Just finished my paper, "Being Good for Narnia and the Lion" for another Benbella anthology due out next year. I got quite carried away. Really, CS Lewis was so important to me as a child and I just loved Aslan and The Chronicles of Narnia. The last paper I wrote for this Texan publisher was published in The World of the Golden Compass, ed. by Scott Westerfield which came out last month in America to celebrate the release of the film next month (can't wait). It's sold exclusively by Borders, I think. My paper argues that Philip Pullman's work is very similar to CS Lewis's and JRR Tolkien's, despite the fact he hates both these authors. (Heh, heh.) It's called "Tempest in a British Tea Cup." But Herbie Brennan's "A Short History of Hell and the Crabby Old God Who Sends You There" is much funnier. I also liked Sophie Masson's "Lord Asriel: Dad from Hell or Heroic Rebel?" and Maureen Johnson's "Hot Sex and Horrific Parenting in His Dark Materials." The whole book is a good read, actually.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Benbella Anthologies
Just finished my paper, "Being Good for Narnia and the Lion" for another Benbella anthology due out next year. I got quite carried away. Really, CS Lewis was so important to me as a child and I just loved Aslan and The Chronicles of Narnia. The last paper I wrote for this Texan publisher was published in The World of the Golden Compass, ed. by Scott Westerfield which came out last month in America to celebrate the release of the film next month (can't wait). It's sold exclusively by Borders, I think. My paper argues that Philip Pullman's work is very similar to CS Lewis's and JRR Tolkien's, despite the fact he hates both these authors. (Heh, heh.) It's called "Tempest in a British Tea Cup." But Herbie Brennan's "A Short History of Hell and the Crabby Old God Who Sends You There" is much funnier. I also liked Sophie Masson's "Lord Asriel: Dad from Hell or Heroic Rebel?" and Maureen Johnson's "Hot Sex and Horrific Parenting in His Dark Materials." The whole book is a good read, actually.
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4 comments:
I am surprised to see you say, "Philip Pullman's work is very similar to CS Lewis's and JRR Tolkien's" since I have read that Pullman is an avowed athiest and I know both Lewis and Tolkien had Christian sympathies. I must get the book and read your article.
Let me know what you think after you read it. Being Irish, I'm always on for a lively difference of opinion.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to find the book online and there are no Borders stores in my part of Canada (B.C.).
However, in searching for the book I came across a book called "Killing the Imposter God: Philip Pullman's Spiritual Imagination in His Dark Materials". From the blurb on Amazon.ca it appears that the authors make the claim that Phillip Pulmann is a theologian inspite of himself. Sounds interesting.
I point out the similarities in background, education, religious upbringing, and conversion experience (he is a zealous convert to humanistic atheism) and argue that his books are infused with "spirit." Of course his outrage against organised religion is that of an idealistic moralist.
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