No Christian escapes Pullman’s enmity, though one might wish that all believers were really as zealous for Christ as the followers of the Authority appear to be for it. Pullman’s attack on Christianity is so indiscriminate in fact that it projects a unity amongst Christians that otherwise only exists in the rose-tinted dreams of liberal ecumenism. This review could simply add to the tone of hostility it has understandably received from Christians for all these things. the church, are so ‘monolithically odious’, without any light or shade. It would be very easy to attack them for their surprisingly facile, if not puerile, attack on Christianity for their cavalier disregard for factual accuracy for their admixture of scurrilous libel with half-truths for the fact that the followers of the Authority, i.e. It is difficult to know where to begin a discussion of these challenging, troublesome and entertaining books. I will venture a brief comment about this in a moment. While I suspect we will need to differ about Lewis’s merits (and integrity) as an artist, the comparison has some merit in it. In fact, a non-Christian friend who cannot abide Lewis for the beliefs he feels Lewis foists upon the reader, also dismissed Pullman for misusing his licence as a storyteller to ‘preach at him’. The latter of these works in particular acts as a sort of framework for Pullman’s novels. This is certainly the author’s own contention.
Lewis, most notably in his Narnia Chronicles and ‘science fiction trilogy’. It could be argued that Pullman’s transgression of genre has a precedent in the fictional writings of his bête noire, C.S. But what is it?Īnother issue we will need to consider is the uneasy sense that Pullman has transgressed the bounds of (children’s) fiction and ventured into territory where he could be charged with disseminating hateful propaganda. Surely there is something more than the author’s considerable artistic skill at work. Is it because of its imaginative plotline? Is it its sheer adventure? Does it lie in the author’s skill in winning our admiration for Lyra, the relentlessly optimistic, indomitable heroine? Is it that adults too can instinctively identify with her battle against a largely faceless, unjust authority? Or is it perhaps that Pullman offers yet another conspiracy theory to explain its evil? All of these things and more have made His Dark Materials compelling reading for many. Like Harry Potter, the series’ success has extended well beyond the children’s market. It lies in the almost universal popularity they enjoy. To my mind, one of the main interests of Philip Pullman’s controversial trilogy is not specifically related to the books.
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