Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials Trilogy" is the best fantasy series I've read in a long time. Better than Harry Potter, better than Gormenghast. It's a theological fantasy, as the Narnia books are -- but here, the War In Heaven is replayed, and our heroes are not on the side of the Angels. It's a world of multiple universes, of witches and balloonists and dæmons and armored bears. While Rowling was writing her latest, it was our read-aloud series. Highly recommended.
So if you've read it, you'll be interested in this conversation between Pullman and the Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Given that the book has been controversial among some religious groups, the conversation is quite interesting, especially as they explore the relationship between religion and storytelling in various media:
RB: The questioner is asking whether perhaps the relationship between Christianity and fiction is that Christianity itself is a story, and is about incarnation.RW: Yes, I think there's a lot of truth in that, that you can't communicate Christianity simply as a set of ideas. At some point you're going to have to sit down and tell a story. And tell a story which, because it's a story, is bound to have some loose ends, some awkwardnesses. As it is we have four versions of the story of Jesus in the New Testament, because of that sense that a story can always be retold. And that introduces a bit of this irony in the narrative, which is very important in reinforcing the sense that this is something mysterious. I think there is something in that fundamental characteristic of Christianity which helps to enable a particular kind of storytelling.
PP: Story is fundamental. We began with Jesus. We might as well end by reminding ourselves that Jesus was one of the greatest storytellers there's ever been. Whether or not he was the Son of God, he was a great storyteller.
RW: [laughing] Eight out of 10!
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I love Philip Pullman and heartily recommend his novels. They're a beautifully written coming of age story. Not only that, but they give you the opportunity to speculate on what your personality would look like if it were embodied as an animal -- a hard-bitten tender-hearted hare? A servile cocker spaniel? A luminous savage golden monkey?
As an unsaved Jew, I think I finally got the Christ story when I went to see the Byzantium exhibit at the Met this weekend. The idea of identifying with a suffering man with blood dripping down his side made a lot more sense to me when viewed from the context of Medieval Europe, where someone could easily run you through with a sword and create a similar set of wounds. And, with that in mind, I found the icons of a grieving Madonna moving in a way I frankly never had before.
But it's a different story than the Philip Pullman reinterpretation, and the story I've imposed on the icons is likely a lot different than that told in the hegemonic movie of the moment. So if Jesus was truly one of the greatest storytellers, then the Crucifixion must have been a classic case of the Death of the Author....
It's been ages since I read His Dark Materials, but your post prompted me to re-read LeGuin's Earthsea Trilogy. I'm in the third book right now. Beautiful. Recommended.
Comment #2 :: link :: March 29, 2004 02:54 PM
