Golden Compass back on the shelves in Calgary
From the Calgary Herald:
After a hiatus from library shelves, a controversial novel is being welcomed back into Calgary Catholic School District schools.
The Golden Compass, a decade-old novel by Philip Pullman, was pulled from local Catholic schools two months ago as a film adaptation of the story was released in theatres.
Following a review of the book – the first installment in Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy – school board officials have decided to use the novel’s counter-religious themes as a teaching opportunity for Catholic students.
“There is no doubt that the text is harsh in terms of its language about organized religion and that it presents a consistently negative view of church, clergy and faith-based institutions; however, there are glimpses of light with opportunities for positive reflection,” the review stated.
Interesting that the ban is reversed only after everyone has pretty much decided the movie version’s a dud.
