Tom Fudge: British author Philip Pullman has become famous in his home country, and also in the United States, for his fantasy series of novels called His Dark Materials . The books are written to appeal to young readers. The first book in the series is called The Golden Compass . And this weekend it's opening in American theaters as a new movie.
If you think this is just another fantasy aimed at teenagers, well, it certainly isn't just that. Pullman is admired by literary critics for the inventive, complex world he creates in his books. He's also controversial. He calls himself an atheist, and the sympathetic characters in his stories struggle against an oppressive regime that mirrors the institutions of organized religion. In fact, many of the villains in his books are members of a group called the Magisterium , an expression people use to describe the Catholic hierarchy.
In the United States, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights has recommended a boycott of The Golden Compass . That was the same group that raised objections to The Da Vinci Code .
The movie version of The Golden Compass starring Nicole Kidman opens this weekend in area theaters.
Guests
- Carole Scott , professor emeritus of literature at San Diego State University. She has just edited a book of critical essays on Philip Pullman's work His Dark Materials Illuminated: Critical Essays on Philip Pullman's Trilogy .
- Beth Accomando , film critic for KPBS.
