4.5****
”What is he? A friend, or an enemy?”...
“He is a murderer.”
This book has the introduction of Will; a young man/boy who is compassionate, caring, brave and a warrior. After a frightening account, Will has to go on the run where he escapes to a different world to the deserted city of Cittagaze, and meets an interesting girl called Lyra Belacqua, her Daemon; Pantalaimon and her ability to read a strange instrument called the alethiometer. This strange world runs parallel to his own.
They learn to begin to trust each other and their fates become intertwined, each relying on their developing friendship, courage and bravery. They discover strange mishaps in this strange city and learn of a powerful weapon- the subtle knife that is so powerful it can cut through worlds. A knife that will only respond to the hand intended to wield it.
Like the first book, this was a wonderful literary adventure. This book takes off where the first book ended and Lyra has travelled to another world, staying in the deserted city alone for a few days before the surprise meeting with Will. I loved the developing dynamics of Will and Lyra’s friendship.
This hold more multiple points of view than in the first book, with storylines from Lee Scoresby and Serafina Pekkala especially.
This, again contained heartbreak, deaths and dark creatures/story lines. However, there is the brightness of a developing friendship, strong bravery, and many connections between the plot lines are made and fit into place. English “I found folly everywhere, but there were grains of wisdom in every stream of it.”
I’m a bit torn about the second instalment in His Dark Materials, The Subtle Knife. The whole story feels a bit rushed and short, on which I feel Pullman put a lot of weight on, wanting to introduce new characters, giving the old and the new characters psychological depth and development, having a lot of action, engaging in scientific thought experiments, commenting on politics and anthropology and giving a critique of religion and Christian God. It is a lot of expectations for ya/children's fantasy book with 250 pages. But one thing is certain, Pullman knows how to write a gripping story, as the pace is perfect and prose simply flows which makes the reading process undemanding and pleasurable.
I like the newly introduced character of Will Perry, the male protagonist that accompanies Lyra on her adventures. Will is a child of a mentally ill mother that he needs to take care of, and an absent father explorer he is endlessly longing for. The rawness of emotion that this longing is described with made me think Will is in a way mirroring Pullman himself, and interestingly, later on, I found out that Pullman sadly lost his father when he was 7 when his father was killed as a pilot in a plane crash.
“He wiped the sweat out of his eyes with his right hand. What he couldn’t say was that he longed for his father as a lost child yearns for home. That comparison wouldn’t have occurred to him, because home was the place he kept safe for his mother, not the place others kept safe for him. But it had been five years now since that Saturday morning in the supermarket when the pretend game of hiding from the enemies became desperately real, such a long time in his life, and his heart craved to hear the words “Well done, well done, my child; no one on earth could have done better; I’m proud of you. Come and rest now.…”
We again have a strong theme of parent/authority figure absence in the life of a child, that is present throughout the trilogy. Lyra grew up with no parents by her side, and Will has no memory of a father and has a mother that is not well, for who he has to take care of as she is his child. Here we see the reverse of the role of parent and a child, so often seen in real life, where a child is in a way robbed from his own childhood due to the fact it has to take adult responsibility prematurely due to the parent inadequacy. Which can be caused by the mental or physical illness of a parent, substance or alcohol abuse or even just emotional immaturity, when the parent expects their child to solve his own problems and carry his burden. That can eventually create all kinds of psychological disturbances in a child identifying with a role of savior, creating overly expressed altruism, neglecting his own needs in relationships and having immense guilt about having own thoughts and emotions, depression, as well as a feeling of discomfort living for self, not exclusively for others in constant effort and overwork.
“...and partly his longing for his mother. He was afraid for her, of course, and he knew she’d be safer if he was there to look after her; but he wanted her to look after him, too, as she’d done when he was very small. He wanted her to bandage him and tuck him into bed and sing to him and take away all the trouble and surround him with all the warmth and softness and mother-kindness he needed so badly; and it was never going to happen. Part of him was only a little boy still. So he cried, but he lay very still as he did, not wanting to wake Lyra.”
