The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

Title: La Belle Sauvage

Author: Philip Pullman

Pages: 449

Finished: June 22, 2018

First Sentence: Three miles up the river Thames from the center of Oxford, some distance from where the great colleges of Jordan, Gabriel, Balliol, and two dozen others contended for mastery in the boat races, out where the city was only a collection of towers and spires in the distance over the misty levels of Port Meadow, there stood the Priory of Godstow, where the gentle nuns went about their holy business; and on the opposite bank from the priory there was an inn called the Trout.

Summary: Malcolm Polstead works at his parents' inn, the Trout. In his spare time, he paddles up the river to Oxford, or crosses the bridge to spend time at the Priory helping the nuns. So when the nuns take in a little baby named Lyra and offer her sanctuary, he's very happy and willing to do what needs done - including building and installing fortified shutters in case of an invasion. Meanwhile, on one of his visits to Oxford, he sees a failed intelligence drop and watches a man get arrested. A man who later ends up dead. And through it all the Church is becoming more and more conservative as rumors float around about Dust and the little girl Lyra.

Thoughts: Hm... I may need to digest this one for a while. I was completely on board for the first half. I loved Hannah Relf, the scholar working with the alethiometer and for Oakley Street. I found the nuns to be fantastic, particularly Sister Benedicta who seems like she could have stood down an army. Bonneville was an terrifying villain, and the things he did were absolutely sickening. The League of St. Alexander made me so angry. It also reminded me of the kids in 1984. Just all around horrid.

Basically, it felt like the lead up to the world that Lyra lived in. But then the flood happened and the book went off the rails for me. I liked Malcolm and Alice taking care of Lyra. I liked them figuring out what was hapening. In fact, each episode felt a bit like Huck Finn to me. But the sudden inclusion of the old creatures of Faery didn't work for me as well as I feel like they should have. I didn't understand how the Gyptians would know that and no one else. And then the end is so rushed... Even down to how Lyra ends up with the Alethiometer didn't play a right to me as it should.

All in all and interesting addition to the world, though not my favorite. That being said, I am seriously looking forward to the next book!

The House At Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne

Title: The House at Pooh Corner

Author: A. A. Milne

Pages: 180

Finished: June 18, 2018

First Sentence: One day when Pooh Bear had nothing else to do, he thought he would do something, so he went round to Piglet's house to see what Piglet was doing.

Summary: Starting somewhere around where the last one left off, we have more adventures with Pooh Bear and all his friends. Tigger makes his appearance. Pooh Sticks is invented. Rabbit tries to humble Tigger. A blustery day blows down Owl's house. And Christopher Robin grows up.

Thoughts: My last review was full of not a lot of sense, and I'll admit, this one is almost worse. I started crying while working the help desk at work as I finished this one up. (I work in a library.) Milne has captured childhood and imagination so wonderfully. I loved all of it. We used to play Pooh Sticks as a family. I even remember gathering sticks and taking the train to the City to play Pooh Sticks in the City River

The last chapter though... Somehow Milne managed to hit that melancholy and hope all at once. Definitely worth reading aloud to my kid. Definitely worth a spot on our personal shelves. I'm so glad my mom suggested this for our family book discussion.

Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne

Title: Winnie-the-Pooh

Author: A. A. Milne

Pages: 145

Finished: June 18, 2018

First Sentence: Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin.

Summary: Meet Pooh Bear, Piglet, and all our friends in the Hundred Acre Woods (minus Tigger. He shows up in the next book.) Here are all those familiar stories... to catch a heffalump, the little black rain cloud, and so many other fantastic stories.

Thoughts: OMG! Guys! This is charming! I read it back in 2014, and so I read it again and it's... it's lovely. It's so lovely. You all need to go out and read it NOW!

Interestingly enough, in the first book, we don't meet Tigger. It seems like Tigger is such a staple of Winnie-the-Pooh, and yet he's not here. And you don't miss him. At least I didn't. Instead we get to learn more about Rabbit and Piglet. About Heffalumps and Woozels. And Hunny and rain.

And what it's like to just be in a child's brain in the Hundred-Acre-Woods.

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell

Title: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

Author: David Mitchell

Pages: 479

Finished: June 2, 2018

First Sentence: "Miss Kawasemi?" Orito kneels on a stale and sticky futon.

Summary: Jacob de Zoet arrives on the island of Dejima ready to ferret out smuggling. He hopes to earn his pay so he can go back home to the Netherlands and marry his sweetheart. Instead, he falls in love with the midwife Orito who is, unfortunately, taken to a convent where monks impregnate the nuns who live there. And sadly, Jacob de Zoet can do little from the island of Dejima where he is forced to live so as to not contaminate Japanese culture.

Thoughts: I almost didn't make it. 50 pages in was a slog. I had actually made the decision to give it up and read something else, but I decided to take a look at a synopsis of the book. There was some really interesting stuff. Some characters who come back in later books even. With the knowledge of what was ahead, I continued slogging through the first part. Once Orito gets taken to the convent, things really picked up. I tore through the rest of the book. I've since started the next book, and it's really neat seeing how people have come back.

As for this specific book, I really liked that Jacob tried to keep his morales through the entire novel, even when he was basically abandoned on Dejima. He really tried to learn more about the Japanese culture rather than constantly look down at it the way so many of his compatriots did. Perhaps that's why they all kept such faith in him when Penhaligon tried to take over.

Marinus was great fun as well. Dry and intelligent. His lines often made me laugh out loud.

Connections I saw from other books:
The gray cat that helps Orito was similar to the gray cat that stayed with the main character in Number 9 Dream

Con Twoomy is possibly an ancient relation to Mo from Ghostwritten.

Boorhaave and the Prophetess from Cloud Atlas make an appearance at the end.

I'm sure there are plenty more, but those were the ones I was aware of.

June Reads

The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

Winnie-The-Pooh by A. A. Milne

The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell

Lots of kids books this month which should be quick. I know for a fact the two Winnie-the-Pooh books will be a quick read. I anticipate The Secret Garden and Book of Dust to also be quick. I'm about 50 pages from the end of Jacob de Zoet, so that'll get finished today most likely. Possibly Saturday or Sunday depending on how exhausted I am from Summer Reading Kickoff Day.