Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (Book Club)

[Culhwch]

Less than a week now until we start in on Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, April's Book Club pick, so be sure to grab a copy if you can...

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

My copy is already, er, grabbed.

For those who don't wish to buy the monstrous great thing, I imagine it will be found in the catalogues of most libraries -- and now that it's first fling with fame is past, it could even be on the shelves.

 

[Culhwch]

I had to pay a fifty-five cent reserve fee for my library copy... And I'm sure they tried to find the single biggest edition in print. It's a monster, I can't take it anywhere. I fear it'll take me more than a month to read.

 

[Trey Greyjoy]

For anyone in the States and in the vicinity of a Half-Price Books you can pick up the hardcover for just over $5.
Good timing actually, Ive only about 50 pages left!

 

[BookStop]

I already read the first few pages, just to see if I'm going to like the style. I am, I think. Now I just need time to read a big chunk in one sitting.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

And I'm sure they tried to find the single biggest edition in print.

There are no small editions of this book; even the mass market paperback is a brick. A heavy brick.

You could kill a snake with that book.

 

[Milk]

and yet.. I wanted more pages as I got towards the end.

Shame i've read the novel already, I dont know if this excludes me from the discusion or not, since well , I read it years ago when it first came out. I wont be rereading it, because I dont reread books, I have enough unread books ahead of me, waiting for me.

 

[BookStop]

If you remember it well enough....

 

[Culhwch]

There are no small editions of this book; even the mass market paperback is a brick. A heavy brick.

You could kill a snake with that book.

Forget a snake, the hard-bound edition would bring down a mature African elephant.

Actually I have seen it here in a boxed set of two (or quite possibly three) parts, so I was hoping the library had picked up one of those. Alas...

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

The hard-bound edition would bring down a mature African elephant.

I've heard big-game hunters are using it for just that purpose. It has conservationists in an uproar.

I wanted more pages as I got towards the end.

Me, too, Milk. I wanted the story to continue. (There were one or two characters I wanted to know more about.)

 

[Lenny]

I don't know if any of you have heard that Clarke is working on a new book which is going to be on the same subject, and she's had a collection of short stories recently published, one of which is about Strange, and one about Uskglas, with the others about magic and Faerie.

 

[BookStop]

Here's a link to the short story collection.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu: And Other Stories by Susanna Clarke

 

[Culhwch]

Well, it's now officially April (here, anyway) so I'm gonna have at it.

I'm around a hundred pages in, and I really hope Jonathan Strange turns up soon, because Mr. Norrell is boring me to tears. Tell me it gets better. Please. 'Cause there's a hell of a lot of it to go.

For one thing I don't like her style. I understand her motivations, and she pulls it off well, it just isn't me, so I'm finding it hard on that front. And the goddamned footnotes! I figure I'd have finished the book by now if it wasn't for them. They break up the narrative flow, for mine. If you wanted to tell us, Ms. Clarke, if it's important for us to know, why not just weave it into the actual story?

I really dislike Norrell. He's well imagined and portrayed, but there's just naught about him that interests me. Which is, I guess, the point after all, she does go on about how boring he is. Obviously that will be key when Strange arrives on set. But at the moment he is giving me no motivation to read on.

And I really, really dislike Drawlight. And Lascelles is not a whole lot better. I was warming to Segundus and Honeyfoot, but they seem to have exited for good.

I'll forge on and see how it goes, in any case.

 

[Lenny]

You're right - there are reasons why Norrell is portrayed like that. Same for Drawlight, too.

Strange should pop in in a bit, and then the whole shabang really takes off.

 

[Culhwch]

I do hope so. Though I'm getting the feeling that's not going to save it for me. Here's hoping, anyway.

 

[Lenny]

Haha. I thought you were a completely new member for the moment, what with the new avatar.

Where exactly are you up to?

 

[Culhwch]

Page 100, or thereabouts. SPOILER: Norrell has just brought Miss Wintertowne back from the dead.

 

[Lenny]

That's only Pg 100?! I really need to re-read.

Keep going. It'll be sad to stop now.

This is the problem, you see. I can't give you milestones to look out for or try to read up to because it will spoil it for you!

 

[Culhwch]

I'll keep going. I haven't finished a book club read yet, so I'm determined. As I said, I'm hoping Strange will pick things up a bit, which it seems he does from your comments.

The other problem is that the book is so damn big I can't take it to work with me, so I'm losing valuable reading time...

 

[Lenny]

It's one of these books that you can read in bed, but you can't put it under your pillow because if you do you'll be sleeping with your head a foot higher.

Betcha can't just sit down this afternoon and slog your way through the whole thing in one. Always fun with something that's heavy going.