Review: La Belle Sauvage

La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's hard to believe, but I've been waiting for this book for almost 15 (!!!) years. This is how long ago Philip Pullman announced he'll be writing it. I happened to be reading His Dark Materials at the time and was sooo excited by the news. When a few months ago I noticed that it's almost here, I almost stopped reading altogether - I just couldn't read anything else! Did it deliver? Yes and no.

First of all, yes, it's expertly written. Better than anything I read lately. Every sentence is packed with several layers of meaning, there are no redundancies, nothing to spare. The language is crisp, clear (and made me look into a dictionary a few times). And whatever the description might say, this is NOT a fantasy book. If it's read like a fantasy book only, it doesn't make any sense. The plot alone is not enough support this construct. It's much better read as a philosophical work.

Still, one of my huge problems with the book was about the plot more or less, or specifically, Lyra herself. The book starts when she's about 6 months old and ends two months later. And all this time the only thing she does is lay on her back like a sack and smile. Yeah. Really? How long it's been since Philip Pullman actually saw an 8-months-old?! They absolutely would not be swaddled day in and day out, doing only eating, shitting, and sleeping with some breaks for baby talk. Maybe a teenage reader would notice, maybe not, but for me it was a big drawback.

And as always, I find myself disagreeing with Pullman's philosophy (theology?), but it certainly doesn't prevent me from enjoying La Belle Sauvage.

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