The Book of Dust

 

(Picture from Goodreads.com)

1.       Bibliography

Pullman, Philip. 2017. THE BOOK OF DUST. New York, NY: Random House.
              ISBN 978-0-375-81530-0

2.       Plot Summary

Written as a prequel to Pullmans series His Dark Materials, The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage, tells the story of baby Lyra in her maidan adventure. In this world, everyone has a Daemon, an external physical manifestation of a person’s inner-self that takes the form of an animal. There is also a magical instrument that helps

Malcolm Polstead is a young boy working at an inn run by his parents. He overhears many stories told by customers and neighbors, unworried and uncensored around a small boy. He enjoys visiting the nuns at the priory and is friendly with everyone he meets. A baby is brought into the protection of the nuns and Malcomb is instantly connected to her. Malcolm meets both of Lyra’s parents, Lord Asriel who is on the run, and Mrs. Coulter who is beautiful, intimidating, and in league with people who are trying to take over called “League of St. Alexander”.

When a flood hits, and an evil man with a daemon hyena tries to take Lyra, Malcolm, along with his companion Alice, take Malcolm’s little canoe. They encounter all kinds of people that put them and the baby in danger. Everyone is looking for them as they escape capture. All the wile the evil man is following them. In the exciting conclusion, Malcolm and Alice fight for their lives and are able to get Lyra to her father safely. The pair will forever be connected to the infant.

3.       Critical Analysis

This novel is the prequel to Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials. Reading the trilogy first is not necessary. There is enough explanation for the reader to understand parts of the world and it helps you comprehend his complex world better before diving into Lyra’s older years.

 

The world Pullman created has complex supernatural elements including fairies, magic, and daemons. The world is a lot like the human world, apart from these mythical elements. There are still forces of good vs evil, governments/ groups trying to take power, and the tension between religion and science.

 

This story does have mature content. One of the main characters, Alice, often uses foul language and calls people names. There is also the fact that the main villain that is chasing the baby Lyra, Malcolm, and Alice, is a known rapist. That in itself is dark, but at the climax of the novel Alice is raped by this man in a gruesome scene and then he is murdered brutally by Malcolm. This scene is very mature and recommended for upper high school level.

This story does answer questions that readers might have had if they read the other novels first. The reader understands why and how Malcolm is so connected to Lyra as he becomes a main character later in her life, again.

 

The audio version of this book (that has won the Odyssey Award) was very well narrated. There is only one narrator (Michael Sheen), but he does multiple voices and sounds of the daemons. There are a lot of times where there is repeated dialogue or long descriptions that are better to listen to than to read. The action scenes are more intense when heard. I read both the book, and listened to the audio version, and despite the fact I listened to the unabridged version, I found sections missing from the audio that are in the book. They aren’t main scenes, but must have been pulled when the audio was created for length purposes because it is a long audio.

4.       Awards/ Reviews

·       Odyssey Award 2018

“Too few things in our world are worth a seventeen-year wait: The Book of Dust is one of them.” —The Washington Post
 
“The book is full of wonder. . . . Truly thrilling.” —The New York Times
 
“People will love the first volume of Philip Pullman’s new trilogy with the same helpless vehemence that stole over them when The Golden Compass came out.” —Slate

5.       Connections

 

If students like this book can continue the series. This book is a prequel to His Dark Materials, which is a trilogy. The Secret of the Common Wealth is the Book of Dust: Book 2, and follow His Dark Materials. This is the order I read the books in and it made sense timeline wise.

 

Recommended for people who like a complicated fantasy world. There are a lot of moving parts to this series and it is interwoven in a beautiful way, but takes time to read and comprehend. I would recommend for later high school students.

 

I think someone who likes this series would like The Knife of Never Letting Go series by Patrick Ness. Summary from Goodreads.com:

 

“Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him -- something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.”