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Dark Matter: Shedding Light on Philip Pullman's Trilogy, His Dark Materials
"My books are about killing God."So declares Philip Pullman, the award-winning author of the bestselling His Dark Materials trilogy of fantasy novels: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. Appealing to millions of children and adults alike, Pullman's books create a universe in which the church is the enemy and God is the master villain.Cultural analyst Tony Watkins offers an even-handed and appreciative critique of Philip Pullman's books, exploring their religious and scientific underpinnings and highlighting their cultural and spiritual significance. Interacting deeply with Pullman's published writings and providing exclusive interview material, Watkins sheds light and insight on the worldview of one of today's most influential fantasy novelists.Whether you are a long-time devotee or are discovering Pullman for the first time, Dark Matter is enlightening reading for fans, educators and parents alike.
- GenresNonfiction
221 pages, Paperback
First published May 30, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 24, 2019
A balanced, insightful critique of Pullman's theology, blended with admiration for his story, comes from Tony Watkins in Dark Matter: Shedding Light on Philip Pullman's Trilogy HDM. Incorporating his own remarkable interview with the author--http://www.tonywatkins.co.uk/media/li... --, as well as generous references drawn from the mass of source material already out there by 2004, Watkins does a tremendous job laying the groundwork for several major lines of inquiry. If he had spent less time on summary and biography, useful in themselves but probably not requisite for readers of the series looking for the analysis he stands poised to provide, he would have been able to give greater space to exploring themes like daemons and Dust and the handling of science in much more depth. As evidence of his acumen, I include a few examples:
"Now 'Lyra had to adjust to her new sense of her own story, and that couldn't be done in a day' (p. 130). There are echoes of Pullman's own story here. He started writing The Golden Compass in the early 1990s, sometime around, or soon after, the death of his mother. It was while he was subsequently sorting through her papers that Philip unearthed things about his parents that he had never known. His discoveries were not on the scale of what Lyra is told, but something of the same reorientation of perspectives must have taken place." (67 cf. Pullman's biographical sketch I have a feeling this all belongs to me; also Iorek's words to Will, cited Watkins p 88: "'If you want to succeed in this task, you must no longer think about your mother. You must put her aside. If your mind is divided, the knife will break' (p. 194)." )
"There's a book [mentioned in Lyra's Oxford] on 'some curious anomalies in the mathematics' of the Four Books of Architecture by one of the world's greatest architects, Andrea Palladio (originator of the Palladian style). The book is by one Nicholas Outram--these are Philip's middle names." (101)
"Incidentally, Lord Asriel's comments about this verse [ie, Gen 3:19]--that the translation is disputed because the text is corrupt, and that it could mean God is admitting his own sinfulness (GC, p. 373)--are unjustified. I have yet to find any commentator arguing for an alternative translation of 'to dust you will return.' [his endnote: Some commentators do disagree with the majority in that they take 'to dust you will return' as something that was always inevitable for Adam, even before his rebellion. In other words, he would have died whether he sinned or not, and the judgment on him is that work will now be difficult for him until that time. Most see physical death as being part of God's judgment and a consequence of being expelled from Eden. But this difference of opinion is over what the words imply, not over the translation itself. See Gordon Wenham, Word Biblical Commentary...] And the idea that this could have any reference at all to God's nature has no basis whatsoever outside Pullman's fictional world." (123)
"When I asked Pullman to explain what he meant by 'interrogating the universe,' [from an interview with Charles Brown, at this seemingly defunct link: http://www.avnet.co.uk/amaranth/Criti...], he replied [by email]: 'Perhaps "interrogating" is too fierce a word (not least in view of the pictures we've seen from Iraq recently [presumably from US soldiers humiliating and/or waterboarding prisoners]). I should have said something like "respectfully questioning." Human beings have got lots of ways of doing this; as well as the ones I mentioned, there is astrology, palm-reading, etc. I don't think these things give true answers; but what they might do--especially the more intellectually complex or enigmatic ones--is help you focus your question more precisely. So the answer you seem to be getting from them is actually coming from you. Probably.'" (136)
"Now 'Lyra had to adjust to her new sense of her own story, and that couldn't be done in a day' (p. 130). There are echoes of Pullman's own story here. He started writing The Golden Compass in the early 1990s, sometime around, or soon after, the death of his mother. It was while he was subsequently sorting through her papers that Philip unearthed things about his parents that he had never known. His discoveries were not on the scale of what Lyra is told, but something of the same reorientation of perspectives must have taken place." (67 cf. Pullman's biographical sketch I have a feeling this all belongs to me; also Iorek's words to Will, cited Watkins p 88: "'If you want to succeed in this task, you must no longer think about your mother. You must put her aside. If your mind is divided, the knife will break' (p. 194)." )
"There's a book [mentioned in Lyra's Oxford] on 'some curious anomalies in the mathematics' of the Four Books of Architecture by one of the world's greatest architects, Andrea Palladio (originator of the Palladian style). The book is by one Nicholas Outram--these are Philip's middle names." (101)
"Incidentally, Lord Asriel's comments about this verse [ie, Gen 3:19]--that the translation is disputed because the text is corrupt, and that it could mean God is admitting his own sinfulness (GC, p. 373)--are unjustified. I have yet to find any commentator arguing for an alternative translation of 'to dust you will return.' [his endnote: Some commentators do disagree with the majority in that they take 'to dust you will return' as something that was always inevitable for Adam, even before his rebellion. In other words, he would have died whether he sinned or not, and the judgment on him is that work will now be difficult for him until that time. Most see physical death as being part of God's judgment and a consequence of being expelled from Eden. But this difference of opinion is over what the words imply, not over the translation itself. See Gordon Wenham, Word Biblical Commentary...] And the idea that this could have any reference at all to God's nature has no basis whatsoever outside Pullman's fictional world." (123)
"When I asked Pullman to explain what he meant by 'interrogating the universe,' [from an interview with Charles Brown, at this seemingly defunct link: http://www.avnet.co.uk/amaranth/Criti...], he replied [by email]: 'Perhaps "interrogating" is too fierce a word (not least in view of the pictures we've seen from Iraq recently [presumably from US soldiers humiliating and/or waterboarding prisoners]). I should have said something like "respectfully questioning." Human beings have got lots of ways of doing this; as well as the ones I mentioned, there is astrology, palm-reading, etc. I don't think these things give true answers; but what they might do--especially the more intellectually complex or enigmatic ones--is help you focus your question more precisely. So the answer you seem to be getting from them is actually coming from you. Probably.'" (136)
August 3, 2017
2.5/5
July 19, 2018
Having recently reread His Dark Materials trilogy and The Book of Dust, it was fun to read this book, providing background information on Pullman and pulling together themes from his work.
July 25, 2019
This was pretty light on actual analysis, it was mostly opinion or plot summary.
June 4, 2020
*read for study purposes. Really good book. review to come soon*
December 28, 2015
Very good book, interesting analysis and probing into Phillip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' trilogy from a Christian perspective, though for those of you who are not interested in a Christian perspective on these books (and on Phillip Pullman) the first two thirds of the book are more biography of Mr. Pullman and then chapter length summaries and explorations of each of the books that make up the trilogy. Very insightful, and while the last third was hard for me to get through because I saw both sides of the arguments, I still enjoyed it: Mr. Pullman being the atheist that believes organized religion does terrible things and is no longer relevant in modern society, and Mr. Watkins being the Christian that is arguing for God and for organized religion because it has done (and continues to do) some wonderful things as well,(i.e. hospitals, Mother Teresa, giving people hope, and the like), and myself believe that more than half of what Mr. Watkins and Mr. Pullman are disagreeing about is a matter of language and syntax (i.e. if the Christian definition of God is the Universe and everything in it as well as grace and being transcendent of said Universe and yet omnipresent within 'all things', then why can't other words for God from different religions or belief systems with the same or very similar definitions as the above mean the same God? Two different words can be talking about the same thing. Especially if it's a different language. And why can't Mr. Pullman's Dust and ideas of consciousness be 'God' as well? Even if these were not his intentions, etc.) And the very last chapter of the book makes up for some of the slower chapters (though still very interesting and thought provoking) on Christianity vs. Pullman by being all about physics! And going over some of the science that 'His Dark Materials' were based upon, such as Dark Matter itself and the 'many-worlds' theory versus the 'bubble worlds' theory of alternate realities and dimensions. All very fascinating! And if any of this is of interest to you, and you also love Mr. Pullman's work, especially the trilogy, then I would highly recommend this book! It is also a pretty quick read being about 192 pages, with a long list of references for further reading at the back. Also, in my humble opinion, it provides great insight into Mr. Pullman's life, influences, ideas, passion, ideals, and method(s) of writing fiction and forming stories. Recommended!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews