August 2019 Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (Caution! There be spoilers here!)

[Kateblue, 2nd star to the right and straight on til morning]

Go ahead and say anything--about this book . . .

[Anthony]

I just finished and I’m very glad to have read it. I think it’s a remarkable achievement in so many ways: the consistency and quality of tone; the perfectly pitched prose; the delightfully droll scenes of Englishness; and the truly original and inventive creepiness of Faerie and its inhabitants.

For a novel that’s dealing with loss and grief and murder and black magic, I did want a little more of an emotional payoff at times, but I also recognize that its stuffiness is by design. I think there may have been ways to do a bit of both.

I have a lot of respect for what Clarke achieves with this. I can’t say I totally loved it but I am very very impressed by it.

[Oleksandr, a.k.a. Acorn]

I was impressed as well (I plan to re-read this month) and it is surprising that the author won one of the highest SF awards for a debut work but hasn't continued writing (except for a story collection)

[Kateblue, 2nd star to the right and straight on til morning]

I was curious about that so I went looking. I saw somewhere that she has health issues.

[Oleksandr, a.k.a. Acorn]

Kateblue wrote: "I was curious about that so I went looking. I saw somewhere that she has health issues."

Sad to hear that :(

[Pat the Book Goblin]

I’m enjoying it this time around!

[Anthony]

Patrick wrote: "I’m enjoying it this time around!"

Is there an aspect that’s working better for you? Are you in a different headspace? Just curious as to what might be the source of it landing better for you.

[Oleksandr, a.k.a. Acorn]

I'm re-reading it and this time it is a bit less sparkingly shining for me. It is also interesting which parts/subplots I forgot. For example I recalled quite well the campaign on the continent, madness of the king, return from the dead etc., but forgot Stephen Black. Also some parts I misremembered as happening earlier.

When I first read the story I assumed that the mythos about the Raven King was real and it was me, a foreigner, who hadn't known it

[Anthony]

Oleksandr, are you referring to it being darker in tone than you remembered? Its ability to switch from droll whimsy to darkness is one of its greatest strengths. I really appreciate how magic in this novel has a cost and a danger to it. And Stephen Black’s story is quite disturbing on so many levels.

[Oleksandr, a.k.a. Acorn]

Anthony wrote: "Oleksandr, are you referring to it being darker in tone than you remembered? "

Yes and the fact that Strange vs Norrell aren't good vs evil or even talent vs envy. While readers I guess mostly root for Strange, Norrell deserves more pity than ridicule. It is nice to have more complex and imperfect characters but without going all the way to grimdark

[Ed]

I only ever read the first half of the book. I liked it, but it just felt long. Eventually I saw the BBC adaptation and it felt like a completely different book because I'd already forgotten everything!

[Kateblue, 2nd star to the right and straight on til morning]

I'm still at 62%. I have read no more since I said I was taking a break a couple of weeks ago. If I feel like it I will read more, but I really don't feel like it right now.

[Anthony]

@Kateblue, I remember feeling like it sagged a bit in the middle third, but I found it to pick up a lot of steam and dramatic incident in the final third. For whatever that’s worth...

[Kateblue, 2nd star to the right and straight on til morning]

thx for the encouraging words, Anthony. I just got this post (missed it somehow) and will try again in the next few days.

[Jeanette]

reading on a Kindle it seemed an act of futility - the percent complete just didn't seem to change. I always wanted to read 'just a few more pages' but without the frenzy that accompanies some other stories.

It is all English warm and fuzzy with their politeness and restraint filled with fog, rain and elitist snobbery.

When written for so long and so well, you begin to see differences between this rain and that, the veneer comes off the elite and the snobs brought low.

The end when it comes isn't cataclysmic but very English satisfying. I really rather enjoyed that!

[Oleksandr, a.k.a. Acorn]

Jeanette wrote: "It is all English warm and fuzzy with their politeness and restraint filled with fog, rain and elitist snobbery..."

On the reread I noticed how much snow there is: if you follow closely, a large share of action happens in snow - from the first magic done by Mr.Norrell to disappearance of Strange's wife

[Kateblue, 2nd star to the right and straight on til morning]

I'm still not particularly motivated to continue. But since I am actually REMEMBERING what I read (unlike with most books, where I immediately forget) I figure I can pick it up where I left off whenever I feel like it

[Sam]

Kateblue wrote: "I'm still not particularly motivated to continue. But since I am actually REMEMBERING what I read (unlike with most books, where I immediately forget) I figure I can pick it up where I left off whe..."

For me, this book is quite the opposite: With most books, I can easily remember plot points, but this one is so packed with ideas that rereading comes close to reading it for the first time again. Which is lovely, it's one of my favourite books if not my favourite (but I can see that it is not for everybody).

[Kateblue, 2nd star to the right and straight on til morning]

Sam, I may not be remembering ALL the plot points, but I am remembering enough to pick it back up. For me, that's rare. I forget books all the time. One of the reasons I joined GR was to keep track of what I read.

A few years ago, I wrote every book in a notebook, but after I had written down a paragraph about 100's of books in no particular order, I could no longer find the entry showing I had already read them. (I used a spiral bound notebooks--mistake!) I got really tired of taking a book out of the library, getting 20 or 30% in, and realizing I had read it before.

This one? I will remember!

[Caitlin]

Finally finished it today and i really loved it. Very different, entertaining and had some very witty humor.