esrosedotblog

LOST AGAIN

I didn't know, when I began, that Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials was a rewriting of Milton's Paradise Lost.

Had I known that, I might have ditched it.

I am not much of a classical scholar. When at MIT I took all contemporary literature and theater as my electives.

But, having just completed the Pullman, I guess I will not have to read the Milton. Although, I am reasonably sure that the remake is quite a lot different than the inspirational piece.

Did Milton have armored, talking polar bears?

And don't let that put you off either. Milton or the bears.

It is a wonderful read and it has all kinds of things to say about us and our society and, oh baby, about organized religion which are all the bad guys in this 'godless' chronicle.

Amazingly, it is written for older kids. I didn't find it at all childish or beneath my interest at any time.

It would be similar in impact to Harry Potter. This is also published by Scholastic in the US.

So, I am on to Hal-reccomended Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell; a retelling of the King Arthur story.

And, oh yes, I am still reading Mardi as part of my quest to read all of Herman Melville.