Guest Anonymous Posted January 8, 2006 Share Posted January 8, 2006 Has anyone read this by Susanna Clarke? I fancy having a lookie, but wondered if any of you had read it, and if so what did you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted January 8, 2006 Share Posted January 8, 2006 I've never read it but one of my most bookish buddies has been struggling with it for about a year now. I don't think she's finished it yet. I know it's one of her ambitions to do so, but I don't think she's enjoying it vey much to tell the truth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sassenach Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 I bought a copy, and then won a signed copy - but neither have been read. I tried, but couldn't really get into it. I will have another go some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispychez Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 I am currently reading this book. It is very long so I am actually taking a break from it at the moment but it is not because I'm not enjoying it - just 1000 pages is too much alltogether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knitnurse Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 I struggled and struggled as Neil Gaiman says it is the best recent fantasy book, but it's just not working for me :| Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiseog Posted May 28, 2006 Share Posted May 28, 2006 I can't hold it for long enough! Lots of people whose opinions I value love it though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1sillywabbit Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Had this book for ages, and heard so much about it, and could not wait to get it.. but I pick it up and put it down again, perhaps its the weight! lol... Really must make a start.. erm er one of these days I will Wabbit x :wave: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar Posted June 23, 2006 Share Posted June 23, 2006 I can't hold it for long enough! Lots of people whose opinions I value love it though I have the version in 3 volumes. Much easier to hold! That said, I haven't actually started it yet, and I have had it at least 9 months! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmatix Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 I am in love with this book! I certainly understand the frustration many readers seem to have with the initial slowness of the pacing but once you get dipped in her beautiful prose the pacing is just perfect. It's like a train ride through the country the train may be the slow way to get there but the scenery is gorgeous. At page 200 or so (where I am) the characters are beginning to all come together and tension is beginning to build. Clarke's humor becomes a lot sharper too as the story progresses. I'm finding the developing plot intriguing and I'm turning the pages quite a bit faster. This book definitely is not for everyone and I've never read anything like it, in style and pacing, before. It's a little Dickensian (if that's a word). I'll be watching this thread for any other tenacious reviewers and I'll post a complete one when I finish. I have the next 3 days off so it might not be too long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galactic Space Hamster Posted September 16, 2006 Share Posted September 16, 2006 I read this book last year and fell deeply, madly, utterly in love with it. It's one of my favourite books of all time. There are a number of reasons why I liked it so much. Firstly, as Dogmatix says, the prose is wonderful. She writes beautifully. I'm a real sucker for Victorian literature, so I enjoyed her book JUST for the Victorian language and sentence structure. I think the book could have been about anything and I still would have loved it just for the prose. So I guess I am biased since I really adore that style of writing. It's not just that it's in the Victorian style though. She is a wonderful writer. Second reason is the characters. The people that populate the novel are some of the most realistic and well constructed characters of any book I have read. As in real life nobody in the novel is really stark good or bad but. Everybody has their good strengths and their failings to various degrees. Each character is very alive and real to me. Each character living in the pages and having motivations and desires that seem very real and understandable. I really liked the development of the characters as the years go by, and this is really one good reason to stick with the book. Thirdly, the story is great. It's a very original fantasy. I liked the way she blended fantasy with historical reality. I enjoyed her version of fantasy and the faery themselves. Sure, the story has a slow pace, but it's never dull. There is always something going on in the novel. Every chapter forwards the plot or a character. There never seems to be any padding or anything that I would cut from the novel. I'm really eager to read something new from her Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmatix Posted September 16, 2006 Share Posted September 16, 2006 I really liked the development of the characters as the years go by, and this is really one good reason to stick with the book. Strange, in particular, really matures over the course of the book and I'm really enjoying his character. (I'm just starting the last section now) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galactic Space Hamster Posted September 16, 2006 Share Posted September 16, 2006 Yeah he does change quite dramatically over the course of the book. I also liked how you start with book with, at least I did, very firm opinions on what Mr Norrell was like as a person only to have to re-access them later after finding out more about his character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmatix Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Yeah he does change quite dramatically over the course of the book. I also liked how you start with book with, at least I did, very firm opinions on what Mr Norrell was like as a person only to have to re-access them later after finding out more about his character. Well I've finished up and your statement is correct, you really have to re-examine every character in the final section of this fabulous book. The ending is not tidy, something else I also appreciated. I'll admit that this book requires some commitment to complete, but in finishing JSMN I feel as if I've read a classic. It really is a beautiful book. I loved the typically english setting, dark, spooky castles, rolling countryside, mischevious faeries, all of it. The characters were complicated and colored in inumerable shades of greys. None were good, none were bad. All were vulnerably human, even those that weren't! All in all a great book. Read it! Read it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 You guys are the onoly folks I know who have actually managed to finish this book! Everyone else I've heard of seems to have a major problem getting through it & many, I know, have just given up half-way through. I'm glad to hear it's so good after all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faithinthecharm Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 I absolutely adore this book and can't wait for her volume of short stories to come out in the UK next month. I read it in a week and I could comfortabely read it again fairly soon. A classy, interesting, read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galactic Space Hamster Posted September 29, 2006 Share Posted September 29, 2006 OOOOOOOOOOH! I didn't know that she was bringing out some short stories next month! I'll be getting that when it's in paperback form Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princessponti Posted October 4, 2006 Share Posted October 4, 2006 I really want to pick this up again! My partner and I started reading it together a year ago and were really enjoying it, then we moved house and the book went missing for a bit. Since we've found it again, we both have mentioned that we really want to get into it again but can't seem to summon up the willpower as it's such a daunting task! We've even downloaded the first part of the audio book to try and get back up to speed without re-reading!! From the way you describe it Dogmatix it now seems even more appealing! ...must try harder... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmatix Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 I hope you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princessponti Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 I've read it!!! I found the book broken down into three ordinary sized paperbacks while I was at Glastonbury and have found it sooooo much easier to read! ..by the time I was at the half way mark I just couldn't put it down! It is now categorised as one of my all time favourites, beautifully written. I've since read 'the ladies of grace adieu', Susanna Clarkes short stories, which complement the Jonathan Strange world perfectly; and I was lucky enough to see Neil Gaiman in discussion with Susanna Clarke in London a little while ago... love her now! Can't wait for her next one (I think we have a long wait!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 I just bought my second copy of this book, the first copy I gave to someone. I do so want to read it, but I just can't get into it, but I am going to keep trying. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princessponti Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 I just bought my second copy of this book, the first copy I gave to someone. I do so want to read it, but I just can't get into it, but I am going to keep trying. x ...take it back and get the three part box set! Sooo much easier! I hope you perservere, it really is wonderful; I found it like walking into a whole new world. (hello! Hope you're well xx) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angerball Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 I tried reading this a few years ago, but never finished. I did enjoy what I read, but I think I got distracted, and by the time I got back into it, I'd forgotten what happened earlier. I picked up a second hand copy a few months ago, so I plan to read it sometime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 ...take it back and get the three part box set! Sooo much easier! I hope you perservere, it really is wonderful; I found it like walking into a whole new world. (hello! Hope you're well xx) Hope you are well too Princess, I will give it a go x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Everyone, I am going in... I am about to start reading 'Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell', this will be my third attempt - wish me luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 Fingers crossed for ya Gyre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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