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His Dark Materials
I remember when I first found The Golden Compass in the young adult section of the library, and later found The Subtle Knife. I found Lyra's world compelling, especially the daemons - who wouldn't want your own talking furry best friend, after all? Not to mention the bears and the witches. I probably read them in late middle school or early high school, perhaps. I didn't read the third book, The Amber Spyglass, until my senior year of high school when my sister's friend lent it to me. I remember being confused by it and by its implications. Of course, I was still going to church at the time, so seeing church and God as wrong and oppressive was a view I wasn't accustomed to. I've reread them since then, and I just finished rereading them again last night, and they're definitely a deeper read after a liberal arts education, especially one in English literature (although I must confess I haven't read all of Paradise Lost). Reading more about human history and about religion has helped, too, and all of the mythology I've been reading in the last couple of years. I'm not sure that I have religious views any more, or at least not any definite ones. But it doesn't bother me like it used to. I'm not sure if it's apathy, or just my usual condition of escapism, or perhaps even a kind of open-minded peace with myself, a contentedness with not knowing. I'm trying not to delude myself, though.
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