A lot of stories also revolves around the theme of the chosen child, in both Lyra and Will, exploring the pressure children carry on themselves in being a new beginning for the generation, somewhat the savior that can lift the sins of predecessors and finish all the good deeds in which they failed and even do much more, having the pressure of righting all the wrongs in the universe, and in a way birthing a new way of life for the world.
You witches know something about the child Lyra.... Tell me the truth.... Name her! Eve! Mother of all!... Mother Eve!
“One day, you’ll follow in your father’s footsteps. You’re going to be a great man too. You’ll take up his mantle.”
Continuing on the theme of multiple universes we are introduced to the world of Cittigazze, the children’s world where only children prevail as the adults are haunted by Specters, creatures that feed of consciousness and induce a state of disintegration, the madness of the mind. Pullman toyed around with the idea of consciousness connecting it to physics of the dark matter in scientific ideas, and to Angels, spirits, in a religious manner which as an end result seemed somewhat confusing, but acceptable in the vain that different disciplines may explore and try to understand the same thing under a different name.
As Katia N brilliantly pointed in the comment of my review of the first instalment, Pullman’s theory of dust is akin to panpsychism, the concept of consciousness in which the mind is a fundamental feature of the world which exists throughout the universe. Panpsychism has a long history in philosophical traditions of both East and West, and is also revived in analytic philosophy. Contrary to dualism, for Pullman, mind and matter are not fundamentally different kinds of things.
“Angels are creatures of Shadow matter? Of Dust? STRUCTURES. COMPLEXIFICATIONS. YES.
And Shadow matter is what we have called spirit? FROM WHAT WE ARE, SPIRIT; FROM WHAT WE DO, MATTER. MATTER AND SPIRIT ARE ONE.”
Pullman certainly becomes more prominent in the theme of moral inversion, as he is bluntly opposed to the Church while depending heavily on Christian symbolism, basically creating a multiverse of different worlds, all Christian, in striving to re-write Paradise Lost and Genesis, making the original sin the act of liberty in creating a new dawn for mankind and fallen Angels rightful rebels against the tyrant God. Pullman gives not an only critique of the Church, he declares a war on Christian God he wants to overthrow.
“The God who dies is the God of the burners of heretics, the hangers of witches... [T]hat God deserves to die. The Authority, then, is an ancient Idea of God, kept alive artificially by those who benefit from his continued existence.”
He perceives a Church as the morally corrupt, the wrong side of good, the machinery of lies, propaganda, cruelty and deceit for thousands of years of human history.
“That is what the Church does, and every church is the same: control, destroy, obliterate every good feeling.”
Again, I already talked about how I think Pullman is influenced by Nietzsche's philosophy which also becomes even more evident in this instalment. Pullman has a similar standpoint to Nitzsche's notion of Christian morals presented in The Birth of Tragedy; that unconditional will of Christianity to recognize only moral values is dangerous “will to disown life” in its core, and it surfeits life in the hatred of the world and fear of beauty and sensuality.
“It is the Magisterium, the Church. For all its history—and that’s not long by our lives, but it’s many, many of theirs—it’s tried to suppress and control every natural impulse. And when it can’t control them, it cuts them out. ”
This also confirms the opinion I expressed in the review for Northern Lights, that I believe that Pullman's main philosophy is Gnosticism, believing that evil creator God and his angels caused ignorance and imprisonment. And fallen angels are consciousness and they lead others to consciousness, freedom and the greater state of being.
“There are two great powers,” the man said, “and they’ve been fighting since time began. Every advance in human life, every scrap of knowledge and wisdom and decency we have has been torn by one side from the teeth of the other. Every little increase in human freedom has been fought over ferociously between those who want us to know more and be wiser and stronger, and those who want us to obey and be humble and submit.”
He puts the emphasis on personal spiritual knowledge (gnosis), found in alethiometer, shaman experiences, devotion to science experiments or magic of witches, above the teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions. And to reach that kind of spiritual knowledge, Pullman gives instructions with quoting Keats; you have to be “Capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason. You have to get into that state of mind.”
