A review by theverbalthing
The Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth (Book of Dust, Volume 2) by Philip Pullman
3.0
CW: The Secret Commonwealth describes a suicide by gun, as well as an attempted gang rape. These scenes can be very triggering.
It took me a long time to get into The Secret Commonwealth, despite my excitement for it. I didn't expect such a massive time jump — 20 years after La Belle Sauvage and 10 years after The Amber Spyglass — which made it hard to grapple with how much the characters had changed in all that time. I also didn't expect this book to be quite so angsty, which might not even be the right word for it. I liked it, mostly, but I also have some issues with it.
The spoiler below deals with the CWs above, if you want or need more specifics.
Furthermore, the decision to write Malcolm as being in love with Lyra is incredibly weird and uncomfortable. If he were a new character in his early 30s falling for Lyra in her early 20s, that would be one thing — but 11 year-old Malcolm carried infant Lyra through the flood, which makes him falling for her when they're both adults feel really, really gross.
The suicide mentioned above is graphic, but brief, and occurs in the last 1/3 of the book.
It took me a long time to get into The Secret Commonwealth, despite my excitement for it. I didn't expect such a massive time jump — 20 years after La Belle Sauvage and 10 years after The Amber Spyglass — which made it hard to grapple with how much the characters had changed in all that time. I also didn't expect this book to be quite so angsty, which might not even be the right word for it. I liked it, mostly, but I also have some issues with it.
The spoiler below deals with the CWs above, if you want or need more specifics.
Spoiler
Unfortunately, Lyra's conflict with Pantalaimon and the fact that she has to fight her way free of an attempted gang rape makes me think that Pullman, like far too many other writers, believes the way to craft a Strong Female Protagonist is to force her to bear horrible violation and grief in order to come into her own, rather than allowing her to be complex without putting her through assault or tremendous loss.Furthermore, the decision to write Malcolm as being in love with Lyra is incredibly weird and uncomfortable. If he were a new character in his early 30s falling for Lyra in her early 20s, that would be one thing — but 11 year-old Malcolm carried infant Lyra through the flood, which makes him falling for her when they're both adults feel really, really gross.
The suicide mentioned above is graphic, but brief, and occurs in the last 1/3 of the book.