Title: The Secret Commonwealth
Author: Philip Pullman
Pages: 633
Finished: October 24, 2019
First Sentence: Pantalaimon, the daemon of Lyra Belacqua, now called Lyra Silvertongue, lay along the windowsill of Lyra's little study-bedroom in St. Sophia's College in a state as far from thought as he could get.
Summary: 20 years after the events of La Belle Sauvage, and 8 years after the events of The Amber Spyglass, we meed Lyra again. This time 20-years old. Things are not as good as one may have thought though. The Magisterium still has authority over everything, and now they want more. Policies are being put in place to make Lyra more accessible to those who want to hurt her. And oddly enough, rose plantations in the Far East are being attacked. On top of it, Lyra and her daemon, Pan, are quarreling. As things get more and more unstable, Pan leaves her, and it's up to Lyra to go find him, and figure out what Roses have to do with everything.
Thoughts: This is a complex book. Where as His Dark Materials was a bridge between Middle Grade and YA, The Book of Dust Trilogy is firmly YA. Politics play a much bigger part in this story. It's set so specifically in Lyra's world. And it just goes to show that, just because you stop one threat doesn't mean they're all gone.
I feel the need to start with the fact that now was not the right time for me to read this book. I really wanted to like it, and I think I would have if I had read it maybe three months earlier or ten months later than now. But being pregnant, it was just heavier than I find myself wanting to read at the moment. On top of it, there were things that mirrored what's going on in my world a little too closely that made it very uncomfortable. It wasn't an escape so much.
A few quotations:
Those two quotes were absolutely chilling. Here's the thing. As I am writing this review, Donald Trump is President of my country and there is a serious call for impeachment. And these two quotes just remind me of every bit of his presidency so far. Even if he's not smart enough to delicately and subtly change the idea that truth and facts are possible, those around him are. There was a whole thing about Alternative Facts at the beginning of his term. And that man is certainly bull-headed in his ideas that he is right. His side is right. And that there's absolutely no wrong way to go about it. Ugh. I feel gross just typing all this. Needless to say, the book was really close to home in a lot of ways, and I wasn't really up for that at the moment.
But let's get to the rest of the book, shall we?
One of the things that was rough for me, though I should have expected it considering, is that I wanted everything to be okay after the events of His Dark Materials. Lyra and Will allow the flow of Dust to keep going and learn how to close up the gates to other worlds. Except... and here's the thing I missed... it's great for the BIG PICTURE and does nothing to the nitty gritty of Lyra's world. the Magisterium still exists and still needs complete control over everything.
On top of it, there's the tension between Lyra and Pan. It was tough. Overall, I found myself wanted to shake Lyra and tell her to "just listen to what your other half is telling you!" For someone who was so sure of everything that happened, it was so hard to see her turn her back on it all for the "reason" of the philosophers she was reading.
Also, while I knew this was not the final book, I did find myself getting frustrated when nothing was answered by the end. It's an absolute doorstop of a book. Lots of ideas and issues were brought up. And there was always a TON of pages left. And then, all the sudden, the number of pages left weren't enough to tie-up the story. I get it. It suffers middle book syndrome. Still frustrating.
And all that makes it sound like I hated this book. I really didn't. I actually can't wait to read it again once I have some time away. And perhaps better headspace. Perhaps when the next one comes out, I should read it the way I read Harry Potter - reading all the ones beforehand. We'll see.
Not sure what I'm reading next or when another review will go up. I hope to get through at least four more books this year.
I feel the need to start with the fact that now was not the right time for me to read this book. I really wanted to like it, and I think I would have if I had read it maybe three months earlier or ten months later than now. But being pregnant, it was just heavier than I find myself wanting to read at the moment. On top of it, there were things that mirrored what's going on in my world a little too closely that made it very uncomfortable. It wasn't an escape so much.
A few quotations:
"The other side's got an energy that our side en't got. Comes from their certainty about being right. If you got that certainty, you'll be willing to do anything to bring about the end you want. It's the oldest human problem, Lyra, an' it's the difference between good and evil. Evil can be unscrupulous, and good can't. Evil has nothing to stop it doing what it wants, while good has one hand tied behind its back. To do the things it needs to do to win, it'd have to become evil to do 'em."
"Revealing the truth in the way I've described it would not work. There are too many habits, ways of thought, institutions, that are committed to the way thins are and always have been. The truth would be swept away at once. Instead, we should delicately and subtly underminde the idea that truth and facts are possible in teh first place. Once the people have become doubtful about the truth of anything, all kinds of things will be open to us."
Those two quotes were absolutely chilling. Here's the thing. As I am writing this review, Donald Trump is President of my country and there is a serious call for impeachment. And these two quotes just remind me of every bit of his presidency so far. Even if he's not smart enough to delicately and subtly change the idea that truth and facts are possible, those around him are. There was a whole thing about Alternative Facts at the beginning of his term. And that man is certainly bull-headed in his ideas that he is right. His side is right. And that there's absolutely no wrong way to go about it. Ugh. I feel gross just typing all this. Needless to say, the book was really close to home in a lot of ways, and I wasn't really up for that at the moment.
But let's get to the rest of the book, shall we?
One of the things that was rough for me, though I should have expected it considering, is that I wanted everything to be okay after the events of His Dark Materials. Lyra and Will allow the flow of Dust to keep going and learn how to close up the gates to other worlds. Except... and here's the thing I missed... it's great for the BIG PICTURE and does nothing to the nitty gritty of Lyra's world. the Magisterium still exists and still needs complete control over everything.
On top of it, there's the tension between Lyra and Pan. It was tough. Overall, I found myself wanted to shake Lyra and tell her to "just listen to what your other half is telling you!" For someone who was so sure of everything that happened, it was so hard to see her turn her back on it all for the "reason" of the philosophers she was reading.
Also, while I knew this was not the final book, I did find myself getting frustrated when nothing was answered by the end. It's an absolute doorstop of a book. Lots of ideas and issues were brought up. And there was always a TON of pages left. And then, all the sudden, the number of pages left weren't enough to tie-up the story. I get it. It suffers middle book syndrome. Still frustrating.
And all that makes it sound like I hated this book. I really didn't. I actually can't wait to read it again once I have some time away. And perhaps better headspace. Perhaps when the next one comes out, I should read it the way I read Harry Potter - reading all the ones beforehand. We'll see.
Not sure what I'm reading next or when another review will go up. I hope to get through at least four more books this year.
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