Once Upon a Time in the North. By Philip Pullman, £9.99, 114pp,
Isbn 978-0-375-84510-9 (0-375-84510-0)



“Once Upon a Time in the North” by Philip Pullman is the story of how a rather large Armoured Bear by the name of Iorek Byrnison meets an intrepid balloonist from Texas by the name of Lee Scoresby & his Daemon.

In this universe created by Philip Pullman people are accompanied by their Daemon from birth till death. Daemons are in the form of an animal. Where up until very early adulthood they can change shape. Upon reaching a certain age they settle on a final form. In the case of Lee Scoresby his Daemon Hester chose an Arctic Hare. All Daemons are the opposite sex to their human.

I found this book to be an extremely enjoyable read the only problem being that it wasn't long enough. Other books by Philip Pullman are “His Dark Materials” a trilogy of books including: 1. The Northern Lights 2. The Subtle Knife & 3. The Amber Spyglass. All these books are quite epic & all the more enjoyable for it. “Once Upon a Time in the North” is a prequel to “The Northern Lights” filmed as “The Golden Compass”.

In “Once Upon a Time in the North”, Lee Scoresby crashes his balloon in a town where there are large Bears walking around. The Bears can talk. Lee helps a Dutch Captain of a Ship to get his cargo back from a warehouse where its being held illegally. In doing so he be-friends Iorek Byrnison who helps Lee enter the warehouse using his excellent knowledge of craftsmanship or maybe “bearmanship” in this case, scratching a cross on the door after much tapping to find the weakest point then telling Lee to shoot at that point.


Philip Pullman is an excellent author as he's able to put a very realistic image in your head with his imaginative descriptions. In my view this is the mark of a great author and anyone wanting to enjoy some truly wonderful books should read all of his. These include “His Dark Materials”, “Lyra's Oxford” & “Once Upon a Time in the North”. Also having a game at the end of the book was a very nice touch, along with the letters from Lyra.

I hope you enjoy reading my review & enjoy Philip Pullman’s books even more.

Simon

Mark Johnson II

David –

I finished the whole book, and I do read a lot. I’m a discerning reader. It’s a very good story and that’s a good endorsement. If it weren’t a good book I wouldn’t have read or finished it. I found some parts of it very disturbing. Especially about his childhood, the abuse and being hit by his father.

It rang a bell with me because it was something I’d experienced in my own childhood. It gave me a personal connection with the book.

I’ve also got some experience of the other bits in the book, the drugs and the alcohol abuse. Not that I was ever into these things myself but I know people who were. If anything I related more to how it would be to be on the receiving end of a person like Mark – his parents, siblings, friends etc. I could see it from their point of view – having seen other people in a similar situation. I heard of people whose partners use a lot of drugs.

I thought the descriptions of drug use in the book were very accurate. I’ve seen that in other people. It was obviously upsetting and rough on them – especially if they were on the receiving end of aggression, whether deliberate or accidental, from the abuser. Sometimes when people are withdrawing, they can lash out without really knowing they are doing so – for example they may thrash about and kick out in their sleep. I’ve known people who’ve had a few bruises from that.

But I know, as in Mark’s book, low as things might get, it’s never completely hopeless, there is hope at the end of the tunnel.

I wish there were more books on the market that showed people in his situation. They help other people understand what’s going on. Some people may judge others without even knowing what really up. The ordinary man or woman in the street often judges people like Mark harshly – so maybe his book will help. It would open their eyes to what actually happens in the world. Mark did a very good job. I am looking forward to meeting the author. It’s not so much that I have any questions of him but I would praise him for what he’s done – putting his life down in a book – it’s a very brave of him to do it.




Tips on Reviewing

Oxford Gatehouse & Night Shelter Bookclub with Mark Johnson at the
Sunday Times Oxford Literary festival



Mark Johnson turned out to be a really good bloke - as you can maybe see from all the photos on this page and via the link to Isisbridge mega collection on Flickr (See link at the end). If you read the book you'll know that he finally got clean and restarted his own Tree Surgery business. Although since he wrote that he's sold the business and works full time for the Prince's Trust where he uses his experience to advise on offender issues and programmes. As you might imagine, his input is going to be different to that which comes from "The Great and the Good".

More photos on the Gatehouse Website and watch this space for more interviews.






Isis Bridge's wonderful photos - including some from the recent Bookclub meeting with Mark Johnson