I have had a comparatively late introduction into the world of the Sophisticated Young Adult genre (a moniker of mine own devising). My early reading years consisted of a large dose of abridged classics varying from Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Stories, and Star Wars Expanded Universe novels, following the Bantam-authorized adventures of Luke, Leia and Han, as they set out to forge a New Republic from the ashes of the Empire.
As such, owing to this late introduction, I enjoyed several advantages over the more conventional crowd; I got to read Harry Potters 1 through 6 without pause and absorbed the Chronicles of Narnia on more levels than one. As a teenager reading these books I was able to maintain simultaneously a detachment and an involvement in the novels I read. I was not a child, nor was I an adult. Narnia, and to a lesser extent, the first two novels of Harry Potter, catered to younger audiences, and by reading these books I was able to straddle the two modes of literary apprehension: involvement and understanding of the text.
One series, however, stood out. It was neither as escapist as Harry Potter or as inherently magical as Narnia, but was a fusion of both and drew on the giants of an established and hallowed western literary tradition. It was grand and intimate, both down-to-earth and filled with a sense of superlative wonder. It spanned universes and the most intricate designs of the heart. I am, of course, referring to His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. While not as enjoyable, in that sense, as Harry Potter, it is nevertheless more ambitious, more subtle, more grand and beautiful and majestic.
The reason why I have suddenly posted after an unreasonably long hiatus is that Nova has coerced me to. That, and my sudden interest and passion in His Dark Materials, catalysed by the release of the Golden Compass movie trailer, which is found in this site. It’s beautiful, even if the editing leaves something to be desired. Anyway, more info can be found here.
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I have finally fulfilled my vow to start on Anna Karenina. Pretty good book.
Also, I have recently bought Glasshouse by Charles Stross.
I realize that it is of great importance that I commence the Mug.
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Less escapist than Harry Potter? Less inherently magical than Narnia? Really?
I’ll grant you that His Dark Materials is more conceptually ambitious than the above mentioned, and that the character development is more complex and engaging, and that the settings are more vast and imaginative, but….
…oh, well, it looks like we’re essentially barking up the same tree, so I guess there’s no point arguing.
You should check out So You Want to Be a Wizard.
Oh look, I just realized you posted this two years ago…lol.