the very non-childish topic of torture juxtaposed with the armoured bears and cool devices like the alethiometer (which all make me feel like I'm five again and filled with wonder) is rather strange. I wonder if that's some of what makes it work
I think it is what makes it work, because you're just reading this fantasy story and then all of a sudden he starts talking about all these horrible things that happen to children, but you don't really realize what he's implying at first. I don't know how to say it, exactly, but it ties into one of the reasons I like Hitchcock so much - he implies, rather than explicitly states, and you can do so much more with implications. So Pullman can imply on many levels, including his impressive fantasy one.
Harry Potter's different entirely, because Rowling never removes Harry completely from the Muggle world. He's always aware his actions affect everybody, and that magic isn't an out. Magic, in some cases, might represent parts of reality and help Harry cope, but it's not an implication for anything the way the daemons are an implication for the souls we can not hide. Harry's great because of Rowling's story-telling abilities and characterizations.
I read Paradise Lost in college, and, unfortunately, don't remember too much of it, but I do remember really enjoying some parts.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2005-02-01 01:16 pm (UTC)I think it is what makes it work, because you're just reading this fantasy story and then all of a sudden he starts talking about all these horrible things that happen to children, but you don't really realize what he's implying at first. I don't know how to say it, exactly, but it ties into one of the reasons I like Hitchcock so much - he implies, rather than explicitly states, and you can do so much more with implications. So Pullman can imply on many levels, including his impressive fantasy one.
Harry Potter's different entirely, because Rowling never removes Harry completely from the Muggle world. He's always aware his actions affect everybody, and that magic isn't an out. Magic, in some cases, might represent parts of reality and help Harry cope, but it's not an implication for anything the way the daemons are an implication for the souls we can not hide. Harry's great because of Rowling's story-telling abilities and characterizations.
I read Paradise Lost in college, and, unfortunately, don't remember too much of it, but I do remember really enjoying some parts.