His Dark Materials of Confusion

I decided to read the His Dark Materials series purely for the controversy that I heard about it when The Golden Compass movie came out. Upon finishing the series I found myself in the midst of a controversy of my own- did I like these books or not? And what on earth are they supposed to mean? Let's try and sort this out together.

(#1) Read 26 Books
1. Firestarter
2.World War Z
3. Where Men Win Glory
4. Red Hook Road
5. A Wolf at the Table
6. The Fault in Our Stars
7. Open House
8. The Golden Compass
9. The Subtle Knife
10. The Amber Spyglass

Essentially, as I understand it, the series is about Adam and Eve, Original Sin, and God being an evil dictator who punishes people with Death just for being alive and enjoying life. I guess I can see how some people might find that controversial.

According to Wikipedia Pullman meant it to be an inversion on Paradise Lost in which humanity's fall from Heaven was actually their greatest accomplishment, not their greatest sin. I did not pick that up in my own reading but it does make sense in hindsight.

For children's novels they are surprisingly difficult to explain (and understand). Basically there is this thing called Dust which is only attached to adults and is therefore believed to be Original Sin. Certain groups of people want to eliminate the Dust which they believe would allow them to live forever. The church, which runs the government, wants to stop them from doing this. But in order to accomplish their respective missions both groups must perform horrible acts on children.

At least I think that is what happens.

In The Golden Compass we meet the main character Lyra and her "daemon" (who appears to be her soul manifested in animal form) Pantalaimon. At first Lyra seems to stumble upon the action of the novel but eventually we realize that she is central to the world's problems and solutions somehow. Lyra's Uncle Lord Asriel and her guardian Mrs. Coulter are two of the people trying to destroy the Dust.  In fact Lord Asriel's plan is to find "the Authority" (aka God) and kill him so that humans can be free of his tyrannical rule.

In The Subtle Knife, Lyra travels to another universe to try and follow and possibly stop Lord Asriel (possibly, because she is not really sure yet whether Dust is evil; much like you, as the reader, is not really sure of anything at this point). She meets up with Will, who has fled his own world. Will accidentally (though maybe it is his destiny) becomes the bearer of the Subtle Knife, which enables him to cut pathways between the many different parallel universes.

Finally comes The Amber Spyglass, the longest of the three though perhaps not quite as frustrating as The Subtle Knife. In the one storyline that I remained interested in, Lyra and Will travel to the land of the dead with the intention of finding and speaking with her friend Roger whose death Lyra feels responsible for.

I am not sure what I was expecting when I picked these books up. Something a bit more straightforward, perhaps. Or at least more allegorical. I can understand why Pullman didn't want to come out and say anything against Christianity but to me his points were almost entirely lost. Obviously in a world where everyone is trying to kill God and/or erase Original Sin some point is being made against organized religion. I just couldn't quite put my finger on what that point was while I was reading.

Another criticism that I read and agree with (though again, didn't pick it up in the book on my own) was that for an anti-religion series the characters seem to find their own religion towards the end. They begin almost worshipping the Dust and finding some sort of inner spirituality through Love. But he never quite develops this new religion so the reader is left wondering what makes it better than the old one.

All in all I would say this series is not worth the time it took me to read (which was a surprisingly long time for a children's series). Although if anyone else has already read them I'd be interested in discussing further. Maybe I'm just missing something.

"Meat-Less" Mondays: Pasta with Mushrooms and Thyme

There are about a hundred reasons why people chose a vegetarian diet, including a passion for animal rights, to improve their health, and (my personal favorite) to reduce their carbon footprint. I won't argue particulars with you, but these are reasons why this choice works for some people.

That being said, there are a hundred reasons why people chose NOT to eat a vegetarian diet, including religious justifications, health reasons (yes it makes sense for both!), and believing that global warming is just liberal propaganda. Or there are people like me who love food too much to limit themselves.

More importantly, I'd like to believe that a major reason people eat meat with every meal is that they simply don't know how NOT to eat meat; they don't have the information or the access or the time to come up with healthy, filling, and tasty vegetarian meal alternatives. I include myself in this last category, which is why I decided to make

(#5) Eat Vegetarian One Day a Week

part of my list. I have no intention of depriving myself of the occasional burger, but I do know that eating less meat is better for me and better for the environment. So I want to use the list to push myself to come up with more creative and delicious vegetarian meals, and hope that sharing them with you will help those of you who also fit into the I-would-if-I-could category.

Why not also join forces with the Meatless Monday movement. Though we're not going meatless, just meat-less.

This first recipe is from Martha Stewart, and I guaranteed to fill up and satisfy the most skeptical of carnivores: provided they like mushrooms, of course.

This was my first time working with dried porcini mushrooms. While they were rehydrating, they gave off
such a sumptuous, savory smell that if I told you I was cooking beef, you would have believed me.

Pasta with Mushrooms and Thyme

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces gemelli or other short twisted pasta
• 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms (about 1 cup), rinsed in cold water
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
• 10 ounces button mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

Instructions:

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente; drain, and return to pot. Set aside. While pasta is cooking, in a small bowl, soak porcini in 1 1/2 cups hot water until tender, at least 15 minutes. (Prepare yourself for their aggressively delicious aroma.)

2. Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook shallot 3 to 4 minutes until soft. Add wine and reduce, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. Add button and shiitake mushrooms. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender and begin to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

4. Add porcini and their soaking liquid (leaving any grit at the bottom of the bowl) and thyme to skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid reduces by half, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer noodles to mushroom mixture. Add Parmesan and remaining butter, and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with more Parmesan.

As usual, serve anything this dangerously delicious with a salad to distract your tastebuds.

Enjoy! Stay tuned for more "Meat-less" Monday recipes, or check out my similarly-themed Pinterest board.