The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman

The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman

Review of the novel The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman

Published by David Fickling Books.

Cost: £7.99 (UK Paperback October 2018)

ISBN: 978-0-241-36585-4 (Paperback Edition - 569 pages)

Dedication: To Jude

First Published: 19 October 2017 (1^st Volume)

The story is set twelve years before ‘The Northern Lights’, the first story in The Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman. There is more to tell about the characters in this story as it is Volume 1, as The Book of Dust is also planned to be a trilogy.

This tale is all about the journey of Lyra Belacqua, while she is still a baby. She is befriended by an eleven-year-old boy, Malcolm Polstead, the son of the local landlord of The Trout Inn, located on the outskirts of Oxford.

Like every child of an innkeeper, Malcolm had to work around the tavern, washing dishes and glasses, carrying plates of food or tankards of beer, retrieving them when they were empty.

Every so often the book has a picture to accompany the telling of the story and the first one is the view of The Trout Inn, sited on the river Thames - Page 5.

The story introduces the second major character early on in the story: Alice, who is a fifteen-year-old girl who helps with the washing of the dishes at the inn. Although Malcolm and Alice do not get on, there is a bond between them that enables them to complete a task of great danger.

Malcolm attends the local Elementary School and although he has friends, he is happiest on his own. His main interest is his canoe, which is called La Belle Sauvage, (the subtitle of the book).

If you are new to The Dark Materials Trilogy you may not be aware that all the characters in this series by Philip Pullman have a Dæmon. (A dæmon is defined as a physical manifestation of a person’s ‘inner being’, soul or spirit, which takes the form of a creature.) A dæmon is a creature that belongs to an individual and helps them with their daily life. In the case of young children, the dæmon has the ability to change form, but as an adult, the dæmon is permanently one type of creature. Malcolm’s dæmon is called Astra and she changes to anything from a mouse, to a kingfisher and to an owl.

One day while Malcolm is paddling his canoe through the reeds on the river, looking for great crested grebes, his attention is distracted by ‘a man in a raincoat and grey trilby hat, standing under an oak tree’. The man’s behaviour is suspicious, and between him and his cat dæmon, they appear to have lost something on the towpath. Unable to find it they move on. As you can imagine, Malcolm and Astra find the object. The story takes a new direction with Malcolm becoming involved in a secret organisation called ‘Oakley Street’ – their work was said to be important and on the side of Liberalism and freedom.

Across the river from The Trout Inn, is the priory of St Rosamund, which is accessed by a bridge near the inn. Malcolm likes to spend much of his free time at the priory, doing errands for the nuns. Although it is meant to be a secret, the nuns at the priory are tasked to take care of the baby Lyra Belacqua. Malcolm takes a liking to the baby, Lyra, and takes a keen interest in her well-being.

At Malcolm’s school, there are mysterious things going on. He and his friends are subject to a new authority cult, The League of St Alexander, where they are told to report on anything unusual to their teachers. It is believed that this organisation is linked to the CCD (the Consistorial Court of Discipline). Malcolm is aware of the CCD and the fear they put into the locals as they have previously visited the inn and caused trouble and he decides not to report anything to the League.

When Lyra’s father visits the priory, he is able to enjoy her company for a short time and comfort her, but his visit has not gone unnoticed by a member of the CCD. He escapes with Malcolm in the canoe but requests that he takes the canoe further downstream, leaving Malcolm to return to the inn on foot. When the canoe is returned a few weeks later, it has been repainted, repaired and modified.

‘She’s been through the hands of the finest boat-builder on English waters,’ said Coram van Texel. ‘Every inch of her has been looked at and strengthened and that paint on her now is a special anti-fouling paint that has another virtue too. She’ll be the slippiest vessel on the Thames, apart from the real gyptian boats. She’ll go through the water like a hot knife through butter.’

The man returning the canoe is a gyptian (a canal-faring nomad), who is very knowledgeable in predicting the weather. He warns Malcolm to be wary of a major flood that is about to occur, which will see the UK flooded in many parts.

Although none of the locals believe Malcolm when he tells the story of the expected flood, he finds himself at the priory a few days later when the river Thames breaks its banks resulting in the ground floor of the priory being swamped with rising water.

Now begins the Part Two of the story – Page 317. Malcolm and Alice must overcome numerous trials and tribulations as they journey towards London, aboard La Belle Sauvage, and what they hope will be the safety of Lyra’s father’s home. I'm not going to spoil the story for you, but if you’re already a fan of The Dark Materials series, you will find this story just as captivating. The language is ideal for young adults, but it will stretch their reading ability. I felt the story stopped too early in the tale, however, there are two more books in the series. This story made the assumption that the reader knew much of the subject covered in The Dark Materials trilogy, which may leave the reader left wondering about some of the topics covered, but it did not detract from the enjoyment of the tale. Rating: 4 stars.

Dr Sheppard

6 November 2018