Title: La Belle Sauvage
Author: Philip Pullman
Year of Publication: 2017
Series: The Book of Dust
Series #: 1
Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.14
Goodreads Rating (Mine): 4
TW: Discussion of Sexual Assault
Synopsis: Before Lyra Belacqua was the child of Destiny and friend of armoured bears and witches alike, she was a literal baby carried along in a literal flood. And at her side were a pair of loyal, brave and stout hearted children – Malcolm Polstead and Alice Lonsdale.
I know what I expected from La Belle Sauvage – a grown up, slightly boring but intriguing expansion of the universe(s) we were introduced to in the His Dark Materials trilogy.
What I got was yet another extremely well written children’s book. Malcolm and Alice are well written child (teen) characters, although Malcolm, as the darling of the story, obviously gets much better treatment. Pullman truly has a rare gift for writing extremely realistic child characters (who also shine with inner fire and are utterly worth rooting for).
Pullman’s understanding of human nature goes even beyond writing relatable and likable children. As Will Parry hinted at, and Angelica illustrated, in The Subtle Knife, Pullman also keen insight into the habits and temperaments that creep in at a young age.
He knows – and expertly showcases – the difference between the good hearted mischief seen in exuberant kids like Lyra – and the hungry cruelty of the kids who joined the League of St. Alexander in this book, eager to exert power with no idea of how to limit oneself, or why one should do so.
Unfortunately, in discussing the darker sides of childhood, Pullman also makes the choice to put one of his main (female) characters through sexual assault. While this subject is mainly dealt with with adequate subtlety, there are some scenes I found a little gratuitous – to the point where I must question the necessity of this entire plot device (for it feels exactly like a plot device.) Not happy.
I actually did not expect for Lyra herself to be a character, and yet there she was, hogging so much page space as a tiny infant, constantly ‘grizzling’ and talking to Pantalaimon.
Contrary to Lyra’s childish and self-centred perspective from the HDM books, La Belle Sauvage expands the London of Lyra’s world and its political machinations as well as its mythology. We are well familiar with the quirks of Lyra’s world – witches, shamans, daemons, talking bears, cliffghasts and nightghasts… But it’s not until The Book of Dust series that Pullman gives us a glimpse into the how and the why of it. ‘The Secret Commonwealth’, a realm closely connected to the human world and yet infinitely different. It’s a fascinating concept, but not one that is very clear (yet). I do hope that the next book (you know, the one titled The Secret Commonwealth) will explain what I failed to understand in La Belle Sauvage.
Closing questions: Will we ever find out the name of Mrs. Coulter’s daemon? Why does everybody instantly turn themselves into Lyra’s servants? What strange power does this little girl have, that everyone (*cough*Lee Scoresby) immediately wants to lay their lives down for her?
Next: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Next in this Series: The Book of Dust #2 – The Secret Commonwealth
Feminist Quill 
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