really happens on the Hill.

To do that, Taibbi follows a bill written just after Hurricane Katrina as it travels through Congress.  What it, the bill and its passage, reveals about the cynicism and cronyism of some of our elected officials is nothing less than depressing.  All I have to say is: this is why Obama is in office.  An excerpt:

The nonresponsive government may have seen the people scurrying toward magical or conspiratorial explanations for their betrayal, but when I went to Washington – in the fall of 2005, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina – what I found was a much less exotic, but frankly harder to accept, explanation for why things are falling apart.  The best cover our corrupt politicians have for their behavior is the very banality of their crimes; to quote Tolstoy, their corruption is the “most ordinary and therefore the most horrible.”  To be robbed and betrayed by a fiendish underground conspiracy, or by the earthly agents of Satan, is at least a romantic sort of plight – it suggests at least a grand Hollywood-ready confrontation between good and evil – but to be coldly ripped off over and over again by a bunch of bloodless, second-rate schmoes, schmoes you choose, you elected, is not something anyone will take much pleasure in bragging about.

I haven’t gotten that far in The Stuff of Thought either.  At the moment Pinker and I are in a discussion on how children acquire language.  I have a two year old sister so this is especially relevant for me.  Isn’t the way children acquire language so quickly amazing?  The way Pinker describes it, it’s almost a miracle.  To make his point, Pinker quotes Crazy English by Richard Lederer.  Lederer writes:

If adults commit adultery, do infants commit infantry?  If olive oil is made from olives, what do they make baby oil from?  If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian consume? A writer is someone who writes, and a stinger is something that stings.  But fingers don’t fing, grocers dong groce, hamers don’t ham, humdingers don’t humding, ushers don’t ush, and haberdashers do not haberdash…

…If the plural for tooth is teeth, shouldn’t the plural for booth be beeth?  One goose, two geese – so one moose, two meese?  If people ring a bell today and rang a bell yesterday, why don’t we say they flang a ball?  If they wrote a letter, perhaps they bote their tongue.

Our language is maaaaad!  If this is truly the stuff of thought, it’s no wonder some politicians behave the way do. 

Well, that’s it for another (late, late – I know) Status Update.  I hope you all have gotten your weekend off to a great start!  Happy reading!!