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The first time I read Philip Pullman's The Ruby in the Smoke was probably about ten years ago. (Typing that makes me feel old.) I remember my family was on vacation, probably our trip out west to Yellowstone. On the way back to Ohio, we stopped to visit family in Minneapolis, and while we were there we went to the Mall of America. I was so eager to read the next book that I made it my mission to find a bookstore and buy it, breaking one of my cardinal rules of book buying. (Yesterday I mentioned that series books must all match. Another important rule: they must be purchased in order.) The Shadow in the North became one of the few exceptions to that rule.
Fast forward to today and my first ever reread of The Ruby in the Smoke. It's a young adult murder mystery set in Victorian London, and the first of four books featuring Sally Lockhart. At sixteen, she is an orphan. Literary orphans are a dime a dozen, of course, but Sally stands apart. How many orphaned heroines accomplishments include shooting a pistol and balancing account books? The mystery of the book surround the death of Sally's father, a military veteran and shipping agent, and the titular ruby of Agrapur.
The plot is face paced and gripping, just as I remembered, but this time around I noticed some imperfections that I didn't the first time around. First off, Sally is introduced to the underbelly of the city, including a visit to an opium den. Predictably, this leads to some stereotypical sinister orientals, mostly in the background, but the overtones are there. The view may fit the setting, but the book was written much later, so it seems rather unenlightened, even if there's nothing I thought was deliberately or overtly racist. Second, a lot of the book seems rushed. I liked that the plot moved along quickly, but towards the end it starts to move too quickly, and at times it seems like events simply occur around Sally. Also linked is the haphazard characterization. But... the book was written in 1985, and children's and YA books weren't 600+ pages back then. Pullman didn't get a Dickensian page limit, which could have allowed for more even pacing and better character development.
I critique because I care, though. Despite the negative points, I still rushed through the book today. (Not that it's long, but still. If I hadn't been enjoying myself I could easily have found something else to do.) It's a gripping story with entertaining characters. Having forgotten the book's resolution, I got to discover the final twists all over again. Despite its faults, The Ruby in the Smoke is a great story and still a good recommendation for teen's.
ETA: Also, there's a TV movie version with Billie Piper, which I saw part of on PBS before I knew Billie Piper was. I remember thinking it was pretty well done, but I don't remember it that well. I imagine I was probably trying to write some sort of essay at the same time. I have top notch study habits like that.
Fast forward to today and my first ever reread of The Ruby in the Smoke. It's a young adult murder mystery set in Victorian London, and the first of four books featuring Sally Lockhart. At sixteen, she is an orphan. Literary orphans are a dime a dozen, of course, but Sally stands apart. How many orphaned heroines accomplishments include shooting a pistol and balancing account books? The mystery of the book surround the death of Sally's father, a military veteran and shipping agent, and the titular ruby of Agrapur.
The plot is face paced and gripping, just as I remembered, but this time around I noticed some imperfections that I didn't the first time around. First off, Sally is introduced to the underbelly of the city, including a visit to an opium den. Predictably, this leads to some stereotypical sinister orientals, mostly in the background, but the overtones are there. The view may fit the setting, but the book was written much later, so it seems rather unenlightened, even if there's nothing I thought was deliberately or overtly racist. Second, a lot of the book seems rushed. I liked that the plot moved along quickly, but towards the end it starts to move too quickly, and at times it seems like events simply occur around Sally. Also linked is the haphazard characterization. But... the book was written in 1985, and children's and YA books weren't 600+ pages back then. Pullman didn't get a Dickensian page limit, which could have allowed for more even pacing and better character development.
I critique because I care, though. Despite the negative points, I still rushed through the book today. (Not that it's long, but still. If I hadn't been enjoying myself I could easily have found something else to do.) It's a gripping story with entertaining characters. Having forgotten the book's resolution, I got to discover the final twists all over again. Despite its faults, The Ruby in the Smoke is a great story and still a good recommendation for teen's.
ETA: Also, there's a TV movie version with Billie Piper, which I saw part of on PBS before I knew Billie Piper was. I remember thinking it was pretty well done, but I don't remember it that well. I imagine I was probably trying to write some sort of essay at the same time. I have top notch study habits like that.
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