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A review by rowanmay
The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman
2.0
This book sucked honestly
This was a really tedious read. The pacing was really off and it took me ages to want to finish it.
Malcolm grows into a really boring character who’s in love with lyra, for some reason. I wouldn’t mind this so much, if pullman didn’t remind us constantly that he’s tormented over this 11-year age gap and was attracted to her when he taught her as a teenager? And i’m supposed to like this guy? gross
I honestly didn’t mind that pan and lyra fell out, and found the new introduction of how people can separate from their demons genuinely really interesting. However, I felt we were told rather than shown that Lyra is now boring or cares too much about philosophy and has lost her imagination or whatever, but honestly as a grown up character she seems fine, if just a little flat? (like all characters in this book) I would have preferred it if she had genuinely grown into some undesirable traits and had something to reflect on rather than a ideological difference that she doesn’t even seem at all committed to. Let grown up lyra actually be a bit of a snob after becoming an oxford student and have to unlearn some of that - far more interesting imo!
There’s a really violent attempted rape in chapter 31 for no reason and without warning
This doesn’t feel like a natural follow up to the amber spyglass at all - beyond pining for Will, lyra has seemed to have moved on only 7 years later?
Pullman tries to nod at contemporary issues in really poor ways. Rose oil = oil? He has lyra witness really traumatic events in a refugee crisis in a way that is quite careless and then we just move on
In general, Pullman's attempt at “darker” themes is just to let what would be traumatic events happen to lyra over and over and for her to just move on... bolvangar was way more unsettling and that was supposedly a children’s book! He also just introduces new characters, themes and subplots almost in every chapter so that he can discuss some kind of contemporary or philosophical issue - but it’s so boring! I don’t care! It adds nothing!
I don’t care at all about oliver bonneville or his stupid beef with malcom that was seemingly resolved immediately
The book really suffers from all of its central characters (incl pan) being apart for half the book and just….experiencing stuff with no real interfacing
The book ends on a cliffhanger after 600 pages tying literally none of it’s multiple plots together
Pros:
Pullman does so consitently say fuck politicians, cops, theologians and philosophers and he’s right and should say it
Spoiler
This was a really tedious read. The pacing was really off and it took me ages to want to finish it.
Malcolm grows into a really boring character who’s in love with lyra, for some reason. I wouldn’t mind this so much, if pullman didn’t remind us constantly that he’s tormented over this 11-year age gap and was attracted to her when he taught her as a teenager? And i’m supposed to like this guy? gross
I honestly didn’t mind that pan and lyra fell out, and found the new introduction of how people can separate from their demons genuinely really interesting. However, I felt we were told rather than shown that Lyra is now boring or cares too much about philosophy and has lost her imagination or whatever, but honestly as a grown up character she seems fine, if just a little flat? (like all characters in this book) I would have preferred it if she had genuinely grown into some undesirable traits and had something to reflect on rather than a ideological difference that she doesn’t even seem at all committed to. Let grown up lyra actually be a bit of a snob after becoming an oxford student and have to unlearn some of that - far more interesting imo!
There’s a really violent attempted rape in chapter 31 for no reason and without warning
This doesn’t feel like a natural follow up to the amber spyglass at all - beyond pining for Will, lyra has seemed to have moved on only 7 years later?
Pullman tries to nod at contemporary issues in really poor ways. Rose oil = oil? He has lyra witness really traumatic events in a refugee crisis in a way that is quite careless and then we just move on
In general, Pullman's attempt at “darker” themes is just to let what would be traumatic events happen to lyra over and over and for her to just move on... bolvangar was way more unsettling and that was supposedly a children’s book! He also just introduces new characters, themes and subplots almost in every chapter so that he can discuss some kind of contemporary or philosophical issue - but it’s so boring! I don’t care! It adds nothing!
I don’t care at all about oliver bonneville or his stupid beef with malcom that was seemingly resolved immediately
The book really suffers from all of its central characters (incl pan) being apart for half the book and just….experiencing stuff with no real interfacing
The book ends on a cliffhanger after 600 pages tying literally none of it’s multiple plots together
Pros:
Pullman does so consitently say fuck politicians, cops, theologians and philosophers and he’s right and should say it