The Collectors

This was a strange little book, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that none of the novellas from the world of His Dark Materials are quite what they seem. These tiny stories are well-crafted (Pullman is an artful storyteller, afterall), but they’re so brief and teasing that by the final pages we’re left wondering what exactly it is that we just read. The Collectors is a brief mystery, set in the lightly gothic stylings of short stories such as W.W. Jacobs’ classic “The Monkey’s Paw” and tells the tale of a painting of a young girl and a brass monkey that always end up in the same collection. Their strange tale is related to our protagonist (if we can call him that, for his vagueness) by the pair’s latest collector, show more who is fascinated by the two pieces of art, but inevitably misses the danger that readers can just glimpse out of the corner of their eyes. We, afterall, know that the young girl will grow up to become the complex Mrs. Coulter and the monkey is her daemon - a symbiotic relationship that we understand from the larger narratives of their world and clearly hints at a danger that this Oxford’s art collectors are blithely unaware of. Our unease only grows as the two move their conversation away from the common room and the newly acquired monkey is unwrapped by his purchaser, but Pullman quickly moves the narrative on from this point and we are finally set at ease as the tension comes to a bloody end for both parties. The monkey and painting are reunited again, but they are left without an owner; was this the plan all along, as neither Mrs. Coulter or her monkey likes being caged, or are we reading too much into a mysterious curse and the hidden magic of their world? show less

E-book only. A short story that picks up abruptly in the senior common room of a college (unnamed, a rival to Merton), with Horley hosting a guest, Grinstead; the two men are talking about art. Specifically, two pieces which, though always bought and sold separately, often seem to end up together: a small portrait of a woman, and a bronze sculpture of a monkey. Both pieces are currently in Horley's possession, and they go to his rooms to look at them. Horley's condition declines drastically - whether due to an allergic reaction (as is concluded later) or poisoning (as I initially suspected). Grinstead, he reveals, is from another world, and knows the painting's subject - Marisa Van Zee - who is from another world as well (though not show more necessarily the same world). When Horley dies, Grinstead takes the painting, figuring that the sculpture will follow on its own, but he doesn't get far: in the fog, a taxi hits and kills him in the High street. The painting and the monkey are reunited, and Marisa's expression is observed to be pleased with herself. A creepy and perfect little gem of a story to add to the His Dark Materials universe.

"Well, in theory, all these worlds are mutually unreachable. The physics wouldn't allow things to be otherwise. In practice, the whole structure...leaks.
Well, that's what's happening: an infinity of worlds, and a thousand and one little leaks in the fabric." show less

An old painting of a young woman is inexplicably linked to a statue of a terrifying monkey, and all who try to separate the two fall victim to some truly terrible accidents. Or so the rumors say...

This was such a deliciously creepy story that drops hints of His Dark Materials left, right and center. At the same time, it stops just short of explicitly stating any facts. Of course, this will in no way prevent fans of the series from recognizing any of the characters and concepts being referenced.

Score: 3.4/5 stars

I loved the mystical atmosphere surrounding the two objects, as well as one character's theory of how objects pass between parallel universes. This is what extras to a main book series should look like.

The Collectors is a short story that is part of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series and it is set in the 1970's in Oxford. In the Senior Common Room of his college, Horley is telling Grinstead about a painting that he has just acquired. It is a portrait of a young girl who seems to have such an ambiguous expression that it appears to change from one moment to the next, first cold and contemptuous and then hopeless and yearning. Horley also tells Grinstead a strange story of a bronze monkey sculpture. It seems that no matter who acquires the painting and who acquires the sculpture, they somehow end up always being owned by the same person. A man who owed Horley money purchased the sculpture and coincidentally gave it to Horley show more sculpture in repayment of the debt. Grinstead asks Horley if he can see both pieces and Horley invites him back to his rooms. Although the painting is over 80 years old, Grinstead tells Horley that it is a portrait of Marisa van Zee, and that he was once Marisa's lover when she was 18 and he was about 5 years older.

This story is a little background for Pullman's His Dark Materials world. Marisa van Zee becomes Mrs Coulter, who is Lyra Belacqua's mother. Lyra is the main protagonist in the series.

I thoroughly enjoyed the His Dark Materials series, and also this small peek into that world. It was an interesting story, but unfortunately it didn't really add much to the overall story. It could be read as a stand-alone story without having read the trilogy. show less

A short and disturbing story with appropriately mysterious illustrations by Tom Duxbury, you need to be familiar with the world of His Dark Materials to have some insight into what's going on. I enjoyed it for the the somewhat acerbic picture of academic life, as well as the reference to Mrs Coulter (never named).

This was my warm-up for starting the new His Dark Materials series, The Book of Dust. Ominous and foreboding.

I do hope that Pullman uses this second opportunity to explore why he wrote Lyra as a girl in the first place. This isn't meant as any kind of bashing: Lyra has grown on me a great deal over the years: my first time thorough The Golden Compass she annoyed the hell out of me. Will, on the other hand, I found instantly appealing and sympathetic. I'm just looking forward to seeing her character development, because I'm counting on Pullman to make her just as difficult as she was before. Grown-up Lyra is going to be badass.

But the art! The creepy art! Great way to bring me back in and remind me that there is danger ahead and not just show more cool armoured bears. show less

Once again, Philip Pullman has served up cute HDM fanfic. This one is a dark ghost story, running on the idea of 'what if the Balthus painting 'Portrait de la jeune fille en costume d'amazone' was actually Mrs Coulter when she was aged 18, exploring another world, and what if there was a creepy connection between two works of art meaning they must always be together even if this means death or disaster to their owners

Like a lot of fan fiction, it doesn't quite sit comfortably with the original canon if you poke it too hard, and none of the characters are likable, but the book is beautiful and the story is eerie.