Title: The Amber Spyglass
Author: Philip Pullman
Pages: 518
Finished: May 26, 2018
First Sentence: In a valley shaded with rhododendrons, close to the snow line, where a stream milky with meltwater splashed and where doves and linnets flew among the immense pines, lay a cave, half-hidden by the crag above and the stiff heavy leaves that clustered below.
Summary: When we last left our story, Lyra had been kidnapped by Mrs. Coulter. An angel couple was leading Will to Lord Asriel. Mary Malone had stepped into the world of Chittagazze. It turns out Mrs. Coulter has decided to keep Lyra in an enchanted sleep. Will refuses to do anything until he saves her. Meanwhile, Mary finds the world of the mulefa and discovers a way to track dust. In this conclusion, we see the war of the fallen with the Authority. We see the attempts to stem the flow of dust. And we travel to the World of the Dead to try and save them as well.
Thoughts: Wow! Okay, I'll admit, the first bit is a little slow. Lyra's sleeping, and other than her dream talking with Roger in the land of the dead, there's not much there other than Mrs. Coulter's crisis of faith. Will and the two angels are interesting enough, but it's a long journey. Once Will and Lyra are reunited again, things really pick up and it's hard to put the book down!
My absolute favorite parts though were the bits about Mary in the world of the mulefa. Reading about her learning the new culture and discovering Dust was so fascinating. I wanted SO MUCH MORE! The World of the Dead was particularly interesting too. So much lovely world building.
The end of the book was a brutal as I remembered. In fact, I confess to turning on a movie for my kid so I could finish the book at home rather than during a dinner hour at work because I didn't want to be sobbing horribly in the break room. As I finished, my toddler looked over at me and went "You okay Mommy?" So absolutely brutal, but so beautiful.
I just love this trilogy so much. I love the idea of the fighting for knowledge, curiosity, and wisdom over the opposite. It's so important, and now more than ever it feels like. This is definitely a worthy series for anyone to read. And I challenge any parent who's worried about their kids reading it to read with them. Discuss the book and the ideas! Read it and then read the Chronicles of Narnia for a comparison read. Or A Wrinkle in Time. Sure, the ideas are uncomfortable, but that's literally the point of the book!
I could go on and on about how great this series is. I'm now eagerly awaiting the first book of the Book of Dust trilogy to come in at the library so I can start on that!
My absolute favorite parts though were the bits about Mary in the world of the mulefa. Reading about her learning the new culture and discovering Dust was so fascinating. I wanted SO MUCH MORE! The World of the Dead was particularly interesting too. So much lovely world building.
The end of the book was a brutal as I remembered. In fact, I confess to turning on a movie for my kid so I could finish the book at home rather than during a dinner hour at work because I didn't want to be sobbing horribly in the break room. As I finished, my toddler looked over at me and went "You okay Mommy?" So absolutely brutal, but so beautiful.
I just love this trilogy so much. I love the idea of the fighting for knowledge, curiosity, and wisdom over the opposite. It's so important, and now more than ever it feels like. This is definitely a worthy series for anyone to read. And I challenge any parent who's worried about their kids reading it to read with them. Discuss the book and the ideas! Read it and then read the Chronicles of Narnia for a comparison read. Or A Wrinkle in Time. Sure, the ideas are uncomfortable, but that's literally the point of the book!
I could go on and on about how great this series is. I'm now eagerly awaiting the first book of the Book of Dust trilogy to come in at the library so I can start on that!
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