Here is where I get confused about the genre of the book. The problem is, the book is written in style children or ya fantasy would be written, as I would expect for the adult fantasy to have a more solidly constructed world and characters and to be much more elaborate in ideas. But the thing is, for understanding the concepts Pullman unveils in the trilogy, you have to be fairly well-read and acquainted in both theology and philosophy, favorably even physics. I don't think that a child or even a young adult could grasp the essence of Pullman's ideas, which left me quite confused when I was reading His Dark Materials as a child, not even being able to pinpoint what I don't like (spoiler; I did not like that I could not understand the concepts I vaguely understand now, many years of education and books after). I'm struggling to determine who is the perfect audience for the novels, as they are not (at least the first two) in ideas enough developed to satisfy you as a philosophical debate and are maybe too philosophical for younger reads who just want to read fantasy. (As someone wittily put in their review; I just want to read fantasy, and Pullman wants to have philosophical debate).
But, no matter if one agrees or does not agree to core beliefs presented in the novels or with all the choices the author made, it is undeniable that Pullman is a brilliant craftsman of fantasy that created a legendary trilogy worth reading. English ¡Ese FINAL!!!
te deja con la NECESIDAD de saber que sigue.
Estos no son libros infantiles, no se que se le metió al editor o a quien se lo ocurrió la brillante idea de clasificarlos de esa forma, pero a mi parecer que tengamos por protagonistas a niños no hace que el libro ipso facto sea infantil. Esta vez el centro de la historia, al parecer, es la búsqueda del padre de Will, pero una vez mas Pullman nos muestra que su trama es mas complicada de lo que aparenta ser.
Los puentes entre los mundos se han abierto, el caos ha comenzado, y por si fuera poco se esta preparando la mas terrible de todas la guerras del universo...
—Existen dos grandes poderes —declaró— que se enfrentan desde el comienzo de los tiempos. Todo avance en la vida del hombre, todo jirón de conocimiento, sabiduría y decencia que poseemos se lo ha arrancado de los dientes un bando al otro. Cada pequeño incremento en la libertad humana se ha conseguido a costa de una lucha feroz entre quienes desean que sepamos más y seamos más sabios y fuertes y quienes pretenden que obedezcamos y seamos humildes y sumisos.
... Lord Asriel esta formando y comandando un ejercito como nunca antes se ha visto, con seres y guerreros de todos los mundos, pero ¿A que se enfrenta? ¿Quién lidera el otro bando? nada menos que Dios
¿todavía siguen pensando que es un libro infantil?
Mientras todo esto sucede Lyra esta perdida en un nuevo mundo donde conoce a Will (un chico de nuestro mundo) juntos tendrán que atravesar una serie de dificultades entablando amistad en el proceso.
La expansión del worldbuilding ahora siendo un multiverso, mas las nuevas incorporaciones como los espantos, los ángeles, los chamanes, la daga sutil, y la antesala de la guerra neo-apocalíptica me hace amar este libro, ademas la trama tiene, conflictos religiosos y científicos, drama filosófico y mas sobre las brujas.
Lo que no me gusto, fue ese final porque te deja en suspenso, pero esto tiene su punto bueno, hace que quieras leer la continuación de inmediato, y es lo que hay que hacer para conocer el desenlace de la historia.
Para mas de mis reseñas sobre los libros de La Materia Oscura pueden ver los siguientes enlaces:
Luces del norte aquí
EL Catalejo lacado aquí
El Oxford de Lyra aquí English
“Every little increase in human freedom has been fought over ferociously between those who want us to know more and be wiser and stronger, and those who want us to obey and be humble and submit.”
English First reaction: SHOCK! Becös...
(Sorry, if you're not Italian you won't get the joke, just google Matteo Renzi and you'll understand)
La mia recensione qui: https://youtu.be/qZcbV125t4A English
She had asked: What is he? A friend or an enemy?
The alethiometer answered: He is a murderer.
When she saw the answer, she relaxed at once.
Lyra finds herself in a shimmering, haunted otherworld – Cittàgazze, where soul-eating Spectres stalk the streets and wingbeats of distant angels sound against the sky.
But she is not without allies: twelve-year-old Will Parry, fleeing for his life after taking another's, has also stumbled into this strange new realm.
On a perilous journey from world to world, Lyra and Will uncover a deadly secret: an object of extraordinary and devastating power.
