English writer Philip Pullman's new series 'The Book of Dust', which is to be released in October, comes 17 years after the ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy. AFP
English writer Philip Pullman's new series 'The Book of Dust', which is to be released in October, comes 17 years after the ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy. AFP

Philip Pullman’s extension to his magical world is well worth the wait



It is surely one of the most eagerly awaited books of the year. Seventeen years after the last in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy wowed children and adults alike with its richly detailed adventures of young heroine Lyra Belacqua, the 71year-old Englishman last week published the first in his new series based in the same magical world"a universe just like ours, but different in many ways" of mechanical bears, totalitarian regimeand the Dust – of which more later – that gives the trilogy its name. The Book Of Dust is not, however, your typical children's crowd-pleaser – and it is all the more intriguing for it.

Set 10 years before His Dark Materials begins, La Belle Sauvage revels in fruity language and explores philosophy and science. Pullman's world is of the way people abuse the power afforded to them by religion – and makes a strong case for the importance of free will. Woven into these ideas is the tale of a young boy, Malcolm, and his sceptical friend Alice, who must confront an epic flood to save the baby Lyra from her wicked mother, Mrs Coulter. Along the way they meet both a fairy queen and an ex-con – who went to prison for child abuse – intent on kidnapping Lyra.

And like His Dark Materials, Pullman's latest book is less Harry Potter than a repurposing of Milton's Paradise Lost or Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene; a corrective of sorts to C S Lewis's Narnia books, which Pullman has famously taken issue with.

So who is La Belle Sauvage for, exactly? At a press briefing last week, Pullman was adamant that he doesn't specify his audience. "I have never wanted to do that. I'm grateful to have any audience at all … and I'd never give an age range for readers. I'd much rather launch it on the flood and see what happens to it."

Still, Pullman has an extraordinary gift for being able to tap into what it is like to be a child, without patronising his readers or diminishing his characters. He puts this down to imagining things now in the same way as he did when he was young. As he said last week, "children are capable of extraordinary feats of courage, of affection and determination", and just as Lyra in His Dark Materials travels to the North Pole to rescue her friend Roger from a secretive agency performing experiments on children – and how dark is that? – so Malcolm has to overcome the attentions of the scheming Bonneville.

When he announced the new series earlier this year, Pullman inventively called The Book Of Dust less a prequel or sequel than an "equel – it doesn't stand before or after His Dark Materials, but beside it. It's a different story, but there are settings that readers of His Dark Materials will recognise, and characters they've met before."

"At the centre of The Book of Dust is the struggle between a despotic and totalitarian organisation, which wants to stifle speculation and enquiry, and those who believe thought and speech should be free," he added. And within that explanation is the key to why Pullman's books are arguably more important for children (and adults) than Harry Potter. True, J K Rowling also has a nice line on friendship, family, courage and the battle between good and evil. But Pullman's world doesn't shy away from children losing their innocence or falling in love. In His Dark Materials, Lyra isn't a typical heroine – there is an element of the savage about her; she lies. Pullman has called her a barbarian.

In La Belle Sauvage he writes realistically, truthfully and metaphorically about the world we live in today – there are huge tracts on the dangers of surveillance, climate change and inequality. And yet each character has a daemon, a shape-shifting animal version of themselves and the physical manifestation of the human soul. Malcolm's is variously a kingfisher, greenfinch and an owl to see in the dark.

And if that sounds faintly ridiculous to those entering Pullman's world for the first time, the initiated will know that daemons are probably his finest creation of all. They are more than the notion of a fully realised imaginary friend – the way the children's daemons change reflect the way personalities evolve as life continues; moving, as the books constantly do, from innocence to experience.

True, The Book Of Dust and His Dark Materials are fantasies, with all the connotations that the genre labours under. They have heroes who seemingly need to save the world – although Lyra in particular is given free will to do as she pleases. But to compare them to The Lord Of The Rings would not only horrify Pullman – he has called Tolkien's books trivial because they don't explore the big questions – but be wholly inaccurate. There is a pleasure to be had in the fantastically elaborate lands and characters Tolkien dreamt up, but little of deeper merit to grab hold of beyond battles between good and evil. Pullman's books revel in moral and psychological questions. And having read some of the fantastical elements of a few of the Booker Prize nominees recently, it is not a huge stretch to Pullman's work. The prose is delightfully readable without ever being sentimental. The idea of Dust – a metaphor for the consciousness and imagination that comes with self-awareness – underpins an outstanding narrative.

