March 4, 2004
MarkBernstein.org
 

The Subtle Knife

Have you heard of Philip Pullman's three-volume story, His Dark Materials? (More in Books....) I hadn't, until a Tinderbox user sent me an essay by its author, Philip Pullman. I've just finished the second volume. It's extraordinary, a work of tremendous scope and ambition.

I'm unsure whether Knopf's publishing this in a young adult series was an act of courage or folly or doing precisely the right thing.

I mean, Tobias Wolf's Old School is a fine book, I'm really glad I read it, it deserves all those awards and nominations. I heard about that one from a half dozen places; I could easily have not heard of His Dark Materials at all.

What else has nobody bothered to tell me about?

Disclaimer: I've not yet read the final volume, I don't know where this ends up.