And with every step, they move closer to an even greater threat – and the shattering truth of their own destiny. The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, #2)
When I read this the first time I completely overlooked a main component of the book. I approached it as if was the second book in the series, a massive mistake. I wrote a review criticising the fact that the novel felt awkward; it had no beginning or end: it just felt like the typical content you’d find in the middle of the story. The ironic point of this is that most critics take the trilogy as one whole book, rather than three separate works. And this really is the best way to approach the story.
The Golden Compass is the beginning of it all, the setting of the stage. This, then, is the middling part of the work. The second protagonist of the series, the Adam to Pullman’s Eve, takes the lead here. Initially, I was very resistant to this idea. I had grown to respect Lyra; she’s a really strong heroine, but after a while it started to make sense. Pullman has expanded his story considerably. Lyra has three chapters told from her perspective. The same amount, roughly speaking, is told from the perspective of Will. The rest of the chapters are from side characters of the previous book. So there’s a strong move away from a Lyra centred story.
I have mixed feeling about this. It felt like an odd authorial decision. At times this felt like an entirely different series altogether, again, something I eventually got over. There is no sense of closure at the end of this. The first book had a strong ending, but this has very little. This book seemed to be a mere set-up for the next instalment, which makes it rather difficult to review; it’s like picking out the middle bit of a story and trying to criticise it as a separate entity from the rest of it: it’s not easy to do. Any criticism you make are negated by the fact that this is not a separate book: it’s a chunk of a greater work.
So I’m going to read the third book before I speak any more about this- I need to see where these elements Pullman added go to. Perhaps a review of all three works together would be the best option. At this moment though, I find the witches one of the most interesting aspects of the work. I’m not entirely sure what to make of them as of yet. Hopefully, the third book will give me all the answers I need.
All through that day the witches came, like flakes of black snow on the wings of a storm, filling the skies with the darting flutter of their silk and the swish of air through the needles of their cloud-pine branches. Men who hunted in the dripping forests or fished among melting ice-floes heard the sky-wide whisper through the fog, and if the sky was clear they would look up to see the witches flying, like scraps of darkness drifting on a secret tide.
English (A-) 81% | Very Good
Notes: Changes direction from the last book, expanding the mythology and affirming religion as the key theme of the series. English The second book in the His Dark Materials sadly ventures outside of Lyra's Oxford, but have no fear we get introduced to a number of other dimensions! Cittigazze, is like a ghost town... the world Lyra arrives in looks like everyone literally left in the middle of whatever they were doing. Pulman manages to create yet another really interesting reality and look at it from the perspective of Lyra.
Lyra and a new companion continue the sort of ongoing random, but often connected missions, Lyra began from a cupboard in New Oxford. With many more surprises and a sadly rather less detailed characterised supporting cast, we begin to see that a war may be brewing. One of the cooler things about the series is also watching Lyra mature, as in the situations she finds herself in, she has to. The only downside to this sequel... no bears! 8 out of 12, as good as the first book, but more for the creativity than the plotting and characterisations.
2019 read; 2004 read English The second entry in a trilogy is often, in my opinion, the best. The author doesn't have to introduce the universe or the characters, as they did in the first installment, but they don't need to worry about wrapping up all the plot points either. Instead, the focus can be on 'the good stuff': elaborating on the story, teasing us more, giving action, chopping off Luke's hand and so on. Instead of the good stuff, in The Subtle Knife I feel as though we've had a bait and switch pulled on us.
In The Golden Compass, we were treated to a rich alternate universe that had elements that were similar to our own, like some of the geopolitical structure, and elements that were entirely fantastical, like armored polar bears and witches. The Subtle Knife, however decides that most of this is insignificant and takes place almost entirely in different universes. It seems like Philip Pullman wanted to reel us in with fantasy before he could preach at us.
Some of these elements are expanded upon in The Amber Spyglass, which I'm currently reading, so forgive me if they don't all apply. I had heard before I started the series that they were 'about killing God.' This seemed highly unlikely, and was probably a knee-jerk reaction from people who heard it from other people who read a synopsis of the book, etc. But... no. Some of the main characters have decided to wage war on 'The Authority.'
