I feel like Phillip Pullman's The Golden Compass shouldn't have been as difficult to get through as it ended up being. I read the first 98 pages or so and then switched to the audio book for the remainder, which didn't really help the experience any as I didn't like all of their voices. They were for the most part appropriately picked and suited the characters, but suited them in the way which enhanced the things I didn't like about them.
I really liked the concept behind the novel. The idea behind the daemons and the world was really brilliant and interesting. However, the characters were what really had me struggling to enjoy the story - especially Lyra. She has a tendency to be rather selfish and she lies nearly constantly. When you're lying "out of habit", it's a bit of a problem. One could chalk it up to her being a child, and to a degree I'd accept it. Children do tend to be a bit selfish and she is imaginative...BUT she still gives little to no thought to her lying, and that's what bothered me the most. There are never any consequences to her lying; nothing bad ever happens as a result of it.
The one time she does stop to think, "Oh wait, this could end up badly" is when she puts Yorrick in a situation that he must find the other bear. But it ends up he wants to find the other bear anyway and he wins, so still nothing ill comes of it. When something bad does occur because of her - that Roger is taken by her father - it has nothing to do with her lying and is more a random happenstance. She nearly completely forgets about Roger until they stumble upon the first severed child and she realizes it could be him.
Most of the book is constantly talking about dust. Dust, dust, dust, dust. Lots of talking of it with little explanation to what it is. When Lyra finally encounters her father and has the prime opportunity to ask the person who would know the most...well, despite thinking it would be best not to let him know she knows he's her father, its the first thing she blurts out. Her father is incredibly casual about it, which almost made it seem silly that he hid it in the first place. Her reasoning for being angry about not being told is that it made her "feel stupid when she found out"? That seemed a...strange way to put it. Well, besides that, when she FINALLY after all this time asks the question everyone has been wondering - what the hell is dust? - the answer is "Well, let me pull out my bible here..."
Really. Well. I have nothing against incorporating the religious, and while it continued to explain what we had already figured out about what the dust had to do with growing up, it still didn't explain much about WHAT it is and WHERE it comes from and WHY. I really didn't feel like it explained anything at all. I still don't understand what her father intends to discover, or why they want to separate them from dust. Just because the dust is proof of original sin? Well...uh...okay? And Lyra's reasoning for going is because if they want to destroy it because its bad, and they're bad, it must be good? Well, uh, alright then.
And then there's that they care more for daemons than people for whatever reason. When the find the severed child, he's a horrid, frightening sight - and they consider he might be better off dead than alive. Yet when they find the daemons who were severed, by George, this is terrible; we gotta help 'em! Her parents both seem insane, and its awfully convenient that this girl who thought herself an orphan was actually being cared for by all these people who were in fact in some way or other related to her all along. Too convenient and bizarre.
Then there's the scene where the airship guy just wanted to know if he was getting paid or not and ended up getting into a twenty minute philosophical discussion with the witch about fate. My god! Is he getting paid or isn't he?! I don't even think they ever answered it.
It's a shame that such an interesting concept had to be wasted with annoying characters and random ramblings. Bah...and this is all I really wish to discuss on the book. Much looking forward to moving on and not having to listen to Lyra's high-pitched whining any longer!
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