Author:
Philip Pullman
Introduction
The fourth book set in the multiverse imagined by Philip
Pullman, La Belle Sauvage is a prequel to the collection of novels known as the
‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy and the first part of ‘The Book of Dust’. The
first books, with young protagonists and a strong fantasy element, were
initially seen as children’s books, but their complex themes suggested
otherwise. In the second instalment, ‘The Subtle Knife’, both young characters
suffer bereavement whilst the third, ‘The Amber Spyglass’, is a metaphysical
whirlwind of ideas.
Personally I would applaud Philip Pullman for challenging
his young readers to engage with stretching ideas. One of my favourite series
of books as a young boy was the Viking trilogy by Henry Treece which traced the
career of a Viking, Harald, from his first voyage through an interlude in
Constantinople to his final voyage which takes him to the New World. Those
stories place their characters in difficult situations that demand a physical and
a moral response. Their main theme is that people have to make choices by which
they will be judged and remembered.
If you embark on a Philip Pullman novel you can expect to be
challenged as well as entertained. So how does La Belle Sauvage measure up?
What’s it
about?
At the opening of Northern Lights (the first book in the ‘His
Dark Materials sequence’) we meet Lyra Belacqua, a young girl living in an
Oxford college under the protection of Scholastic sanctuary. This book
describes the events that led up to her being placed there by her father
shortly after she was born. The first thing to say is that it is much more than
merely an exposition or an explanation but a dramatic story in its own right.
It too has two young protagonists, only in La Belle Sauvage the boy, Malcolm,
is the younger character. It begins in a restricted locality and gradually
opens out not just in geography but in terms of Malcolm’s view of the world.
The title of the book refers to Malcolm’s canoe; his parent’s
inn is on the river Thames and it is the key to his survival when the rivers
flood. It is made clear that this is no ordinary flood but an epic event;
Malcolm is given advance warning of it by a Gyptian, a member of an outsider community
who run boats on the river. They are significant players in Northern Lights.
Malcolm and Alice find themselves embarking (in both senses
of the word) on a perilous voyage in La Belle Sauvage to take the baby Lyra to
her father, Lord Asriel, in London. It is perilous not just because of the
storm but because of a mysterious man who is trying to kidnap her. So the main
body of the book is an extended chase sequence which becomes ever more
harrowing as well as gradually entering a mythical phase in which the storm has
broken open the normal structure of reality.
As well as the idea of a relentless chase, familiar from
many books and films, there is also the familiar element of the mismatched pair
who must navigate their own relationship whilst eluding danger. Malcolm and Alice find that together they can do things neither could achieve on their own. The story also
contains the plotline of stripping away support and protection from its
characters to place them in jeopardy (think Harry Potter in the last book when
Mad-eye Moody and Hedwig are dead, his wand is broken and Ron has left him).
The sequel to this, as in Harry Potter, is the materialisation of support from
unexpected and often mysterious directions. The further Malcolm travels down
the Thames the further away he is from home and everything familiar and the
tension in the book rises until the dramatic denouement, followed by the coda
which resolves the story.
Does it
work as a story?
As I commented in a previous post, when you first read a
book you want to follow the story and see where it ends. Depending on what kind
of story it is this can be a matter of interest or a desperate urge to find out.
In reading parlance we say a book that incites that urge is a page turner. Given
that this story is written to be an exciting adventure, does it qualify? I
would say yes; after dipping in and out of the book to begin with I found
myself devoting extended hours to it in the attempt to reach the end. This is
even more impressive given that I already knew the outcome to some extent
having read the later parts of this ongoing story.
La Belle Sauvage works for me because I lost myself in it,
accepting the underlying rules of the world of the book and getting drawn in to
richness of that world. In his essay on Faerie stories Tolkien talks of the
concept of sub-creation whereby the reader (or watcher in the case of a film)
can inhabit an imaginary world. He also says that if the spell is broken the
reader is left looking in on the invented world from the outside and it no
longer works. Philip Pullman’s spell still works for me with this book. Readers
need to be careful with a Pullman, you can easily find yourself talking to your
daemon or expecting to see a Zeppelin flying overhead!
Wider
themes
The forces of the Magisterium have a totalitarian look, like
the Nazis in the 1930’s or the communists in post-war Europe. Their influence
is insidious and all the more terrifying for being seen in a recognisably
English context. Pullman is instinctively anti-authoritarian and wants to warn
us of how easily we can slip into this.
Another theme that is discernible in this book is that of
the mythical hero. Lyra is destined to grow into some-one who will change the
world and this book begins to set up this aspect of Lyra. Lord Raglan wrote a
book called ‘The Hero’ in which he lists 22 aspects of the mythical hero. Some
of these apply to Lyra:
Number 1: The hero’s mother is a Royal Virgin-
Lyra’s mother, although not royal, comes from the upper echelons of society and
is clearly remarkable in her own right
Number 2: Their father is King- Lyra’s father is a
Lord and a significant person in society
Number 4: The circumstances of conception are unusual-
Lyra’s mother conceives her after an affair with Lord Asriel, who then kills
her husband in a duel.
Number 6: An attempt is made at birth………….to kill the
hero- or at least to capture her, by the books villain, Bonneville.
Number 7: the hero is spirited away- in this case by
Malcolm and Alice.
Number 8: the hero is reared by foster parents- In
Lyra’s case the staff of Jordan College.
Only Mr Pullman can say whether Raglan’s list was in his
mind when writing. It is perhaps better to say that this book is given
authenticity by being true to the patterns of storytelling. Lyra does not have
a magical weapon but she is given the Alethiometer which is a key to her
success. She is also, like Harry Potter, the subject of a prophecy and there is
an incident on an island in the Thames in this book that hints at why she
becomes so special. Although Lyra does nothing in this book the action revolves
around her and she inspires devotion or obsession in the heroes and villains. This
is the theme that underlies everything else in the book- that of a child destined
for greatness.
Any
Caveats?
The story has a slow start although the pace does pick up.
You can’t escape the thorny question of suitability for audience with this book.
The meetings between heroes and the villain result in graphic violence,
including sexual violence that definitely does not belong in a children’s book.
One commentator on Tolkien (Paul Kocher) suggested that if the Hobbit was to be
seen as a book read aloud to a circle of children sitting on the floor, then in
the interval between it and the Lord of the Rings the children have been packed
off to bed and replaced by the adults.
You could say the same about this book and yet authors
cannot ring fence their work. This book will be read by children because of His
Dark Materials. I would say that parents maybe need to read it themselves first
to judge at what point they could introduce it to their children. If you do
this, however, think about your own childhood reading and don’t wrap your
children in cotton wool.
Do I recommend
it?
Undoubtedly yes, the multiverse has a hold on me still!
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