The TV adaptation of His Dark Materials has started here in the UK, to much-generated hype and anticipation and I'm wondering whether anyone else watched the first episode on Sunday evening, and if so what did you think?
I'm deeply into The Secret Commonwealth and the world of Lyra and the Magisterium and alethiometers and dæmons, so it was an easy transition for me. Having loved La Belle Sauvage I have slipped straight back into the world that Philip Pullman creates. He makes it effortless for a reader prepared to suspend disbelief and immerse themselves, and I was reminded (thank you Kate in comments) to revisit his books of essays Dæmon Voices and now I'm intrigued by the connections between His Dark Materials and John Milton's Paradise Lost. I don't know Paradise Lost at all but have an inkling to explore those links. Philip Pullman offers a book by book resumé and I have a copy standing by so I may be brave enough to dip a toe in alongside a helpful book, The Essential Paradise Lost by John Carey.
However at 8pm on a Sunday evening Bookhound would be the ultimate test. Having no knowledge of the books would he be interested. Would he grasp the storyline which even to me, in the know, seemed a little obscure in the first instance.
Slowly it all became more evident as the episode unfolded and with very little explanation from me...
Daemons and their purpose...and the fact that they change until a child becomes an adult
A strange world familiar in many ways, but then a huge step removed from the familiar in others...
And who are all these people...the gyptians, Asriel, Mrs Coulter...
Who are the goodies and who are the baddies...
I'm pleased to report that Bookhound loved it, remarking 'This is going to be huge,' after about ten minutes and loving the settings and the graphics as well as the characters. By the end of the first episode the atmosphere of this strange world was established and we both agreed that was Sunday evenings sorted for the forseeable.
Once I have finished The Secret Commonwealth I'm planning to re-read or listen to the first book Northern Lights and then tackle (for the first time) The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass , having armed myself with a beautiful Everyman edition in readiness. (Titles corrected thank you for comments)
Please forgive our second Philip Pullman conversation in as many weeks but I'd love to know your thoughts about the TV adaptation and whether it worked for you. It's getting great reviews but opinion on social media seems to be divided...
And what about Paradise Lost...
'The way poems and stories work on our minds is not by logic, but by their capacity to enchant, to excite, to move, to inspire...its primary influence is on the imagination...'
...suggests Philip Pullman who freely acknowledges its influence on him ever since he read it at school.
Did you read it at school....
I wish I had...
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