Retro Review: La Belle Sauvage
/When I started this blog, I had been posting reviews on Goodreads for about 6 months. In the interest of having all of my book writing in one place, I will post one of these old reviews every Friday. They weren't written with a blog in mind, so please forgive the lack of summary and off-the-cuff tone.
3 stars. I really and truly appreciate Philip Pullman's writing. His world- and character-building are fantastic. He's wonderfully creative and imaginative and clearly instills a sense of deep thinking into his stories. So much has been said about his messages and metaphors and influences and themes, and I do enjoy unpacking what he has to say.
But I have to admit: in general, his books don't give me chills. I don't feel driven to turn the page or return to the story when I reach the end of a chapter. I enjoy the experience, I suppose, but not on a level that really affects me. I feel distant as a reader; removed, or something. It's difficult to explain.
Maybe I would've been more invested had it not been a prequel. Maybe I would've been more interested if there had been - at the very least - a bit more explanation for the main antagonist's terrifying behavior (his purpose, to me, seemed simply to be scary). Maybe had Malcolm shown a little more depth ... unpredictability? Maybe if there had been a clearer purpose to each chapter it would have felt less meandering? Maybe if there had been fewer references to baby poop?
Don't get me wrong - La Belle Sauvage is terrific. Malcolm is a heartwarming hero and the magical elements of the world - daemons and alethiometers - prove as fascinating as ever. Pullman's plot development is always unique and unstructured in a good way. And I really, really admire his take on innocence/childhood vs. sin/adulthood. That is what keeps me reading, it's so interesting!
Actually, this brings me to a bit of a realization: I enjoy reading about Philip Pullman's writing more than his actual writing. Not sure that's ever happened before. I admire him so much, he has an incredible mind, I just prefer the analysis over the actual writing. His work is certainly deserving of literary criticism; the way he takes elements of the classics - mythology, poetry, etc. - and weaves them into an exciting fairy tale ... spectacular. The reading itself, though: only a 3-star experience, for me.