Bibliofemme Bookclub An Irish Bookclub

Northern Lights is the first part of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. I’d heard many good reviews of this ‘crossover’ series before making the purchase of all three as a present for my brother. I had no intention of actually reading them myself but thought, “I’ll just take a peek at the first page”. Days later I’m trying to get home early to get back to it and turning down social engagements!

The world of Northern Lights is captivating; it is earth, but not as we know it. Here all humans are accompanied by their Daemon – a creature that depicts outwardly their soul and nature.

In this world lives Lyra Belacqua, an 11-year-old girl and her demon Pantalaimon. Lyra was sent to the sprawling old academic campus of Jordan College, Oxford by her uncle Lord Asriel to be brought up among the dons, after it was said that an accident had killed her father and mother.

Lyra amuses herself among the halls and rooftops of Jordan and Oxford with her kitchen-boy companion Roger and assorted ragamuffins. Her irrepressible curiosity and confidence lead her to secretly witness an important gathering of the Jordan Scholars and her Uncle. From here Lyra embarks on a wild adventure of child stealers, gyptians, armoured bears, witches and the “dust” at the centre of it all.

This is truly a successful crossover book; it has a bewitching story placed in a fantastical universe that will pull in both sides. For children it has many of the psychologically character building threads of fairy tales – finding out who your parents really are, the battle with your own identity and nature, learning about trust, friendship and self conviction. Not that we adults can’t learn from this, but as the nature of the mysterious “dust” in the story is shown to be the visualisation of original sin it gives us more to ponder on.

Needless to say my brother never received Northern Lights or the other books in this trilogy, they remain by my bed where they will stay ’til I’ve followed my curiosity to its conclusion and Lyra to the end of her adventures.

This book has been bookmarked by the Historian