Aurora Borealis is the first volume of the Dark Materie series , originally published in 1995 and recently reissued by the MAG publishing house. The screening of the novel, produced in cooperation with the BBC, was released almost simultaneously on HBO.
Lyra lives a carefree life among Oxford’s academic community. Her mind is mainly frolics and children’s games. This peace is disturbed by the increasing number of kidnappings of children, and the world turns upside down when the girl’s best friend joins the group of the missing. Setting out to save him, the heroine becomes entangled in an intricate web of political intrigue and dangerous magic that carries her far deep into the icy Arctic.
Magic and theology
Pullman’s world is a bit confusing at first. On the one hand, we have familiar geographical names, and on the other hand, we have magic, a nation of armored bears and daemons on the other. The latter are specific companions of every human being, taking the form of any animal. What’s more, at the beginning, along with the shaping of the human character, they can freely change their form, but with time they take one permanent shape of the creature that best reflects the temperament of the person attached to it. The technological state of the world of Dark Matter is equally peculiar. On the one hand, it seems that there is no running water, for example, on the other hand, people have mastered the attitudes of quantum mechanics on a level comparable to our times. At the same time, science is completely intertwined with religion, and the church diligently guards the dogmas it sets. In addition, the subtle spirit of steampunk lurks somewhere in it all.
All this, however, is only a background for the emotional experiences of a teenage twelve-year-old with a very strong sense of justice. Lyra, it must be admitted, completely absorbs the reader’s attention, and in addition is a very interesting and ambiguous character. It even seems to me that it would not be an exaggeration to call her one of the most interesting female figures of recent years. She is not only smart and resolute, but also insolent and arrogant in her own way, and her imagination would suffice for a second book. Perhaps that is why the relationship between her and her daemon pales somewhat in all of this.
Fortunately, this doesn’t apply to side characters. While not as polished as the main character, they are still interesting, multi-dimensional characters you’d like to get to know better. In particular, Iorko Byrnison, an exiled armored bear with a desire to drown sorrows in alcohol, and Serafina Pekkali, a witch from northern Finland.
It’s time to grow up
Although the Northern Lights is a book aimed at younger readers, Pullman definitely does not spare him, often serving dark and brutal scenes. The author deliberately plays on the recipient’s feelings, capriciously hitting sometimes pleasant, sometimes extremely sad tones. Moreover, the way he tells his story is phenomenal in all of this. While the smarter may guess some plot developments, some of its twists are really surprising. The novel should therefore appeal to both younger and older readers.
Dark Materials have also been screened twice. The first, titled Golden Compass , with Nicole Kidman in the cast, was not met with much enthusiasm. Currently, the series prepared in cooperation with the BBC is broadcast on the HBO channel, and after the premiere of the first two episodes it receives positive reviews. After reading the book, I have the impression that the multi-episode format will allow for a much better pace and complexity of the plot than a film limited to a few hours.
Pullman created a fascinating world and filled it with amazing characters, including the main character. Moreover, the novel is perfectly balanced, thanks to which it will interest both older and younger readers. There is no excessive infantility here, and Lyra’s idealistic approach to the world is collided with its ruthless brutality.
The book will perfectly fill the long autumn evenings, but it is worth getting a blanket and something warm to drink, because the descriptions of the frosty Arctic can be poignantly vivid. So if you haven’t had the chance to get HBO production yet, be sure to read the book first. Nevertheless, if you are drawn into the world of Pullman after the first episodes, the literary adventure will still be just as fascinating.
