The Ruby in the Smoke

[alexiscartwheel]

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.

Comments

[sherarara.livejournal.com]

I confess I haven't read the book, but I enjoyed the movie you mention well enough. The sequel (which I think was also based on a PP novel?) was better, however.

Anyway, the vaguely racist undertones were there in the movie as well, so it wasn't just 1985's fault in that case. *sigh*

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

The Shadow in the North is the second Sally Lockhart book. I haven't seen the movie version yet, but both movies are airing on PBS in September, so I'll probably watch them then.

I suppose it would be difficult to completely erase the racial subtext without actually changing the plot... but I feel like the racism of that was contemporary in the Victorian setting could have been portrayed accurately but more clearly not endorsed in the narrative.

[mysticalchild_isis]

Oh man, I haven't read The Ruby in the Smoke since high school, and I'd totally forgotten it. I loved it then (though I remember not much caring for the sequels), so now I absolutely want to pick it up again to re-read.

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

I love rereading old favorites. A good story never gets old, and I always find something new when I pick a book up a second (or third or fourth) time. I really liked The Shadow in the North, the second book, but don't remember much about the third one. I liked The Tin Princess too, but it's was mostly about Adelaide and Jim.

[http://users.livejournal.com/blanche_/]

I actually read the book quite recently and it does feel a bit rushed, but I still like it. I haven't bought the other books in the series yet. But when I do, they will of course need to match the first one. ;)

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed all the books, but I think the second was my favorite, though maybe I just read it more times because I owned a copy. The Tin Princess is a bit different, since it focuses on the minor characters, but Sally appears in that one as well.

[shinyopals.livejournal.com]

I watched the TV one fairly recently, and while I liked it enough to make me want to read the books (still not read Ruby but have read The Shadow in the North), it wasn't hugely well recieved!

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

If you liked The Shadow in the North, I think you'll enjoy the other books in the series. :)

[shinyopals.livejournal.com]

I have complicated feelings for TSitN... I read most of it while waiting for The Stolen Earth, then watched the episode. Then TEN NEARLY DIED OMG, so I jumped back to Shadow, only for FRED TO DIE TWO PAGES LATER. WTF, LIFE. So while I think the book is good, I read it at a bad time! XD

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

At least now you already know that Fred can't die in any of the other books. :/ But, yeah, that is the most cruel ending. It was very WTF NOOO! when I read it the first time too.

[sea_thoughts]

I resented Fred's death so much that I only skimmed The Tiger in the Well. ^^;

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

I read The Tiger in the Well immediately after The Shadow in the North, and I strongly resented Sally ending up with someone else. Sure, time had passed in the world of the books, but in my world, Fred had just died and that was just NOT RIGHT.

[sea_thoughts]

I couldn't help thinking that Pullman killed Fred off just so he could have Sally be a single mother in Victorian London in a misguided attempt to make her a stronger role model. Look, she works AND raises a baby on her own! *sigh*

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

Yeah... there are things about the whole series that seem rather heavy handed in retrospect. But of course, any reader who was paying attention would have noticed long before then that Sally was a capable young woman. It wouldn't exactly be a surprise that she'd be able to handle OH NOES single motherhood.

[sea_thoughts]

Maybe I was just too old when I read them, because I just couldn't believe in a single woman raising a child and having a career like that in Victorian London. I'm sure there were women who did that but not so conspicuously as Sally does. It's not that I dislike her, I dislike the way that Pullman manipulates the circumstances around her, if that makes sense.

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

I think that makes sense. Pullman makes Sally a very Strong Female Character, rather than a strong female character.

[sea_thoughts]

I can't shake the suspicion that he wanted her to be a Victorian version of Buffy. :/ Though fortunately, Fred is nothing like Angel. More a Xander.

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

Now I am envisioning Sally sneaking around Victorian London at night to stake vampires. And I want to know who her Giles is...

[sea_thoughts]

Van Helsing of course! (It IS the right time period, after all!)