As he said last week, his books deal with “the question of consciousness, perhaps the oldest philosophical question of all: are we matter? Or are we spirit and matter? What is consciousness if there is no spirit? Questions like that are of perennial fascination and they haven’t been solved yet, thank goodness”.

And maybe these intricate ideas are why the film adaptation of The Golden Compass in 2007 was such a flop. His books are possibly too rich in detail and ideas to transfer satisfactorily to the big screen, but the movie was also hamstrung by underlying dissatisfaction from the American right that it introduced children to atheism. It does no such thing; the books merely question the motives and actions of people who use religion as a way in which they can abuse power. Pullman is an atheist, but his outlook is decidedly human, rooted in the delights and dangers of the contemporary world.

It will be fascinating to see where the remaining two books go next. He let slip that in the next instalment of The Book of Dust, a grown-up Lyra will be on a journey from the Levant to Central Asia, which should be fascinating. But in the second and third books the characters are adults – there is a 20-year leap from La Belle Sauvage. "It's probably natural that it has a bit more of an adult tone," he said last week. He also joked that La Belle Sauvage could be called "His Darker Materials ... I'm more cynical, perhaps closer to despair." Is anyone still convinced that Pullman "just writes for kids"?

The Book Of Dust Volume 1: La Belle Sauvage is out now, published by Penguin

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if you go

The flights 

Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning. 

The trains

Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.

The hotels

Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.

UAE SQUAD

 Khalid Essa (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif (Al Jazira), Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah), Mahmoud Khamis (Al Nasr), Yousef Jaber (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalifa Al Hammadi (Jazira), Salem Rashid (Jazira), Shaheen Abdelrahman (Sharjah), Faris Juma (Al Wahda), Mohammed Shaker (Al Ain), Mohammed Barghash (Wahda), Abdulaziz Haikal (Shabab Al Ahli), Ahmed Barman (Al Ain), Khamis Esmail (Wahda), Khaled Bawazir (Sharjah), Majed Surour (Sharjah), Abdullah Ramadan (Jazira), Mohammed Al Attas (Jazira), Fabio De Lima (Al Wasl), Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Khalfan Mubarak (Jazira), Habib Fardan (Nasr), Khalil Ibrahim (Wahda), Ali Mabkhout (Jazira), Ali Saleh (Wasl), Caio (Al Ain), Sebastian Tagliabue (Nasr).

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

Coffee: black death or elixir of life?

It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?

Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.

The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.

The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.

Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver. 

The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.

But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.

Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.

It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.

So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.

Rory Reynolds

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

The lowdown

Rating: 4/5

Visa changes give families fresh hope

Foreign workers can sponsor family members based solely on their income

Male residents employed in the UAE can sponsor immediate family members, such as wife and children, subject to conditions that include a minimum salary of Dh 4,000 or Dh 3,000 plus accommodation.

Attested original marriage certificate, birth certificate of the child, ejari or rental contract, labour contract, salary certificate must be submitted to the government authorised typing centre to complete the sponsorship process

In Abu Dhabi, a woman can sponsor her husband and children if she holds a residence permit stating she is an engineer, teacher, doctor, nurse or any profession related to the medical sector and her monthly salary is at least Dh 10,000 or Dh 8,000 plus accommodation.

In Dubai, if a woman is not employed in the above categories she can get approval to sponsor her family if her monthly salary is more than Dh 10,000 and with a special permission from the Department of Naturalization and Residency Dubai.

To sponsor parents, a worker should earn Dh20,000 or Dh19,000 a month, plus a two-bedroom accommodation

 

 

 

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

SECRET%20INVASION
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ali%20Selim%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Samuel%20L%20Jackson%2C%20Olivia%20Coleman%2C%20Kingsley%20Ben-Adir%2C%20Emilia%20Clarke%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20specs
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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions


The Arts Edit

A guide to arts and culture, from a Middle Eastern perspective

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