Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (by Susanna Clarke)*
This book seemed long-winded to me. Maybe it was because I was listening to it and I couldn't skim over any of the footnotes or the history or the long-ass descriptions of things. Or maybe because it's a long-ass book in general, I don't know!
The length, some plot holes (okay, I will buy that there's only one fairy in England, since everyone seems to summon the same guy... but how come the fairy makes a bargain for one captive, just whisks one away, and then has to kill a third? there is no internal logic there...), loose ends (what about Strange's book?), sloppy storytelling (we never find out what the principles of magic even are and the whole book is about magic), and confusing characterization (Norrell when we meet him doesn't seem to bear much resemblance to the Norrell we come to know) are all frustrating. And yet it is compelling enough to keep going, picks up steam towards the end, and really does have a hell of a payoff. But it is almost all buildup, and I think you have to be very patient to make it to the end.
One reviewer on Amazon said if you read the first inch and the last inch, you'd have a great book. That's true! You wouldn't have to read all the uncomfortable stuff about how magicians helped build the British Empire, rah rah imperialism, rah rah world domination, which is a moral issue that there is no evidence the author has even thought about. And speaking of which, how is Strange (who has no books, mind you) able to have god-like powers? Like, he can move entire cities. And then a few chapters later he's like "yeah, if only I had some real power..."
If you sort the Amazon reviews with least number of stars first, you might be very entertained. ("This book answers the ageless question, 'What would happen if unbelievably boring people with no ambitions or real emotions were granted godlike powers?' The answer, as we learn over the many hundreds of pages, is not much." or "Now I know why it took her ten years to write it; she kept getting bored and forgetting to write more.")
Anyway I enjoyed the ending very much, but it's a long way from the beginning, if you know what I mean. I'm not sure I'd recommend it.
The length, some plot holes (okay, I will buy that there's only one fairy in England, since everyone seems to summon the same guy... but how come the fairy makes a bargain for one captive, just whisks one away, and then has to kill a third? there is no internal logic there...), loose ends (what about Strange's book?), sloppy storytelling (we never find out what the principles of magic even are and the whole book is about magic), and confusing characterization (Norrell when we meet him doesn't seem to bear much resemblance to the Norrell we come to know) are all frustrating. And yet it is compelling enough to keep going, picks up steam towards the end, and really does have a hell of a payoff. But it is almost all buildup, and I think you have to be very patient to make it to the end.
One reviewer on Amazon said if you read the first inch and the last inch, you'd have a great book. That's true! You wouldn't have to read all the uncomfortable stuff about how magicians helped build the British Empire, rah rah imperialism, rah rah world domination, which is a moral issue that there is no evidence the author has even thought about. And speaking of which, how is Strange (who has no books, mind you) able to have god-like powers? Like, he can move entire cities. And then a few chapters later he's like "yeah, if only I had some real power..."
If you sort the Amazon reviews with least number of stars first, you might be very entertained. ("This book answers the ageless question, 'What would happen if unbelievably boring people with no ambitions or real emotions were granted godlike powers?' The answer, as we learn over the many hundreds of pages, is not much." or "Now I know why it took her ten years to write it; she kept getting bored and forgetting to write more.")
Anyway I enjoyed the ending very much, but it's a long way from the beginning, if you know what I mean. I'm not sure I'd recommend it.
posted by mo pie at 11:05 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home