Great thread.
I love Pullman. Church, sex, beauty - he stirs the elements in quite nicely. He's a cranky provocateur who believes that the world is going to the Dark Age-dogs of fanaticism, and I agree, at least partially.
Having said that, I think Pullman misses out on the brooding lyricism of Tolkien, a roomy style of writing that elicits the most startling emotional/intellectual responses. Tolkien's visions are
large, considering the way they inspire hardcore Christians, faerie-seekers, and even hedonistic pleasure-readers.
You gotta give credit where credit is due, but I think Pullman has struggled so much with his own art that he's not at that point yet. Maybe I'm projecting onto Pullman, who knows. I adore the guy. I put him on a pedestal and fetishize his style, I'm going to admit that now so nobody accuses me of solipsism later on.
Oh, and this is slightly off-topic, but
Quote:
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When the Iron Curtain fell in Russia and Communism's hold started to weaken, evangelists from many different religions went pouring into the country. For the most part, they expected a lot of resistance from a people who had been taught everyday in school that God did not exist. The evangelists were surprised when the people of Russia were eager to hear everything they had to say. When some remarked on this, the people replied that becuase the government tried so hard to convince them that Gid did not exist, then he must be real, or else they wouldn't have tried so hard. After all, if he wasn't real, why did the government keep bringing it up?
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That's too rosy a picture. The Eastern Orthodox Church is a millennia-old institution, and when the Curtain came down, the local denizens of faith were vehemently set against any sort of foreign evangelicals. There was a conflict there about the True God, and it still rages on. Even dancing dervishes are considered some sort of "cult" by the Moscow Patriarchate (am not sure about Ukraine's Filaret & Co., or anyone else, I think they're a little less hardcore though).
People who agreed there is no God, or no True Religion sat back and laughed while the faith-based groups duked it out. Freedom of religion isn't any easier on the Former Soviet Empire, although it might seem so at the outset.
So maybe Pullman isn't interested in proving anything, maybe he just watches religious folk struggle against each other and laughing into his fist.
