The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman

This fun little children’s book checks off a lot of things for me:

• Strong, intelligent main character.

• Social commentary embedded within the story in an interesting way.

• Cool animal companions for everyone.

• Badass bear, Iorek Byrnison.

• Morally ambiguous antagonists.

I decided to re-read this with the goal of finally finishing the trilogy. I feel like the re-read also helped me pick up on more things than I did last time, especially the commentary on religion not always being “the good guys” and morally gray characters.

I really enjoyed my time with this book, the audiobook I listened to is a full cast recording, which added a lot to the experience by having unique voices for each and every character, and with Philip Pullman himself as the actual narrator, adding a nice touch. I might read it again in print at some time in the future, since my mind wanders a lot when listening to audiobooks. There’s too much content in the book to give an actual succinct summary so I’ll just build upon some of the main highlights for me in the initial list.

Lyra is an interesting main character, she’s an 11-year-old girl, and just as curious as any 11-year-old. She’s smart, brave, and hard-headed enough to make me believe she’s making the decisions any pre-teen would.

The author’s views on religion are very clear and very on the nose, it might be off-putting to some, but for me, in this book specifically, it was still interesting and intertwined in the story in a way that didn’t feel like the author was shoving his ideals down my throat. The mystery around what Dust is and how it works is still charming from a narrative perspective, it’s mysterious and they give us just enough vague information about it that it makes you want to know a bit more about it, but it’s also dangerous ground. It has such an integral part to the story that if the discovery of what it actually is isn’t incredible, it might bring the whole series down a notch for me, but in the meantime, color me intrigued.

On to the dæmons, who are sort-of-but-not-really-animal companions for every human in this world, they’re the physical manifestation of each person’s soul, and are for all intents and purposes, the same entity. Neither can stand being physically distant from one another, and they are each other’s lifetime companion. Children’s dæmons can change into a variety of animals at will, but when they reach a certain age they maintain a single form for the rest of their lives. This relationship between human and dæmon is also explored as one of the main points in the story, and to me it was one of the more interesting parts, if a little predictable.

Iorek is my favorite character, he’s just so cool. He literally just minds his own business, he doesn’t think he’s better than others, he knows he is, but is somehow still humble and grounded and doesn’t come off as an asshole. I just want to hang out with him, I just know he’s got the coolest stories to tell about his people and their customs.

Finally, my favorite part, antagonists that you’re not really sure who they’re siding with. Mrs. Coulter, also known as Lyra’s mom, is this character for me. Since she’s Lyra’s mom, you’d kind of think she has her daughter’s best interest in mind, then you see how she educates and treats her, then you change your mind real quick. I’m in the middle of the third book right now, and I still don’t know how I feel about her, I love it. This is exactly the type of antagonist that keeps me hooked to stories, the ones where I’m really not sure what they’re going to do next, what they’re planning.

For a children’s book, this was right up my alley and it didn’t really feel like a middle grade book to me, just a really solid Fantasy adventure. It did end on a cliffhanger, but I feel like it was needed in order to set up the second book in the trilogy. I really really enjoyed the book, and my only question now is if the other two books can keep up with it.

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐☆