Galatea

by Philip Pullman

Book by Pullman, Philip

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction

287 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman is an English writer. His books include the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials and The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, The Times named Pullman one of the "50 greatest British writers since 1945". In a 2004 BBC poll, he was named the eleventh most influential person in British culture. He was knighted in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to literature.
Northern Lights, the first volume in His Dark Materials, won the 1995 Carnegie Medal of the Library Association as the year's outstanding English-language children's book. For the Carnegie's 70th anniversary, it was named in the top ten by a panel tasked with compiling a shortlist for a public vote for an all-time favourite. It won that public vote and was named all-time "Carnegie of Carnegies" in June 2007. It was filmed under the book's US title, The Golden Compass. In 2003, His Dark Materials trilogy ranked third in the BBC's The Big Read, a poll of 200 top novels voted by the British public.

Reviews

[Dan Fionte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I doubt many people who don't already know about this book will get to read it, as it has been out of print for quite some time. Since before I was born actually. It's 100+ on ebay/amazon because of this. However it is the first novel by the great Philip Pullman (creator the of His Dark Materials universe. It is also a novel targeting an adult audience, something he has done rarely (possibly only once) since this, as he found adults often didn't have the proper mindset to read his books as they we're meant to be read. It's a fantastic metaphorical and metaphysical story about a man searching for his missing wife, who goes to great lengths to find her, but what he finds is something much different from what he was expecting. That is all I will say, for if I we're to write more, I would spoil the book, and end up spending hours and thousands of words, writing only but a shadow of what this book is. Somehow find it, and read it.

[Laurenletha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spent 4 years looking for this book and I finally found it thanks to a library that closed half way across the country. If you can get a copy of this book, I Highly recommend reading it.

[Doug Messenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mesmerising, dreamlike, fantastical...

[Erin Ellis]

Pullman’s storytelling is, of course, gorgeous!! The misogyny in this book, not so much!!! I kept waiting for redemption and it came to a point where it simply wasn’t worth my time any more. Yikes.

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I know that 5 stars for my first rating/review is a little crazy, but I tend to think that I only willingly finish books that are at least 4 stars or above, which narrows it down a lot! In any case, I really loved this novel... crazily enough, something happened to me in the past few days (specifically, 3 days ago) that made the themes very relevant and profound to me (even more so than before, I should add)... very grateful for that almost supernatural timing.

It is impossible for me to say much without spoiling (so I won't), but within just a few pages I became devoted to the story, thanks to Pullman's clear yet descriptive writing which I have loved for such a long time (yes, starting from when I read His Dark Materials many many years ago). Unlike His Dark Materials, however, this book is definitely for adults and I am honestly glad I didn't read it much earlier than now.

Anyway, I think the caption on the first page, which is just underneath the title in the edition I was reading, is completely spot on: "Everything is what it seems.” It really is. You'll agree with me when you finish it.

[Steven Shaviro · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite novels ever, and the first book I read by Philip Pullman (long before His Dark Materials came out).

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstandingly original allegory with rich prose. As the title implies, the myth of Galatea is richly used throughout the novel, while making a statement about modern human inclinations. This text is beautifully written but incorporates all sorts of odd phenomena to make it incredibly fantastical yet ethereal. It should be noted that there are several outdated and inappropriate terms used in this book that may make readers uncomfortable.

Since this novel is out of print, it is available on loan at archive.org.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very allegorical fantasy story about Martin who was looking for his wife, even though he can't seemingly remember her and travels through some very mystical bits of South America searching for her. unfortunately I didn't really get the allegory until the end and a lot of it felt like it went over my head. Also features zombies, werewolves, wizards but not in the usual fantasy trope.

[Lewis Szymanski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what to say about this book. It's very strange. It's not for children. If you can find a copy, read it.

[Sebastian · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read from one of my favorite authors

[Faedyl · Rating 3 out of 5]

El problema de puntuar "Galatea", se me presenta por varias circunstancias. En primera, es uno de mis autores favoritos escribiendo algo muy diferente de lo que estamos acostumbrados a esperar de él. Este no es un libro para niños, aunque podríamos catalogarlo de alguna manera en el universo fantástico que él acostumbra a desplegar. Otros incluso podrían decir que es una especie de ciencia ficción (larga discusión inserta aqui). Y ehí mismo tenemos el otro problema, como ya he afirmado tanto... no me gusta la CF.
Es en ese sentido que no disfruté de este libro, vivenciándolo desde ese universo que no puedo tolerar. Mucha irritación por momentos, con la peripecia del héroe, con sus amigos, una especie de sentimiento de desazón extraño que me hizo padecer el tramo final de la novela.
Pero no podía dejarla inconclusa, y creo que en el fondo este libro puede agradar a esos lectores de CF mas acostumbrados. Incluso creo que puedo decir con un nivel muy novato del asunto, que se parece a la escritura de UKLG (y de alguna forma me transportó a una de sus historias).

En otro nivel de lectura, concuerdo completamente con la crítica o reseña que ha hecho el amigo Dan Fionte en este espacio. Es un relato de un viaje metafórico y metafísico en la búsqueda de otra cosa, cuando existe una profunda necesidad de hallar un sentido a la vida. Si se quiere leer en esta manera, tal vez el libro tome otra dimensión mucho más interesante y tal vez iniciática, aunque insisto en que yo quería otra cosa de "Galatea".

Vale recordar que si no es la única novela de este estilo que han publicado del gran Philip, es una de las pocas y descatalogadas cosas que apetece conocer.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zombies, angels, lost love, this book is missing nothing!

[Kara · Rating 1 out of 5]

One long wild goose chase.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cerebral allegory, much like Pullman's better known young adult trilogy.

[Katy Lohman]

This was an extremely surreal story.

[Steve Clark]

Edition: First Edition