Herein lies my main concern with the series as a whole: it's not (excuse the pun) subtle. I'm an agnostic, so these complaints don't come from someone insulted by the material, they come from someone unhappy by their handling. I love plots that put a spin on traditional religion (Waiting for the Galactic Bus, for example), but it seems like Pullman came up with a story involving a culture's religion and then decided to make it fit with the Judeo-Christian framework no matter how hard he had to push.
The concept of Dust is interesting. Adapting it to fit with concepts of physics in our world works because it uses something we only know a little about. Once you try to toss in angels and consciousness and so on (which is insulting in a children's book, as he's claiming that children are entirely self involved until puberty), though, it seems contrived and silly.
I may have been more willing to swallow his philosophy, such as it is, if there hadn't been a complete lack of the elements I liked in The Golden Compass: there were no Gyptians, there were no panserbjörne... they seem to make a reappearance in the final book of the series, but why spend so much time on their culture in the first book if you aren't going to include them in the second? (I know that the panserbjörne's culture is basically that of any warrior society, but they're still armored polar bears and the ten year old in me think that's awesome)
It's not so much that the book is bad, per se, though I do think it becomes too dark for the age group I initially thought it was written for. I just don't think Pullman is writing for the same reason I want to read: he wants to write religious commentary while I want to read fantasy. English The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, #2), Philip Pullman
The Subtle Knife, the second book in the His Dark Materials series, is a young-adult fantasy novel written by Philip Pullman and published in 1997. The novel continues the adventures of Lyra Belacqua as she investigates the mysterious Dust phenomenon and searches for her father. Will Parry is introduced as a companion to Lyra, and together they explore the new realms to which they have both been introduced.
عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «خنجر ظریف»؛ «لیرا و خنجر اسرارآمیز»؛ نویسنده: فلیپ پولمن؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز دهم ماه آگوست سال2008میلادی
عنوان: نیروی اهریمنی اش کتاب دوم - خنجر ظریف؛ نویسنده: فلیپ پولمن؛ مترجم: فرزاد فربد؛ تهران، کتاب پنجره، سال1384، سال1385؛ در پنج جلد؛ چاپ چهارم سال1388؛ خنجر طریف در سری پن جلد مترجم جلد سوم است؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان بریتانیا - سده20م
عنوان: لیرا و خنجر اسرارآمیز؛ اثر فیلیپ پولمن؛ ترجمه فرخ بافنده؛ ویرایش کورش طارمی؛ تهران، راشین، سال1384؛ در391ص؛ شابک9647851332؛
سری سه گانه «نیروی اهریمنی اش» در ایران در پنج مجلد چاپ شده: کتاب اول شامل دو مجلد بخش اول و دوم، عنوان: سپیده ی شمالی؛ جلد سوم همین کتاب دوم، عنوان: خنجر ظریف؛ و جلد چهارم و پنجم، عنوان: دوربین کهربایی یک و دو؛
در کتاب نخست خواندیم که «لرد عزرائیل» پس از کشتن «راجر»، سوراخی به دنیاهای دیگر باز میکند، «لایرا» از راه همان سوراخ، وارد شهری به نام «چیگاتزه» میشود، که مورد هجوم اشباح قرار گرفته، و در آن شهر، تنها افرادی که به سن بلوغ نرسیده اند، از هجوم ارواح در امان هستند؛ در آن شهر «لایرا»، با پسری به نام «ویل پری» آشنا میشود؛ «ویل» و «لایرا» خنجری را بدست میآورند، که میتواند لایه ی میان جهانهای موازی را بریده، و پنجره ای رو به سوی دنیاهای دیگر باز کند اما…؛
نقل از متن: (دو تا افسر پلیس داشتند به طرف آنها میآمدند؛ یک زن و مرد بودند که داشتند گشت میزدند؛ آنها پیراهنهای سفید تابستانی به تن داشتند و بیسیم و باتومهایشان هم همراهشان بود؛ نگاههای مشکوکی هم داشتند؛ هنوز به نیمکت نرسیده بودند که «لیرا» بلند شد و گفت: ـ ببخشید، میشود بگویید موزه کدام طرف است؛ پدر و مادرمان آنجا منتظر من و برادرم هستند؛ ولی ما گم شدهایم؛ مرد نگاهی به «ویل» انداخت؛ «ویل» در حالی که سعی میکرد خشمش را کنترل کند، شانه هایش را بالا انداخت؛ انگار که میخواست بگوید او راست میگوید، ما گم شده ایم، شوخی نیست؛ مرد لبخندی زد؛ زن گفت: «کدام موزه؟ اشمولین؟» «لیرا» گفت: «آره، همان.» و بعد وانمود کرد که دارد با دقت تمام به راهنماییهای زن گوش میدهد؛ «ویل» بلند شد و گفت: «خیلی ممنون.» و بعد به همراه «لیرا» از آنجا دور شد؛ آنها یکبار هم به پشت سرشان نگاه نکردند، ولی پلیسها دیگر توجهی به آنها نداشتند؛ «لیرا» گفت: «دیدی، اگر آنها دنبالت بگردند، من دست به سرشان میکنم، چون آنها دنبال کسی که خواهر دارد نیستند؛ بهتر است از حالا به بعد همراهت باشم.»؛ و به محض پیچیدن از گوشه دیوار با لحن سرزنشآمیزی ادامه داد: «تو تنهایی در امان نیستی.»؛ «ویل» هیچی نگفت؛ از شدت عصبانیت قلبش تندتند میزد؛ آنها به سمت ساختمانی که گنبد سربی داشت رفتند، و در وسط میدانی نشستند؛ دور تا دورشان ساختمانهای سنگی سفید رنگِ دانشکدهها و درختان پرپشتی بود، که بر فراز دیوارهای باغ سر کشیده بودند؛ کلیسایی هم در آن حوالی دیده میشد؛ خورشید گرمترین اشعه هایش را که مثل شراب طلایی رنگ بود میتاباند، و هوا را گرم میکرد؛ برگها تکان نمیخوردند؛ در این میدان کوچک، حتی صدای رفت و آمد ماشینها هم خفه شده بود؛ «لیرا» متوجه حال «ویل» شد و پرسید: «چی شده؟» «ویل» با صدای لرزانی گفت: «اگر با مردم حرف بزنی، توجهشان را جلب میکنی؛ تو فقط باید آرام و ساکت بنشینی؛ آنها هم از کنارت رد میشوند و میروند؛ من تمام عمر اینکار را کرده ام؛ میدانم چطوری میشود اینکار را کرد؛ تو با این کارت خودت را نشان میدهی، و دیگران متوجهت میشوند؛ دیگر نباید این کار را بکنی؛ این مسئله شوخیبردار نیست، فهمیدی؟» خون «لیرا» به جوش آمد: «تو همچین فکری میکنی؟ فکر میکنی من هیچ چیز درباره دروغ گفتن و اینجور چیزها نمیدانم؟ من خودم بهترین دروغگوی عالمم؛ ولی به تو دروغ نگفته ام، و قسم میخورم که هیچوقت هم نگویم؛ تو در خطر بودی، و اگر من این کار را نکرده بودم، حتماً گیر میافتادی؛ نفهمیدی آنها داشتند بهت نگاه میکردند؟ نه، نفهمیدی، چون درست و حسابی مواظب نبودی؛ میدانی، به نظر من، تو خودت این قضیه را شوخی گرفته ای.» ـ اگر من این قضیه را شوخی گرفته بودم، پس برای چی اینقدر این دور و برها پرسه زدم تا تو بیایی؛ میتوانستم کیلومترها از اینجا دور بشوم، یا خودم را توی آن شهر قایم کنم؛ با وجودی که خودم کلی کار دارم، همینطور این اطراف گشت زدم، تا بتوانم بهت کمک کنم؛ پس بهم نگو که قضیه را شوخی گرفته ام؛ «لیرا» با عصبانیت گفت: «تو باید میآمدی.» هیچکس حق نداشت با او اینطور حرف بزند؛ او یک اشرافزاده بود...؛ او «لیرا» بود؛ ـ تو باید میآمدی، وگرنه هیچی از پدرت نمیفهمیدی...؛ تو اینکار را برای خودت کردی نه من)؛ پایان نقل
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 25/02/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ 04/02/1401هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی English