Hello π
One of my New Year’s resolutions was to read (at least) one book each month. The book I chose for January is Northern Lights by Philip Pullman, the first book of His Dark Materials trilogy. This is not the first time I’m reading it, but it is the first time in a very long time.
It’s a young adult fantasy novel from 1995. The main reason why I’m reading this trilogy from the 90s now (besides the fact that I simply love it, of course) is that last October, 20 years after the release of the original trilogy, a new book set in the same universum came out and I can’t wait to get my hands on it!
The trilogy is full of magic and fantastic creatures, features a battle between the good and the evil over an original and rather difficult subject (which makes the book more suitable for young adults+ than kids, despite the seemingly fairy tale-ish feel, at least at first glance) and shows the main characters struggle with hard, often heartbreaking choices and decisions. It’s an absolute masterpiece in the world of young adult fiction and I can’t recommend it enough. I don’t want to spoil the plot, so this description has to be enough.
Now a little rant regarding this trilogy… there was a film made, based on the first book from the trilogy. A horrible, shallow film, which completely ignores the deeper meaning behind the story. It also looks like its creators had known how bad it was going to turn out before they even started working on it; the last scene in the book brings an explanation to some events as well as a cliffhanger to make the reader eager to jump into the sequel. And the film completely ignores it – the entire scene is cut out from the story which, as a result, ends prematurely. Wow. In contemporary cinematography not using the chance to indicate that there’s something more to await clearly means that even the creators know that no one’s going to fund filming the sequel. I’ve always preferred books over films, and this title is one of those stories that were ruined in their movie versions the most. It’s even more surprising and disappointing when we look at the cast. So many prominent, famous, acclaimed actors – Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman, Ian McKellen and Christopher Lee are only some of them – and they managed to produce such a flop! That deserves some kind of a medal, almost.
Anyway, I’m going to enjoy this winter afternoon with a lovely book, some hot chocolate with marshmallows and Christmas gingerbread biscuits (have I made too many? it’s the end of January… hmmm…) π
Can I leave the book and just eat the sweeties ππ
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Haha sure, I still have 2 tins of Christmas biscuits, I don’t mind sharing π In fact I do actually need help with them cause I can’t bake anything before those are gone
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ππππ€ͺ
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I Iove these books! and I completely agree with you about the film! enjoy your reading π
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Books that go Hollywood rarely hold up against the original story. I’ve seen quite a few movies that flopped, but the Watchmen is still the one that almost go hand in hand with the book (graphic novel in this case). They changed one factor about the story to make more since for those who lack imagination, but overall it was great. Lets hope whatever book we write is done properly if it makes it to Hollywood π
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Hahaha π Writing and publishing a book is on my bucket list for distant future, but I’m afraid that if anyone ever offers to fund filming it, they’ll first have to clone me like 100 times so I can direct, produce and edit the film and play all roles myself π
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Haha! I think a 100 yous would not only be great on film, but it would make the world a better place ππNo worries, I’m sure they’ll be cloning people in our lifetime so your dreams might come true!
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I started re reading the Northern Lights because of The Book of Dust too. It never stops being utterly pure magic!
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